Winter Turnout Options

[FjordBCRF]

My boarding barn has switched over to winter turnout which is from about 8AM to 2PM…6ish hours. Summer turnout was about 12-14 hours overnight.

In an interesting turn of events this last week and a half, I happened upon an opportunity to rent from the family that owns the barn in a house that is a 3 minute drive from the barn! I could hike the trails to get there, but that’s a couples miles haha. Long story short…been wanting to sell my house for the last two years after getting divorced but didn’t have any great options to rent with 2 dogs and didn’t want to be forced to buy in an inflated market. Anyways. I will be moved in by Dec 1 at the latest and with that proximity, I could reasonably drag my butt out of bed and turn him out earlier in the morning before the staff get things moving and/or bring him in myself a little later as I have been giving him his supplement in the evenings myself (another thread on that but for anyone who helped there…were totally off the molasses spray!). I wouldn’t mind that being the start to my day, I enjoy that kind of stuff and having that bond of turnout and food lady.

I suspect that he will be a little happier out with his buddies more who are on pasture/shed 24/7 and I am less concerned about him gaining weight with the pasture growth pause. I technically have the option to keep him out overnight as well if I wanted, but I’m more reluctant because of my human thoughts about it being dark/cold/windy than anything rational…esp with a fjord haha. He is good in his stall, no vices or anything and I get frequent napping reports :lol: so he seems comfortable, but I also like the concept of a more balanced turnout/stall time being at least 50/50. It certainly seems like the more pasture time the better overall health/stress wise. While inconvenient for me, earlier turnout would also get me up and going in the morning before work. I think I am leaning more towards the extended daytime turnout which would get him those couple extra hours that he’s not getting on the regular schedule. Any other things I should consider? Snowbelt midwest winters here.

[WildGooseChase]

As a barn manager, I wouldn’t want anyone turning out or bringing in off schedule on a daily basis. It messes with mealtimes to a point where it’s not worth it. Depending on when feed is dropped, he may not have enough time to finish his meal, or if he is brought in late, the horses next to him will be out of food sooner than him, which can cause some scuffles too. I had a boarder do this for a while and the horse ended up getting double fed all the time. She supplied her own grain so it didn’t cost us extra, but due to her miscommunication, it cost her quite a bit in grain.

In this particular situation, I would do the over night turnout. I think it’s a much better option to avoid logistics issues, while your horse gets the turnout time he needs. As long as he has adequate shelter, hay and water, he will be just fine. Horses are very hardy, especially Fjords

[candyappy]

Do they have a stall with paddock option? That way he wouldn’t be stall bound for 18 hours a day.

If you are going to be renting a house 3 minutes from the barn then maybe you could arrange to bring him in later on your own each evening. His hay and grain can be put in his stall as normal and he can eat it when you put him in.

Why so few hours out in Winter?

[FjordBCRF]

@WildGooseChase

As a barn manager, I wouldn’t want anyone turning out or bringing in off schedule on a daily basis. It messes with mealtimes to a point where it’s not worth it. Depending on when feed is dropped, he may not have enough time to finish his meal, or if he is brought in late, the horses next to him will be out of food sooner than him, which can cause some scuffles too. I had a boarder do this for a while and the horse ended up getting double fed all the time. She supplied her own grain so it didn’t cost us extra, but due to her miscommunication, it cost her quite a bit in grain.

In this particular situation, I would do the over night turnout. I think it’s a much better option to avoid logistics issues, while your horse gets the turnout time he needs. As long as he has adequate shelter, hay and water, he will be just fine. Horses are very hardy, especially Fjords

I hear that. He’s not on the feeding schedule per say; he’s an easy keeper and its on hay/pasture with Cal Trace mixed with some soaked beet pulp/alfala cubes/flax once a day so that wouldn’t be much of an issue in our case. I have been feeding him myself for the past month with eh Cal Trace as it was tricky to get him to eat it, but were at the place now where I could transition him to having the barn staff do it, but I haven’t yet. With overnight turnout, he is on the opposite schedule of all the other stalled horses in the barn and I wouldn’t want him in during the day when everyone else is out. Overnight would be more like all day turnout which I don’t have a good reason to oppose per say. I could have him brought in in the afternoon with everyone and then just turn him out in the evenings myself. Maybe that would be a better idea.

@candyappy I’m not 100% sure why, I will have to ask. I think because people worry more about blanketing and what not when they are out more vs stalled if I had to guess. Most people ride during the day or early evenings which also will take away from turnout time this time of the year too. His stall does not go out to the pasture, but the pasture he is in has a large 4 walled shed for them to get out of the elements if they choose.

[mmeqcenter]

As a BO, this is not something I would allow as a general rule. It is disruptive to the barn’s schedule. Also, then I’d have to be worried about the days you have something else come up in your schedule and you “can’t” or “forget” to put him out/bring him in yourself, which would make me have to go out of my way to complete either task at a time I would not normally be doing so. I simply don’t offer any “self care” type of options, period.

Perhaps ask if he be switched to pasture board with his buddies for the winter instead? Then, if there’s a concern with him being on grass, switch back to stall board for the summers (if BO will reserve a stall/there’s a stall available).

@candyappy IME likely the schedule change is in effort to complete barn chores before it gets dark. I also change my schedule in the winter, because I don’t like walking horses back and forth from fields/stalls in the dark. In the summer I usually feed dinner around 7-8pm, in the winter I feed it around 4-5pm. I only have eight horses on my farm and five are pasture boarded, so feeding doesn’t take me long at all. I imagine if it’s a 20-30+ stall boarding facility, bringing them all in and feeding and cleaning stalls and such takes a lot longer. Or, a lot of people have (silly) fears of leaving them out in the dark when it’s cold.
Or, they have determined that (or just think that) boarders want their horses conveniently inside in their stall when the horse’s owner come out to ride and it’s really cold out.
Or, they don’t want to deal with blanketing issues.
Whatever the reason, that kind of a winter schedule is super common in many areas. Lack of turnout is literally the #1 reason why I flipping hated boarding in Ohio.

[FjordBCRF]

@mmeqcenter

As a BO, this is not something I would allow as a general rule. It is disruptive to the barn’s schedule. Also, then I’d have to be worried about the days you have something else come up in your schedule and you “can’t” or “forget” to put him out/bring him in yourself, which would make me have to go out of my way to complete either task at a time I would not normally be doing so. I simply don’t offer any “self care” type of options, period.

Perhaps ask if he be switched to pasture board with his buddies for the winter instead? Then, if there’s a concern with him being on grass, switch back to stall board for the summers (if BO will reserve a stall/there’s a stall available).

@candyappy IME likely the schedule change is in effort to complete barn chores before it gets dark. I also change my schedule in the winter, because I don’t like walking horses back and forth from fields/stalls in the dark. In the summer I usually feed dinner around 7-8pm, in the winter I feed it around 4-5pm. I only have eight horses on my farm and five are pasture boarded, so feeding doesn’t take me long at all. I imagine if it’s a 20-30+ stall boarding facility, bringing them all in and feeding and cleaning stalls and such takes a lot longer. Or, a lot of people have (silly) fears of leaving them out in the dark when it’s cold.
Or, they have determined that (or just think that) boarders want their horses conveniently inside in their stall when the horse’s owner come out to ride and it’s really cold out.
Or, they don’t want to deal with blanketing issues.
Whatever the reason, that kind of a winter schedule is super common in many areas. Lack of turnout is literally the #1 reason why I flipping hated boarding in Ohio.

I think you hit all the possibilities with winter schedules in my state! The BM was the one who threw out the overnight turnout as an option since he goes out with the 24/7 turnout group already; bringing him in for the afternoon would be part of their normal routine while overnight turnout would be on me and my call. If for some reason I couldn’t turn him out, there wouldn’t be an expectation for anyone else to do so and he would just go out in the morning and back in for the afternoon per the winter routine when everyone else does. Sometimes he’s not that interested in coming in and the BM will just let him be out until she is done for the day. One day she had to herd him up to the barn with the 4-wheeler…he didn’t get a gold star with her that day :lol:

The only other concern I have is that I don’t know if there is any shed guarding going on and wouldn’t want him to not be let into the shed by the pasture full timers if the weather is especially bad. Ive seen them all in the shed together and it’s not been an issue to date, but I think about that more as in issue with inclement weather.

We got the last stall that was available this year and short of one of the old timers passing, there likely won’t be more openings anytime soon. I know people stop by frequently and inquire about openings so an open stall would get snatched up quickly and I don’t want to give that up that option.

[mmeqcenter]

So with overnight turnout, YOU would turn him out at night, say at 6pm, and he’d stay out until 2pm they next day when the barn brings in all the stalled horses? Since he doesn’t get fed at AM feeding anyway, they’d just leave him where he is? That sounds like a good option if your BO is fine with it. Just have a couple blankets handy, he’ll be fine. If you’ve seen the other horses let him in the shed before, there’s no reason to think some rain would change that.
Or, since you said if you don’t put him out any random evening, they’ll put him out with the rest in the morning, just check the weather and don’t put him out of it’s supposed to rain.

[FjordBCRF]

@mmeqcenter

So with overnight turnout, YOU would turn him out at night, say at 6pm, and he’d stay out until 2pm they next day when the barn brings in all the stalled horses? Since he doesn’t get fed at AM feeding anyway, they’d just leave him where he is? That sounds like a good option if your BO is fine with it. Just have a couple blankets handy, he’ll be fine. If you’ve seen the other horses let him in the shed before, there’s no reason to think some rain would change that.
Or, since you said if you don’t put him out any random evening, they’ll put him out with the rest in the morning, just check the weather and don’t put him out of it’s supposed to rain.

Yes, exactly! I did pick up one of those blanketing systems from Noble as he’s got a bib clip. I wasn’t sure if I’d need it or not but wanted to have something on hand if needed. If nothing else, like you said about watching the weather, he stays in and goes out when everyone else does.

[Conflicted]

@Fjordboycharlie I think you have a good plan with turning him out at night and he comes in the next afternoon with everyone else. This was going to be my suggestion reading your OP.

Edited to add: Also not sure what your walkway to pasture situation is, but some mornings I need to salt the first few yards out of my barn. That would mean either you wouldn’t be able to turnout yourself and your horse would have to wait anyways, you would have to salt, or someone else would have to be there earlier to salt. It never works out as simply as it sounds like it should! I think your current plan is good. No harm no foul if you can’t make it there to turnout.

[FjordBCRF]

@Conflicted There is a paddock between the barn and the shed/pasture; I imagine it has the potential to get icy but not as bad as some of the other routes to the other pastures. Good to keep in mind!

Thanks for the feedback all. Are there any helpful guides out there that help sort out when to blanket based on temperature and how clipped the horse is or rules of thumb? I’ve not yet had a horse I’ve clipped in any capacity so that’s all-new. I think as the weather starts to shift if it’s predicted to rain for more than a couple of hours and the temps are in the 40’s overnight is when they would keep the horses in when they were on overnight turnout anyways. I’ll ask the barn manager but I find this community to be pretty helpful and a little more progressive.

[mmeqcenter]

I generally follow Smartpak’s chart
https://www.smartpakequine.com/content/horse-blanket-guide

A bib clip I would blanket the same as an unclipped horse. But if they’re out and it’s going to rain overnight in the 40s, I put a waterproof sheet (no fill) on even an unclipped horse.

[FjordBCRF]

@mmeqcenter - Perfect!! Thank you. I was thinking that the bib clip as to be close to unclipped. Goodness knows even in the 40’s he gets a sweat started mostly just walking trails pretty easily still (though much better than pre-clip).

[Gamma]

Oh lawd. Your horse will not freeze to death, I promise. Most horses are happyh that someone finally turned the heat down!

The only things I would really watch for are icy conditions, both for the footing and if your horse gets both wet and very cold (like, sleet or freezing rain), and very sudden temperature changes, either warmer or colder (like, 15+ degree change, in Fahrenheit).

If your horse is dry, there is a pretty big range where he will start to look grumpy, shiver, and obviously be cold before actually having any long term negative effects. Like if you go out in the wrong jacket, you may feel miserable in the moment but absolutely fine again once you get warmed up. So if you misjudge the temperature a little, learn from it but no need to panic.

And if the weather does suddenly change or become a problem, you will be right there to adjust.

Get used to feeling his ears and the inside of his hind legs, while the weather is nice and you’ll have a good baseline for hot/warm/chilly/cold.

And keep an eye on his weight, they burn calories staying warm but also running around like idiots enjoying the cold weather. (Some horses enjoy the extra winter calories, some just finally get down to an ideal girth size by staying on the same diet and then turn back into overstuffed bolsters in the spring.)

[DMK]

That smart pack guide is not applicable to fjords!

Maybe knock 20 degrees off, especially since he has the full coat on top…

[FjordBCRF]

@DMK

That smart pack guide is not applicable to fjords!

Maybe knock 20 degrees off, especially since he has the full coat on top…

Perfect! I think his coat is twice as thick as the non fjords haha.

[rubygirl1968]

No, goodness no, don’t go by the smartpak blanket guide! The 30+ thin skinned Arabian would even be a sweaty mess if I went by it. Lol

I wouldn’t put anything on him unless you see that he needs one but he will probably be fine. I think mine is happy it’s finally cooling off here.

[mmeqcenter]

Obviously the Smartpak guide is a guide, not a hard and fast rule. It will vary by horse. My late gelding ran cool and I started blanketing him, unclipped, at 55F. My mare closely follows the recommendations, as do most of my boarders. One boarded gelding runs warm and I wait longer to blanket him.

[achcosuva]

I think blanketing decisions depend greatly on your geographic location and local climate. Someone in Florida would blanket at a much warmer temperature than someone in the Midwest.

In Missouri, we get temps that regularly dip below the chart goes for heavy weight blankets. Even for clipped horses and my mare who hardly grows any coat, I do not blanket as heavily as this chart suggests for unclipped horses. My short haired horses are happy to be blanket free in the 40s. My long haired beasts go without a blanket until the twenties or even teens, and often then only if there’s wind or rain. Also, it makes a difference if it’s early in the season or mid-winter, like people, the horses get acclimated to the cold as the season progresses and need lighter jackets for the same temps.

I have only used a heavy blanket a few times. Notably, during the polar vortex a few years back. The real temp (not wind-chill) didn’t get above 1F for a week.

I’m sure horses in the upper midwest where it gets much colder than here are happy to turnout naked in colder temps than mine.

[mmeqcenter]

@achcosuva

I think blanketing decisions depend greatly on your geographic location and local climate. Someone in Florida would blanket at a much warmer temperature than someone in the Midwest.

In Missouri, we get temps that regularly dip below the chart goes for heavy weight blankets. Even for clipped horses and my mare who hardly grows any coat, I do not blanket as heavily as this chart suggests for unclipped horses. My short haired horses are happy to be blanket free in the 40s. My long haired beasts go without a blanket until the twenties or even teens, and often then only if there’s wind or rain. Also, it makes a difference if it’s early in the season or mid-winter, like people, the horses get acclimated to the cold as the season progresses and need lighter jackets for the same temps.

I have only used a heavy blanket a few times. Notably, during the polar vortex a few years back. The real temp (not wind-chill) didn’t get above 1F for a week.

I’m sure horses in the upper midwest where it gets much colder than here are happy to turnout naked in colder temps than mine.

I follow the same temperature schedule here in Florida as I did in the midwest and have found no reason to alter it. My new location just means I blanket far less than I did in Ohio, as it rarely gets cold enough to. However, people native to here will start blanketing at like 70F, absurd. Then there’s the snowbird neighbor who is from Michigan and will leave a medium-weight on their unclipped horse when it’s 60F out, because it’s what he had on the night before in the 30s. SMH.

Agreed about start of winter vs end of winter.

[SLW]

FWIW, I was given an 18 year old Fjord 6 weeks ago. I gave him a trace clip. Another COTH poster who breeds Fjords suggested that even with a trace clip my guy would probably be fine unblanketed. One week ago we had wind, snow & rain for 3 days, totally nasty. I had to put a turnout blanket on my shivering trace clipped mare. The Fjord never shivered or acted uncomfortable but I had to sit on my hands to keep from going in the trunk to pull out a blanket. ☺️