Just to add in a different thought, which is tough since you didn’t actually see what happened, but my older guys spend more time laying down in deep snow. The arthritic ones find it too hard getting up and down on bare frozen ground so when we finally get some soft snow cover, they are happy to have some cushioning on old joints.
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Yup, I actually do think this was what happened…which makes me feel horrible for leaving him in for nothing 
Yes, their was so much emotion and advice/ opinions running through the barn the little niggling feeling and the intuition kinda got covered up and was very hard to feel but it was there. I mistook it for me just being stupid/selfish for wanting him out but really it was my heart saying him staying in wasn’t good. I will have to listen more carefully in the future to what my heart/brain is saying rather than emotion and emotions of others.
I wish intuition and instinct was LOUD
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I hope you have managed to ignore the (well-meaning?) Know-it-alls & have gotten your horse out.
What you described from having kept him in says to me Unhappy Horse.
Surely you can manage a single day to spend watching him outside?
Doesn’t have to be the whole 24h, just a couple hours when he’s out.
Take breaks, go in the barn to warm up.
You mentioned he has access to his stall from outside - warm up in there.
Bring a thermos of something hot & a blanket to warm you up.
You’ll sleep better for knowing for yourself what’s going on 
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No worries before this post I had him out in a little paddock that another BIG horse ( half perch) went out in and knocked some of the snow down. He did nothing but canter around ( kinda strange movement when his knee barely bends) and call out to his friends pacing and got sweaty. So put him back in stall ( snow in paddock he usually goes in was still deep). First sign that if he felt good enough to do that, that I SHOULD have just put him out.
The next morning AFTER posting this. I walked him in the arena ( I could not before because the snow thawed then froze again and the driveway up to arena was covered in ice)
I let him roll as he is usually just a once a day roller to lessen the chance of him getting stuck/ down while rolling in snow. After I walked him ( with much calling out and prancing)
from him)
I had him out for half the day alone in his usual place and watched him, he seemed to get a long perfectly in the snow ( even with being more lame and stiffer ( from circling in the dumb stall) than he would have been if I had just turned him out!
He only went out for half the day as the BO decided to turn his group out separately after they saw what happened to my guy) so was still spinning for half the day ( although the BO and stall cleaner say he was quiet…my quiet and there quiet may not be on equal terms)
The next day I decided to turn him out with one of his friends and even though he was being pushed q bit and inched on he was walking ok through the snow and even the high drifts. ( which made me feel even worse for worrying and leaving him in)
He was put all day yesterday and went out again today. I won’t won’t leaving him in again unless absolutely necessary.
I am going to hope and pray that for some reason me leaving him in for those days worked out for good for some reason.
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Good Update 
People may mean well, but someone on here has the signature line:
The Horse World: 2 people, 3 opinions
We know our horses best.
Period.
Full Stop.
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Agree with snowblower & turnout. Just do lots of paths (don’t have to clear the entire yard) and he’ll likely use those since it obviously hurts for him to lift his leg.
BUT, let me add here that with my oldster, the likelihood that he was going to go down in a snowdrift and not be able to get up was the primary factor in euthanizing. His quality of life was ok but mobility and strength was declining, and it generally took him a few tries to get up on good ground. My vet agreed–said he can’t count how many times he’s been called out to euth an old horse that’s been down in a snowbank all day, and we should do whatever we can to avoid that happening because it’s not a good ending for the horse. All this to say, there are a lot of horse owners who kid themselves about their horse’s quality of life in the end stages. At the point he can’t reliably get up from the ground, it is a significant and important deterioration in their quality of life. Only you can decide whether your horse is ‘there’ yet, but honestly? if he can barely clear the ground because it hurts too much to lift his leg? Ask yourself the hard question: what other deterioration in his condition are you waiting to see before deciding to give him his peaceful rest. And then stick to it. Don’t let that next step down the scale become the new normal. (Not asking you to describe/defend that “next step” here, that’s up to you. Just urging you to make sure there’s a clear point in your own head that you’ll take action when xxx happens).
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I had to separate my young mare from the older one in turnout because the young one’s pushing, herding, trying to play with the older one was going to knock the older girl over. I saw a couple of near misses and called it. They are now turned out next to one another but separated by a fence. Don’t know if that’s an option to consider, at least while the ground is slippery.
Edit - just saw your update. Glad it worked out! 
Thanks for the advice. I appreciate your concern for my elder gentleman. I am not writing this post in a snarks or condescending tone so please do not take it as such.
He is definitely not at the point to be euthanized, I have been around around few horses that seemed well past there time to go with their owners hanging on, they have dullness in their eyes and a ‘I don’t care where I am or what I am doing temperament, or what’s happening to me’ look.
I had to lead my guy with the chain the other day to the arena because of how hyped he was wanting to be with his friends, he will buck in his stall,spin ( like I haven’t said that enough in this post lol) and carrying carrying if he is kept in and his buddies go out.
and otherwise make it VERY known he wants to be alive
If you would please read my update post #25., you will see he has plenty of life left to live haha
You will see I tried turning him out in another paddock to which he was quite unpleased to be separated from his friends, he proceeded to canter ( even over the drifts that the big half percheron did not knock down and I was so worried he couldn’t clear).
To clarify about his knee, when walking normal ( for him) the toe of his hoof will slightly clear the ground, however when he walks over things, centers outside with his buddies ( yes he still does that),trots ( it isn’t pretty but he does it) or does his shenanigans of his play strikes while rolling his head and neck around like a 2 yr old , he will add clearance by also using his shoulder to lift his leg and also taking his limb to the outside of his body to clear whatever he wants.
He will still roll and get up fine on normal ground ( and even in a deepish sand arena ( post #25 mentions this).
This is basically our first deep snow of the year…we got 1.5 feet. I was not able to get over to barn to see how he got up, or how long he was down, But he DID get up on his own.
He does like to snow bathe from my memory and BO may have jumped the gun or may not have I have no way of knowing for sure, to be safe I thought I would keep him in as I was not certain if the reason he went down was to roll or if he couldn’t clear snow and fell.
I now can see him walking in the snow is NOT the problem. I made a mistake leaving him in and stressing him all those days without turning him out in his paddock/pasture to actually witness for myself what he was doing and how he was getting along.
But I can assure you hecis definitely not ready to go.
Sorry for any typos/grammer/punctuation mistakes.
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Is there an indoor arena he can go out in with a buddy a couple times a day during hrs when no one is riding? I totally understand your worry but spinning around in a stall is even harder on his joints and could make things much worse and he could go down in the stall n be sorfrom all the torqueing of joints and not able to get up. Take it from a girl that had to literally DRAG my mare out of a stall w a sling n tractor to get her up… its horrible and so hard on them.
Not to mention lack of movement means lack of gut and digestion health which could equal colic on top of everything else. I would ask that he has warm water, plenty of hay, and even if I had to shovel out an area for him to use, I would do it.
Not trying to sound mean at all, if it comes out that way I’m sorry it is still super early for me lol. But if he goes down outside, at least it will be easier depending on his size, and MUCH SAFER for him, you and anyone else if you have to roll him over. At the very least, call your vet and get their opinion. If you can shovel/snow blow him out an area, can they throw old hay or shavings down to give him better traction at all?
Big hugs n jingles, going down n not being able to get up was why I had to put my 34yr old mare down, the decisions on what to do with oldies is so hard, again, big hugs from me to you n senior buddy!!!
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Annnddd I just read the rest of the thread, can you get him some probios for the cow patty manure? They sell it at Tractor Supply, can you or bo add gatorade or even some pediasure powder to his stall water to help with hydration? How old is he and does he wear blankets at all? Also what does the vet say about everything? Keep us updated n glad hes going back out n doing good!
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No worries! The cow patty manure has resolved now that I have put him back outside to his normal turnout situation. I contributed the cow patties to stress from being inside. ( post #25)
It firmed back up within a day of being turned back out.
He will be 30 in March and vet is amazed at how well he gets around, his weight and still has great topline.
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Thank you, I agree with what you posted…
My guy is usually turned out 24/7 ( as soon as temps get above freezing). I am also a firm believer in as much turnout as possible and free choice hay. Which he has.
That is why he is so bad when being left in qnd why I felt so HORRIBLE. I KNEW it wasn’tthe right choice to keep him in deep down but ignored it.
. I always tell my barn owner better for him to go down outside than in the stall ( I have seen the outcome of a downed or dead horse in stall, not pretty)
It was just that, It was so cold and deep and I wasn’t there to see what happened or how he got up that rely un-nerved me.
Everyone was telling me to leave him in ( I have never experienced him assumingly…not being able to get up, but then he DID get up himself).
So I kept thinking that if I turned him out and he went down and BO was gone and nobody noticed I would feel awful…THEN it turned out after leaving him in for what felt like an eternity,he can walk fine through the deep snow… which made me feel more awful!!!
Like another poster said, if I don’t see it with my own eyes, take it with a grain of salt and see how he is acting myself before making a decision)
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