Considering Welfare for the Stabled Horse and Pony this Winter

With the winter fast approaching, we’ve already seen yard owners and landowners struggling with flooding and persistent rain. The current weather conditions are making it more difficult for yard managers to plan for safe and suitable grazing over the winter months to come.

Many yards save specific grazing fields for certain times of the year. Unforeseen rain and weather can often affect these plans, leaving yard owners and horse owners reconsidering their options when it comes to the provision of turnout and grazing over the winter months. This may lead to making alternative plans which can often, unfortunately, mean prolonged periods of stabling.

Alternative Turnout Options

Many yards are now investing in ‘all weather’ turnout areas knowing that these can offer an attractive incentive for those seeking winter turnout. Some offer turnout in indoor or outdoor arenas, but with changing weather patterns many yards are also adding individual turnout pens to stables, or building dedicated all weather turnout areas to their yards. This is often a small area topped with rubber, sand or woodchip, which allows for continued turnout during wet and muddy weather either on an individual or small herd basis.

Whilst smaller individual pens are great, larger all-weather turnout areas can suit horses better. Larger areas come with the ability for horses to be turned out in pairs or small groups, with plenty of space to roll, play and properly stretch their legs.

Track systems are also becoming increasingly popular, allowing horses the freedom of 24/7 turnout on all-weather tracks. Although many of these have minimal grazing, they do have feed stations and communal areas. Tracks can be a great option for veteran horses or those that are recuperating as it allows constant movement.

Keeping a Routine

For well-being and routine, it’s important to try to offer consistency over the winter. Horses that are turned out daily and then stabled for several consecutive days due to poor weather can find themselves bored, and possibly confused. A lack of routine can lead to behavioural problems such as stable vices, and cause issues when it comes to ridden work due to a build-up of energy.

A consistent routine can be hard at yards that don’t have the ability to offer alternative turnout options, particularly if turnout is revoked at short notice or for considerable lengths of time. The ability to offer horses somewhere, even restricted, to stretch their legs outside of the stable environment at least once a day can do them a world of good mentally and physically.

If horses need to be stabled 24/7, then maintaining a consistent daily routine by visiting the same time each day for feed, forage and replenishing water, can be beneficial to their wellbeing. Ensuring they have human interaction such as being groomed daily is also very important.

Stable Entertainment

For horses who are stabled for prolonged periods, it is important to ensure they stay occupied. Lengthy periods of stabling can lead to boredom and the development of attention-seeking vices, so it’s important to make sure they have activities or breaks in their routine to reduce this.

Stable toys can be a great idea! Treat balls, or even the old-fashioned idea of stringing up a swede or other suitable hard vegetables can keep horses entertained. It’s ideal if the horse can be kept next to others, where they can also observe any low-level activity on the yard, unless this is a trigger for stress and anxiety. Failing that a stable mirror can often give some comfort and ‘companionship’.

Ensuring Exercise

When stabled a lot, it is even more important to make sure an adequate exercise routine is followed for horses that are usually in work. Unless you’re lucky enough to have a suitable riding area for all weathers, this can also prove difficult when the ground is in poor condition, or the weather is unfavourable. Long lining and lunging are both great options for a short but effective workout if riding isn’t an option. 

Older, retired equines can suffer particularly with the inability to stretch their legs, and more so in cold and damp weather. If turnout and exercise really is an impossibility, then those stabled for long periods should at the very least be walked out in hand once or twice a day, if able.

Stable Cleanliness

It’s important for the welfare of the horse to make sure that the stables are kept suitably clean. This will make hoof care, grooming and general management easier. Consider skipping stables out regularly, checking water regularly and perhaps even reducing the bed in the daytime to help the bedding stay cleaner. You should also ensure that feet are still picked out daily and that rugs are still changed regularly. Mucking out, grooming or other stable tasks are the perfect time to give your horse a change of scenery and some interaction.

Rationing Appropriately

It is important to consider the rationing of food and forage when horses are stabled for longer periods than normal. It must be remembered that they will use less energy than they would if they were foraging in a field all day. The same is applied if they are being exercised less due to poor weather. Therefore, it’s important to ensure they are receiving suitably adjusted hard feed, including reducing the calorie and sugar content and providing good quality forage.

In terms of forage, it is important to ensure that they have something to eat for most of the day. Bearing in mind if they are being stabled 24/7 then a haynet morning and evening, which may be devoured quickly, may not suffice. It may be easier to give ad-lib forage- within reason- or to provide multiple smaller nets at more frequent intervals throughout the day, if you can. Smaller holed hay nets can also help reduce waste and slow down eating, as can giving different options for where to eat such as high and low hay nets and even on the floor.  

Managing Your Livery Clients

When it comes to reduced turnout, it is important that yard owners and horse owners communicate effectively. It is important for yard owners to be able to sustain their grazing long term, but also to consider the welfare of equines on their premises. Communication regarding restricted turnout when the weather turns bad should be made as soon as possible, and any contingency plans made clear. Yard owners must also be honest with potential livery clients if they are unable to provide year-round grazing and/or bring in restricted turnout when the ground conditions reduce.

Safeguarding Grazing for the Future

For good winter pasture, it’s important to manage your land year-round, not just over the winter months. If land is poached over the winter this can take years to recover as good quality grazing land. Paddock rotation and the provision of smaller paddocks in the winter can be an idea, if the yard set up and fencing provisions allow. It’s important to take action in particularly muddy or wet areas by fencing off, or in common areas such as gateways or feeding stations, it can be an idea to invest in mud mats or similar ground stabilizing equipment to ensure the areas stay useable.

Feature Photo by Ivan Shi on Unsplash