how do you keep your horses?

I live in southern Ontario, in Canada. I keep my horse on pasture (2 acres per horse) 24/7 with access to a run in, salt licks and water of course. In the winter they get hay. My mare is brought into a stall daily for a pelleted ration. In the summer I keep both a fly sheet and fly mask on her and if she needed a blanket on her in the winter I would put one on. She is currently unshod. In Canada it is very common to keep your horse in a stall with daily turnout, especially because our nights the winter can get quite cold. It is also very common to have indoor arenas here, although it is not a necessity dealing with the elements can be no fun especially went it snows, then rains, and then freezes.

In terms of breeds and disciplines English is very popular in Ontario, but there is also a large number of western riders including myself. As far as breeds go it really depends on the discipline you are riding, In western pleasure Quarter horses, Paints, and Appaloosa's dominate. Same goes for reining, and trail class for the most part. Gaited horses are gaining popularity among trail riders. But if you were to search horse for sale in Ontario alot of Warmbloods, Thoroughbreds, off the track Standardbreds, Draft crosses, Ponies, and Quarter horses would come up.

Lastly, Yes I think there is a wrong way to keep a horse. Not turning out a horse for at least a few hours is bad for their mental health and well being even with plenty of excercise a horse deserves a time to run around like a horse providing they are not injured. But like you stated as long as the horse is happy and healthy, that is all that counts assuming the owners view of a happy and healthy horse is not distorted.

I am in the UK. I run a stud for breeding TBs for jump racing. We also have a few non TBs around,

In the winter all mine come into stables at night. Several reasons.

1) We are on a clay based land so the fields get very wet with all the rain we get and so I try to only use two 3 acre paddocks to save all the ground getting trodden up.

2) Stock does not do well in the wet and will shiver off weight. The older horses could wear rugs (blankets) but the youngsters pull them off each other and they do not keep their legs dry preventing mud fever.

3) My fields are not the best for shelter.

If I had drier land and more natural shelter then I would leave them out 24/7

In the summer I reverse things and if (big if) we do get hot sun and the flies are bad, I will bring them in during the day and out at night.

The horses that are in work all winter horses getting fit for training or ones I have started riding or the hunters, get worked each day and only have a couple of days turn out a week.

Many people think that horses do not like being stabled but mine do! Summer or winter, if I open up their gates then they will come in of their own violation. We did have some hot weather earlier this year and when I went to turn the horses out earlier than normal, (I have it worked out that I can just open their stable doors and they go out in the groups they are together with loose) non would come out of the stables. In the winter often when I turn them out they will have a buck and charge around and then stand at the gate calling to me to let them back inside.

They aren't silly and know where they are most comfortable.

I know that I would rather be inside on a nice deep bed of straw, out of the rain or, inside out of the sun and flies

I do hunter riding and I board.

My horse is stalled overnight, gets 8 hours of turnout on lush grass a day, and gets fed grain and supplements 2x a day, and has unlimited hay while in her stall. She is a thoroughbred who is only stalled because she would be literally skin and bones if kept outside 24/7 and she'd get skin infections.

I think there is absolutely nothing wrong with keeping a horse outside 24 hours a day, if the horse does well like that. If your horse won't get rainrot or loose weight being outside all day, then keep the horse outside all day! As long as they have shelter it's 100% fine.

Now, for horses kept in a stall 24 hours a day... that is typically not a good way to keep a horse. Most of them will go nuts if they don't get some sort of exercise daily. Some of them tolerate it well, and some horses can't leave the stall due to an injury or soemthing... but in general I like a horse to get some daily turnout. It's not necessarily "wrong" but the horses are rarely happy like that.

I know you are supposed to have at least 1/2 an acre per horse, but some people can't do that. I understand that scenario and as long as they get the horse exercise in other ways, it's usually OK. Most horses in California don't get much turnout because land is so expensive there. 5 acres is considered a big farm.

Really the only "wrong" way is keeping the horse in a very muddy paddock (knee-deep mud in the whole thing, not just by the gate), or zero turnout and the horse NEVER leaves its stall. That is just not healthy at all.

I livery my horses at a yard where they live out in the summer and have daily turnout throught the winter. I have a TB, a TBxID (A very common mix here) and an IDx (another common cross). I rug up in winter because I clip, and I feed hard feed. I feed through the summer if needs be (ie if they are in hard work or are underweight for whatever reason). I put fly rugs/masks on as needed and supplement feed where needed but I don't just feed for feeding's sake. I always ride in the school (unless I go for a hack, of course) and I "school" my horses when I ride - ie teach lateral work, encourage them to work in an outline etc. I have my horse's shod if needed, and if not then they go barefoot. I use the tack they need and I hate gadgets. I believe the "wrong" way to keep a horse is to cut corners - be it with feeding, schooling, training, etc. People who just do things for the sake of it.

ADD: By the way, I live in the UK.

I live in Ireland and keep my ponies at home. Mostly they are out 24/7 in the summer, and come in overnight in the winter. I have clay soil and need to look after the land, so when the weather is poor they need to come in. This year though I've acquired a new 25 acre field for the winter so I'll be able to keep a few of them out for the whole year. Most of the ponies are let down over winter but I keep a couple in work and hunt them, so they are fitter over winter than in summer - the ones in work are clipped out, rugged up, and fed. I have an arena but tend not to ride in it myself. I use it for teaching, and it's a good surface for my children to fall on!

In terms of local breed popularity, there are a lot of cobs and hunters around. The Irish Draught is popular obviously, and TB/ID crosses. Also Connemara ponies, and their crosses.

Well I answer your last question first. YES there is a wrong way to keep a horse. A horse should never be shut up in a barn for large chunks of thier lives with little or no turn out. I've heard of horses that were rescued in abuse cases that lived their entire lives inside the barn! But that is extreme. I still think it is wrong to keep a horse stalled. It is unnatural and stressful for a grazing herd animal to be shut in a 12x12 box all the time.

Now for how I keep my horses:

I do have a barn but all of my horses are turned out for 12 + hours per day on pasture. They do come into the barn to have grain/pellets in the evening and in the morning. The older two are in stalls that open to small pastures and can come and go as they please at night. The younger horse is confined in his stall at night. The donkey has a 12x20 foot run attached to his stall. I muck stalls every single morning. Usually only the stall bound horse's stall and the donkey's run needs cleaning the ones that can go outside usually do so unless the weather is nasty. They only have barn access at night, the rest of the time they are all turned out together. I keep them off the main pasture at night to prevent overgrazing and obesity as my horses are all easy keepers. From October through March I supplement the pasture with free choice hay.

I own one registered American Quarter Horse gelding, a 1/2 Arab/Quarter Horse cross mare, and her 7 year old "baby" a Quarter Horse and 1/4 Arab cross gelding and a 38" donkey. I only trail ride my horses and drive my donkey. I live in the south eastern US in the state of Georgia. We have mostly year round riding weather. The summers (July and August mostly) get a little too hot and humid to ride, otherwise I ride all year long. I trail ride exclusively and can go for hours through local farm fields and roads with very little traffic. There are some state parks that offer horse trails where we can ride through forrested trails.

Popular breeds around here are American Quarter Horse, Tennessee Walking Horse & Arabs. Most people I know barrel race, show English and Western Pleasure or trail ride.

if in uk, hay in winter for 4 mths, one horse a 1/3 to a 1/2 small square bale aday depending on size of horse. so say a 1/2 that's 3.5 bales a week x 4 weeks a month roughly at £2.5 a bale that's roughly £14 a month say £20 if weeks longer that month x 4 months £80 hay, then a bag of meal a week for one horse bout £6 again x 4 weeks = £24 x 4mths = £96, if stabled can be expensive saver wintering out with a rug, you you ride alot in winter but if horse has a good coat wont need rug but shelter. to get a good bed at start in stable you will need bout 4-bales shavings and now there up to £8 where i live, but once you get a good bed its just maintain it so 1 -2 bales a week, if you let horse out during the day shavings will dry and you can stretch them more. so shaving roughly all together for them 4 mths winter if stabling bout £160 so saver wintering out can be more if big stable and messy horse and stabling all day. vets well lets hope you dont need them but for vets standard shots, wormer, and farrier a year prob could be £650 upwards or less if not shoeing all year and just trimming feet, also wormers you can get cheaper on line at beeston animal wormers online, great. good luck but horses if you have plenty of ground can cost very little if vet not needed, but if ground not there, lack of grazing ect, that when prices go up.

I am from California, I do all around Rodeo, and some Western Pleasure on the side. I board two of my horses at a ranch I work at. and keep three others at my house.

At the ranch I keep my two, one of them is used for cutting and the other is an all around horse. I also ride other horses there and they are treated just the same my two are. I feed my quarter a flake and some LMF, and I feed my app two scoops of Stable mix and one of LMF, and a tiny bit of Alfalfa.They are kept in the stables, and are each let out in the arena to run and move. All of them are ridden each week, especially in their discipline. Some horses are kept outside in larger free pens, like my quarter. I ride in the arenas, and out in the fields (sometimes), but here at the ranch it is more business like.

At home my 3 horses are kept in stalls at night, but are allowed to go running throughout our closed property all day. They each are not ridden every week, and are all trail horses. I ride all over town on these horses, and throughout the forests. These are my fun horses, my kick back and don't worry horses. I feed each horse a flake at night and flake in the morning, sometimes a bit more if they were worked. They have accessible water, and nice land.

Around here, Rodeo is pretty popular. I rarely hear about English. Western Pleasure is also pretty big, but rodeo rules it out..

As for breeds around here.. Quarter Horses rule. I am the only on at my ranch with a horse that is not a Quarter..

how do you keep your horse? They are usually always turned out in a huge field, but in winter brought to a field with a stable too. They get hay, grass but no feed, and one of our horses over eats the gfrass so has a muzzle :)

what is popular in terms of breeds and disciplines? TB's here and english + jumping, but we have paints and TB's

do you consider there to be a wrong way to keep a horse? No, unless its in a TINY stable, or field with no grass and barely space to canter....like a back garden [small one]

I live in Florida with 2 horses in "pasture board" meaning that they are out 24/7. We have heavy rain in summer so you need to check if the land drains well. In winter its dry and the grass is poor so you need to supplement with rolls or bales of hay. Blanketing does happen in "winter" but mostly only to show horses who have been body clipped. Most horses in Florida are stalled at least some of the day with many of us favoring night turn out in the summer due to the heat. We bed stalls with wood shavings or a pelleted pine product (which I think is better). I noticed in England that they use straw for bedding. Seemed difficult to muck out.