Who does night turnout?

[Simkie]

We have bears here, and I see bears on the property yearly (on the game cams, usually not in person) and those bears are generally moving about in the wee hours of very early morning.

Because of that, I have horses in overnight and out during the day. I don’t really worry about the bears going after the horses–although a bear did kill a little donkey a few years ago just a few towns over–but I do really worry about the horses freaking out enough about a bear to run through the fence. And horses going through a fence at 4 am would really, really suck. So, they stay in.

If we didn’t have bears, they’d totally be out overnight!

[LadyBug]

If mine aren’t out 24/7 then they’re on night turnout this time of year. Right now they come in between 6-8am and go back out between 6-8pm.

FWIW, my horses have done some really stupid sh*t resulting in some pretty horrific injuries. And they’ve done all of it during daylight hours…

[candyappy]

I have a youngster who is out 24/7 and 2 teenaged mares who are out all day and then dry lotted overnight… They have access to shelter at all times.

I doubt they would even go into the woods at night, but prefer to eat. I would not turn any horse out overnight without them having access to shelter. Woods/ trees just do not offer the protection I want my horse to have with some of the storms we regularly get here.

My guys graze during the day no matter how hot, humid or buggy it is. They may go into the barn for a bit but not for long.

[Libby2563]

My horses would be pissed if I tried to do day turnout in the summer. I turn them out around 5 pm and lately due to the bugs, heat, and humidity the delicate little flowers hide in the run-ins until 7 or 8 pm. By 7 am they’re hiding again. :rolleyes: One of them has anhidrosis so I prefer him to be in the barn in front of a fan during the day anyway. Fall, winter, and spring they are out 24/7, dry lotted as needed to save the pasture.

[Alpha_Mare]

My princess ponies (horses) go out overnight from sundown to about 7am. And they’re at the gate at 7am, if it’s really hot I will try to get them earlier. During the winter they are are 4-6 hours a day. They just hate the bugs and bad weather. They can take a light rain, but if it’s thunder & lightening or high winds I will keep them in.

[B_and_B]

Mine are out 24/7.
On trees, you will find that the biggest headache is that they make wonderful scratching posts, and if that branch is angled Just Right and the horse is truly a self destructive one that is itchy in the heat and humidity, they can do damage to themselves. So I limb all the trees up to above an easy stretch. And just yesterday fenced off the beloved shade patch…cue a sad horse. There is plenty of shade elsewhere, but that was a nice shrubby thicket and you could limbo under a branch and get the withers really, really well. Too well in fact, guess he wanted a vacation till the rub heals. Grr.

[Goforward]

I’ve only started night turnout in the past year or so. I did it all through last winter with one horse, then as it got hot I added a few more to the night list. They all like it so much it’s likely I’ll keep the routine year round. (The coldest night in a central Florida winter isn’t really all that cold)
I turn them out when it gets cooler, typically after 7pm. They eat their 10pm and 6 am feeds in the field and I pluck them in one by one through the morning as they come to the gates.
The more prissy, delicate flower horses are all still on their limited, observed, day turnout or stall run access.
Having stall run-outs, I’ve noticed that every horse who has the option to sleep outdoors will choose it over laying down in the stall. Most choose to poop outside too, though most also come inside to pee in the shavingshavings.
If you asked your horses, they’d probably love night turnout!

[Goforward]

I’ve only started night turnout in the past year or so. I did it all through last winter with one horse, then as it got hot I added a few more to the night list. They all like it so much it’s likely I’ll keep the routine year round. (The coldest night in a central Florida winter isn’t really all that cold)
I turn them out when it gets cooler, typically after 7pm. They eat their 10pm and 6 am feeds in the field and I pluck them in one by one through the morning as they come to the gates.
The more prissy, delicate flower horses are all still on their limited, observed, day turnout or stall run access.
Having stall run-outs, I’ve noticed that every horse who has the option to sleep outdoors will choose it over laying down in the stall. Most choose to poop outside too, though most also come inside to pee in the shavingshavings.
If you asked your horses, they’d probably love night turnout!

[centerlines]

I just switched my herd to night turnout. It’s unbearable during the day, and they prefer grazing at night anyway. All of them on NT only get fat on air, so they’re in the dry lot during the day (8a-8 or 9p, depending on heat). They have access to fans and hay in their lot, and I’ve never had issue with them being out at night. If horses are used to their areas during the day, they manage pretty well at night. Granted, my geography is different than yours, but if you were to clean up the downed branches and other ground hazards, your kids would probably fine at night.

[ParadoxFarm]

Mine are all turned out at night. One paddock is against a heavy tree/wooded line, and they have always been fine. I think they see better than we do! I turn them out as soon as I feel the horse flies are mostly gone. Most nights it is around 8:00 (CST). I bring them in after chores in the morning, so around 8:00 a.m. They do enjoy breakfast in front of their fans!

[whitmers]

For 20+ years I have been turning mine out at night year-round, mostly because the bugs are so bad here during the day. Also I have 2 fatties who have to be off the grass in a stall for part of the day just to give them a break from the grazing muzzles. Whenever I have brought a new horse home, I made sure to turn them out in daylight so they could learn the fencelines, location of water tubs, etc. But my group (mixed mares & geldings) has always gone out at night.

[mmeqcenter]

24/7/365 out for me Save for hurricanes.

[monalisa]

Mine go on night turnout once it gets hot. They go out around 8 pm and I do my stalls in the morning so they are generally in around 8 am. They will go to day turnout once it starts getting colder. I don’t have trees in my fields. My biggest problem is storms. Mine were in last night due to storms. With global warming every now and then one comes up that was not anticipated. So far I have managed these but it is getting harder. It is too hot where I live for day turnout in summer and I do not have run ins.

[SugarCubes]

@mmeqcenter

24/7/365 out for me Save for hurricanes.

I’m assuming you have run-ins? I am kicking myself for not prioritizing funds for a run in shelter right now! I’m hoping to get one before winter hits so they can go out no matter what!

[mmeqcenter]

@SugarCubes

I’m assuming you have run-ins? I am kicking myself for not prioritizing funds for a run in shelter right now! I’m hoping to get one before winter hits so they can go out no matter what!

No, I have lots of trees.

[trubandloki]

@SugarCubes

I’m assuming you have run-ins? I am kicking myself for not prioritizing funds for a run in shelter right now! I’m hoping to get one before winter hits so they can go out no matter what!

I did not have any shelter in my turn out this past winter. They were only out during the day but they stood out there in some nasty weather since I was at work and not able to put them in if the weather changed. Lots of hay kept them warm.

[SugarCubes]

@DMK

Over the years whenever I have moved to a new place, I just make sure I turn them out for a day or two during the day so they can get the lay of the land, then on to night turn out.

Alright guys, just wanted to give an updatel They were out from 6:30am-6:30pm both Sunday and Monday, it is freakishly nice for August and it’s been 70 degrees so they were happy to be out. Those are their normal days off, but today I realized what a pain it was to have them out when they needed to be worked, so I’m ready to switch them to nights tonight.

My pasture is a bit of a hike from the barn, so having to turn out in the morning, bring them in to tack up, walk back down to ride, walk back up to untack, then back down to turn back out only to have to bring them back in for dinner in a couple of hours later seems super counterproductive!

So, it seems keeping them in during the day saves a lot of walks down to the pasture to catch horses!

Wish me luck tonight goes smoothly

[GoodTimes]

How did it go?

Mine are boarded right now, with one being out 24/7 and the other two on night turnout.
When they’re home it’s somewhere in between. They come in when the humidity or the bugs start, usually around lunch time. Then they go back out a few hours later.

The worst pasture injuries that I’ve had all happened during the day. I’m confident that they have no issues being able to see in the dark. If anything they might be more careful…

As far as predators? I’ve watched them chase a bear and deer out of their field. They pay no attention to the coyotes. The only thing that seems to have freaked them out a bit was a moose. But that can be a day time issue here as well when the deer flies are thick.

[SugarCubes]

@GoodTimes

How did it go?

Mine are boarded right now, with one being out 24/7 and the other two on night turnout.
When they’re home it’s somewhere in between. They come in when the humidity or the bugs start, usually around lunch time. Then they go back out a few hours later.

The worst pasture injuries that I’ve had all happened during the day. I’m confident that they have no issues being able to see in the dark. If anything they might be more careful…

As far as predators? I’ve watched them chase a bear and deer out of their field. They pay no attention to the coyotes. The only thing that seems to have freaked them out a bit was a moose. But that can be a day time issue here as well when the deer flies are thick.

Well, I went to bring them in for breakfast around 7:30 and they looked at me like, “Nah, we’re good!” LOL! Left them out until 11:00 then brought them in for breakfast and naps under their fans! So awesome finally having a place I can do night turnout, they seem to think they’ve died and gone to horsey heaven!

Thank you all SO MUCH for the tips and advice and for easing my worries! Being able to let your horses just be horses is a pretty incredible thing, especially when they’ve been in a show barn program their entire lives!

[Dressagelvr]

Stunned by some of the responses. Trees do not count as shelter.

At an absolute minimum, horses need 24/7 access to: sufficient and safe pasture for the # of horses (no crowding), SAFE perimeter fencing; REAL 3 sided shelter (may need more than 1 depending on # of horses in field and temperaments); clean, safe water; good quality forage (unless there’s a horse with a metabolic issue, then this will need additional management).

Also, sure, horses can navigate all sorts of footing, but when they become spooked, they are much more likely to injure themselves in rough areas.

You can chance it with what you have, but horses being what they are, yours will be much better off if you fence them out of the woods in nice pasture and give them real shelter.