So it is that time of year, we are all looking at our fields thinking, o gosh it is getting muddy, is it time to bring the horse in over night? Obviously not everyone chooses to or isn’t able to bring their horses in, but for those that do, these are the things that I think about and judge before I make the decision that winter is finally here:
1. The Ground
It might be the most obvious, but it isn’t always at the top of everyone’s list. For me, I look after the field as much as I can through the summer to ensure I have a good amount of long grass that holds the ground together for longer when it gets wet. It prolongs the use of the field, keeps the horses happy as they have forage to eat and keeps them out of the mud. I normally make the call when they are stood in mud or when the frosts start.
I also think about the the amount of grass in the field, sometimes there is a need to bring them in earlier to prolong the life of the field. It is a balance about saving grass for later in the year vs how wet it is, I try to keep them out for as long as I can to save time and money – as we never know how long winter will last for.
2. The temperature
Another is the temperature, if it is still mild (like it is this year) then this isn’t likely to be a deciding factor. By November we would normally have seen quite a few frosts and I would take this into consideration, as I try to limit the amount of time my horses are out on frosty grass. This is due to the increase in sugars in the frozen grass overnight and early morning. My boy is Spanish, so doesn’t do very well on high levels of sugary grass and tends to get pulses, so I have to be a little careful.
The temperature would also be a deciding factor if you clip your horse, whether you rug your horse and how much weight your horse is carrying going into winter.
3. Food availability
How much grass is on the field. If the grass it short, then the ground isn’t going to be holding up very well when it starts to get wet. Making it a muddy bog relatively quickly.
If you have short grass I would expect that you will be bringing your horses in sooner than those that have longer tuftier grass, just due to the amount the ground can stand the horses being on it 24 hours a day once it starts getting wet.
I tend to weigh up the ground at the moment with the horses being out 24hrs when it starts to get wet, vs how long I would like the ground to stay good. The less time they are on a field that is starting to get saturated, the longer the field will last into winter.
4. Evening light
For some people when it starts to get dark or once the clocks change, t is the time to bring the horses in overnight. Depending on where your horses are in relation to your stable block, then taking the light into consideration is really important. Some people have to walk quite a way, some on roads – when the sun in low in the sky and it is getting dark, this can be the worst time of year to be walking your horses down the road, as drivers have limited vision and don’t normally expect horses to be marching down the road. I must add that if you do need to be walking down the road late in the after, please wear some hi-vis and lights. I used to walk mine down a country lane and it would be surprising how many people would be driving too fast down the road straight at us. Wearing hi-vis like this one here can make you more visible and drivers tend to slow down when you are wearing them.
5. Age or health of the horse
Another quite obvious one, if you have an old or injured horse, then you are more likely to bring them in when it starts to get wet and cold outside, as their metabolism isn’t quite what it used to be and they would need a lot more hay and feed to keep weight on. A lot of people already struggle with keeping weight on an elderly horse during the winter, the earlier you bring them in and ensure they have good forage in the stable, the easier it will probably be to keep the weight on.
For 2022 temperature isn’t likely to be a deciding factor, but we have had a lot of rain in the last couple of weeks, for me this week will probably be the week to bring them in. The weather is supposed to be cold, rainy and windy, the field is getting low on grass and it is getting muddy, especially the gate ways. –> so the decision was made to prolong the field for as long as possible.
Do you have any other deciding factors? – – Comments below!