24/7 Turnout

[HarnessArtist]

For those of you that keep your mini's on 24/7 turnout, what precautions do you take?

I am considering keeping my two mini mares outside to help manage one that has mild heaves. As long as she is outside in the fresh air she has no issues, but begins to cough when brought into the barn, even with all the doors and windows open for airflow.

Since we have coyotes in our area, and the paddock is close to the bush, what precautions would you suggest i take with regards to predators?

Would just the two girls be alright outside? A donkey was suggested to me by a friend as protection...

So, just curious, how do you manage your outdoor mini's?

Thanks!

Michelle

 

[ruffian]

We had a horse that would do that. Turned out he was allergic to the pine bedding. Is it possible that this is your mare's issue? If you put her on just dirt would it make it possible to keep her in at night?

Otherwise I'd suggest woven fence and hot wire. Possibly a guardian dog

 

[HarnessArtist]

The allergy idea has been considered, and all my horses are on pine shavings so that is a definate possibility. After the christmas bills are paid i might have allergy tests run to see what all could be setting her off. I might also try experimenting with different bedding types, as it would be best if i could keep to my current routine of bringing them inside at night. I don't live on the property, so i feel a bit better knowing theyre safe inside.

Last spring i tried using the pelleted pine bedding, and she was a bit better on that (less dust) but it's getting hard to find a steady supply of the pellets right now.

In the summer she was 99% fine , but they were outside longer.

 

[anoki]

Hey Michelle,

there is a pelleted straw bedding available here in Ontario...don't know much about it, but I read about it on another board. Don't know if that would be any help, or if it would be something you'd be interested in...my biggest concern would be it looks like grain, so I'd want to 'try' it before committing to it.

This is EcoStraw

http://www.angelfire.com/on3/TrueColoursFarm/EcoStraw.html

This is about another product called Streufex, distributed by the same place as the site above

http://www.fex.at/

contact the name on the first site about either of these products.

Again, I haven't tried either, so I don't know what they are like (or what price they run), but I thought I'd mention them as an alternative!

~kathryn

 

[HarnessArtist]

Hey Kathryn,

I ordered in some eco straw about 5 weeks ago, put it in the stalls, and they immediately started to eat it....they were consuming it so fast that I removed them from the stalls and pulled out all the bedding. They were even ignoring their hay and supper! One of my little girls came to me with a history of founder, so I don't take any chances when it comes to something like that.

I know some people use peat moss for bedding horses with allergies , and we had some horses bedded that way when i worked on the track, but i've seen it can get a touch dusty at times as well. Not to mention I have pintos and a grey....it's very dirty stuff! LOL

Michelle

 

[ThreeCFarm]

Coyotes usually aren't a problem, any canine problems would be more likely to come from domestic dogs, such as neighbor dogs or those that have been dumped.

 

[End Level Farms]

I have several horses (Full Sized ones) that have had some form of allergy to Barn related stuff.

We bed them on Peat Moss (Bought from home depot for 6 dollars a bale.

This has reduced all of them to no signs of coughing or heaving.

(One was a POA pony gelding who is allergic to mold mildew dust and hay) (YES HAY) And when he is bedded on the Peat he has no issues at all.

I have also worked on the track and several of the race horses that had respiratory issues were also bedded on peat moss with much the same success.

 

[Reble]

Hey Kathryn,
I ordered in some eco straw about 5 weeks ago, put it in the stalls, and they immediately started to eat it....they were consuming it so fast that I removed them from the stalls and pulled out all the bedding. They were even ignoring their hay and supper! One of my little girls came to me with a history of founder, so I don't take any chances when it comes to something like that.

I know some people use peat moss for bedding horses with allergies , and we had some horses bedded that way when i worked on the track, but i've seen it can get a touch dusty at times as well. Not to mention I have pintos and a grey....it's very dirty stuff! LOL

Michelle

How much and how big are the bags?

thanks

 

[Filipowicz Farm]

When straw could not be found for awhile last year and pine bedding we used newspaper. I riped it up in strips and used it in the stall worked well. This might be something you could use for this horse .

 

[Leeana]

My broodmares for the most part live outside 24/7 as well as some colts and other horses who are not doing much, they are fine. We live pretty well out in the country and are enclosed by woods and fields, i've seen coyotes on our back deck in fact, but never have they harmed the horses, we leave lights on outside with hopes it keeps them away. Its just not practical for me to keep them all in the barn.

 

[Bess Kelly]

Consider rubber mats in her stall.....of course, if allergies, the adjacent stalls could provide same exposure unless solid walls which would reduce it, not eliminate it. Outside is best for these who have such issues, in most cases.

The mats would allow you to put a limited amount of the peat moss at the rear of the stall. Mine learned very quickly to use that area for most potty needs....it's pretty amazing.

 

[Margaret]

Mine are out 24/7 . and really do just fine.

We have a covered, up graded 12 X12 area of dirt, in which they can stay dry, and have a wind breaker

on at least one side.

The up-grade of dirt is a "peace of mind investment" in case it rains so much- that they would have otherwise been standing in water.

I keep their feeding containers in this same area just in case.

You just never know when it will decide to rain for days on end,

and this step of preperation has made it tolorable for the horses durring those times,

 

[targetsmom]

Almost all my big horses in over 40 years of horse ownership have been turned out 24/7. I happen to believe that is the way nature intended, and that it is the healthiest for horses. My current big horse has survived 2 colic surgeries that (per the surgeon) left him "nutritionally compromised" after the removal of half his small intestines. I believe he is still alive at age 23 only because he is out 24/7. So some (but not all) of our minis are also out 24/7, although not with the big horse. We have woven wire fencing surrounding the minis, lights on motion sensors, and the big horse usually spends his nights right next door. The minis have a 12X12' stall for protection, plus a huge overhang area, and the barn is pretty near the house. I do hear coyotes in the area, but I am actually more worried about the neighbor's small dog who ran through his invisible fence one day, got into the big horse pasture and bit Target on the nose. I wouldn't leave a small foal out, but the group of mature minis seems to do just fine.

 

[alphahorses]

Pellets or straw work well for my horses with allergies on those rare nights when I need to close them in the barn. Straw has a lot of disadvantages - you have to watch for mold/must, it's harder to clean, causes more bulk in your manure pile, and of course some want to eat it. But if your horse doesn't eat it, and you can find good clean straw - especially straw that is more finely chopped - you can't beat it as far as the health of the horse is concerned.

The advantage of the pellets is that you can sprinkle them with just enough water to keep the dust down, but you don't need to use so much water that your horses get wet when they lay down.

I find foals are more susceptible to these problems. Many seem to outgrow it as they mature.

Good ventilation in your barn also helps.

 

[Shari]

Mine are now out 24/7 even with the predator load we have here.

Have a very tall fence of properly stretched woven field fencing, many strans of heavy duty hot wire on both sides and I have wire under the soil ..under the two outer gates so the Coyotes or wolves can't dig under. Fence is as tall as it is to keep out cougar and bob cat. T-posts are every 7' and camelbacks are every 100'.

outer gate to the main pasture. Only the night pasture is fenced like this and it is about 2 acres. Planning on the next couple of years to start putting this kind of fencing up on the rest of the property.

In this photo the fencing is not quite finished.

 

[HGFarm]

Good grief girl, that fence is 'hog tight and mule high'!!!

Mine are also out 24/7 but they are in the back and their fencing is inside my perimeter fence. They have shade roofs to get under, and during the day my two dogs are on patrol in the back- something would have to get through them to get to the horse's paddocks. They run in the back yard all the way from front to back, but cannot get into the paddocks either.

 

[Marty]

Ok well I am gong to be a stinker.

If you have a paddock located where the coyotes are, there is no way I would allow the horses to be left out there 24-7 and I'd be relocating the paddock. I think that is an accident looking for a place to happen.I would try some of the good advice you have been given for bedding and respiratory meds, but I wouldn't let the horses stay out there knowing they can be in harm's way. Coyotes are sneaky creatures. Here is a link you might be interested in trying

http://www.jefferspet.com/product/breathe-...orses-23953.cfm

Good luck and best wishes to you.

 

[Leeana]

Mine are now out 24/7 even with the predator load we have here.
Have a very tall fence of properly stretched woven field fencing, many strans of heavy duty hot wire on both sides and I have wire under the soil ..under the two outer gates so the Coyotes or wolves can't dig under. Fence is as tall as it is to keep out cougar and bob cat. T-posts are every 7' and camelbacks are every 100'.

outer gate to the main pasture. Only the night pasture is fenced like this and it is about 2 acres. Planning on the next couple of years to start putting this kind of fencing up on the rest of the property.

In this photo the fencing is not quite finished.

Well i think it is safe to say ain't anything getting in or out of that pasture

 

[kaprikorn]

I keep mine out 24/7, also. My stalls(12x12) have doors opening into the runway and on the backside out to the pasture. I keep the back doors open all the time, so they each have a dry, out of the weather place. The barn is on the side of a 4 acre pasture and is fenced with 4 rail wooden fence with woven wire attached to the inside, to the ground and a hot wire at the top. Looks nice from the road, but keeps most unwanted large and small critters out. We do have coyotes in NC, but very rare. The gate also has woven wire covered to the ground.

They each know which is their stall and will go in and wait while I get their feed ready. They all eat about the same speed, so no one gobbling and then chasing out someone else. They also do 99% of the pottying in the pasture so the stalls stay very clean for a long time. They do tend to get together in one particular stall as a group some time, so that one gets cleaned more often( 3 mares and 1 stallion).

They get plenty of exercise as the pasture is rolling, so they have to go up and down hills. They all are spoiled rotten and big lap dogs. First foal due in March, so that girl will have to spend some extra time in her stall soon at night. I do not have fesuce in pasture, so that worry is out.

Love this forum. . .I have learned alot and enjoyed it emensely !!!

Merry Christmas to all and a Safe New Year!

 

[HarnessArtist]

Thank you all for the excellent advice.

As far as the heaves issue is concerned, I have mats ready to go into this girl's stall and will give peatmoss a try once they are down. For now i will continue to water down her pine shavings the way i have been. I water down all of her hay, and she is on a daily respiratory supplement (Alpha Omega's Respifree) which makes a huge difference. As long as all windows and doors are open she does ok. The ventilation in my barn is excellent, the air circulates throughout the entire building. Her coughing attacks are brought on indoors mostly when she rolls in her bedding, or if the horse in the neighbouring stall has been stall walking excessively (stalls cannot be switched around for numerous reasons). I am doing as much as possible to keep this mare comfortable, and work very closely with my vet on the issue (i work for him , and see him daily - he is the one pushing for 24/7 turnout).

I like the idea of a tight weave fence with hotwire, and will probably go this route. They will of course have a large run-in shelter , and their stalls in the barn will always be there for them in bad weather.

Relocating the paddock would not solve anything, the coyotes will always be there.

Thanks for all the suggestions.

Michelle