Tying/locking horses in at night?

Lothiriel

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Just wondering how many of you horse owners tie/lock your horses in at night.
Is it necessary?
Anyone leave them free to come in and out as they please?

The farm with the Percherons we've been working with ties them in their open stalls at night. One of our friends ties (or locks) her 3 in; she says to do it to keep the horse from getting pushy/bossy, and thinking they can do as they please.
 

dreamriver

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all of my horses have free access to come and go as they please. The QH & TB are in one pasture and the Percheron stallion in another.

I believe that allowing animals to behave as nature intended for them is best, that includes being able to go in or out as they please. All of mine are super well mannered, extremely healthy. Most research indicates that stalling actually increase vices due to boredom, poor indoor air quality etc and increase in ulcers, other ailments. Most grazing animals were designed to be grazing 18 out of 24 hours this is what is best for the digestion and overall health.

For the most part I believe that a completely honest evaluation of stalling horses is more for the convenience of the owner than for the betterment of the horse.




If interested I think I still have tons of research on this and might be able to find it if you'd like
 

Lothiriel

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Thanks! I think I like the sounds of letting them come and go as they please.

What about a new horse? Do you think it's a good plan to tie it in the first few nights so it gets used to things?

And more research sounds good to me! :)
 

Chirpy

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I agree with dreamriver on this. If you have a safe place for your horses then I would let them have free access to come and go as they please. The only time my horses were ever locked in was during really bad winter storms or hail storms. Even then, my horses had indoor/outdoor stalls so they still had the option of being inside or outside. They rarely stayed in the inside part of the stall except during the worst part of that bad weather.

The only times I saw bad behavior on the part of my horses is when they were forced to be locked in those stall for more than a few days. They'd go stir crazy...
 

dreamriver

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animals see much better in the dark than we do. I personally don't like tying animals unless you are using....ah forgot the name but one of the hooks that will release if a horse put enough pressure on it. Horse have only two options when frightened flight or fight leaving them tied up really creates a conflict if they do get scared, if you are really concerned about them spooking and hurting themselves rather than tying a stall is a nice compromise.

best of luck, i will try to find the research.
 

77Herford

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dreamriver said:
all of my horses have free access to come and go as they please. The QH & TB are in one pasture and the Percheron stallion in another.

I believe that allowing animals to behave as nature intended for them is best, that includes being able to go in or out as they please. All of mine are super well mannered, extremely healthy. Most research indicates that stalling actually increase vices due to boredom, poor indoor air quality etc and increase in ulcers, other ailments. Most grazing animals were designed to be grazing 18 out of 24 hours this is what is best for the digestion and overall health.

For the most part I believe that a completely honest evaluation of stalling horses is more for the convenience of the owner than for the betterment of the horse.




If interested I think I still have tons of research on this and might be able to find it if you'd like
Ditto. Unless I have an injured horse, or a horse I'm working with I don't stall them. If they are stalled I always have hay and water available to them.
 

goodhors

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Wow, guess I am in the minority here. Our horses are stalled half the day, every day. They do
not NEED all that extra food eating all day long, would be obese in short order. Then we would
have all the obese equine problems to deal with.

We stall to keep them handled daily, keeps their training current and WILLING to follow directions
that get asked of them. They are fed a ration in the stalls, always have water in front of them.

Our horses are owned for our enjoyment. This means they MUST be obedient, willing to submit
easily to what we ask of them, in various activities. Ours both ride and drive, get used in many
capacities under saddle, perform at high levels in their Driven work. This means they get worked
often, sometimes every day to keep them in fit condition to manage the hard work they will do.

We have owned horses of all breeds, used for many activities, over too many years to think about.
We have chosen how we manage ours from watching other folks, our past experiences handling
horses. The barn was purposely built so horses MUST be led in and out for pasture turnout. We have
no stalls that open to paddocks, to put themselves outside. This gives horses that "daily laying on of
the hands" needed to keep them civil and wiling to accept that humans ARE in charge.

Stalls are cleaned daily, some are boxes, some are tie/straight stalls. Any of our horses can be put
in any of the stalls, and expected to stay there until we come to put them out. They tie hard and fast
in the stalls or any place I want to leave them. No excuses, they ALL tie well for as long as needed. They
go thru extensive training to know how to manage being tied, have no issues about it. They all get
worked with EVERY day, from birth if they are born here. They ARE ladies and gentlemen about
whatever is asked of them.

What we see with horses left to "think for themselves" is that quite a few, NOT ALL, tend to think
that the HORSE gets to make choices in being obedient!! They are not obedient, not WILLING, to
work with their person when work is needed from horse. Some have gotten downright UGLY about
it. They may lose their training, certainly not much fun to use or work with. Other issues with no
daily handling are owners missing wounds or injuries for a long time, not getting groomed, not knowing
if horse is eating or drinking well. Hairy winter horse who is never touched, could be VERY fat from
constant eating off the round bale, or very thin with long hair covering the bones. Owner gets a big
surprise when that winter hair falls off to find Porky or Bones underneath. Not the sleek, trim ATHLETE
that horse should be. The owners often fail to notice lameness or get hoof care done regularly, because
they just don't remember without seeing hooves daily.

We expect a lot from our horses, so we also give a lot in attention, training, needed handling to keep them
the way we want. The daily stalling has them waiting at the gate to come in. No chasing a horse to
use them. They are not spooky, we can work around all sides, no surprise kicking responses if startled.
They just move over out of MY WAY. They don't get upset with new, weird or STRANGE things that
happen in the barn, barnyard, while they are ridden or hitched up. Training to reach this stage is extensive,
so they can accept such oddities with no reaction. They are lovely to trim with clippers, easy to Vet or
do Farrier work, saddle or harness up.

We do believe the daily handling is the big key. No it isn't always easy to do stalls daily, get horses in or
out while keeping our other commitments on time. Horses here are not on an exact time schedule, they
work around when we can get things done. Morning feed is anywhere from 7A to 10A, while evening feed
is also quite flexible. We think not being rigid is better, they are not excited if someone is early or late. No
stall kicking or wood chewing.

I do think that the food available almost all the time is a huge part of most horses being in the obese catagory.
Our horses gather to stand about, don't go eat for several hours at times. We have had no problems, physical
or behavioural, from times they are stalled and have eaten their food to spend several hours with no food in
front of them. Ours are worked, so we expect to see trim looking, muscular animals. No cresty necks or
fat pads on the croup. They are EXTREMELY easy keepers, so they keep weight on without big feed loads.
We think keeping them "pleasantly plump" or fat is hard on their bodies when you work them. Adds to the
load they have to move at speed, cool off in hot weather, after working hard, fat reduces their body efficiency.

Pasture keeping is easier on the owner, takes a LOT less time. Run-in sheds are getting lots more common,
as are stalls with attached pasture or paddocks, to let horses choose where to hang out. Lots of those owners
don't touch the equine for days or weeks at a time. Food and water are kept full, so horse MUST be fine! Lots fewer people
training horses to do what used to be common, like tying well. Horses are seldom worked daily, or even very
often, so the horse will sometimes resent having the Do-Nothing routine of his days interfered with and behave
badly. His previous training never comes into play, doesn't get reviewed to reinforce what he used to accept
when asked.

Everyone is welcome to their ideas, methods, but we don't seem to have the issues with our horses that other
folks do when we want to use them. Again, our methods do take more time, but we get the rewards too. We
EXPECT our horses to do as requested, put in the time to make it happen. Because we spend a lot of time with
them we do know them pretty well, can spot a problem early, fix an issue before it gets serious. Guess we are
old-fashioned in our expectations from the horses and ourselves, since that is how we were brought up to handle
horses. Had old-fashioned teachers who expected a lot from us and their horses!! Do the job right the first time,
no corner cutting allowed.
 

ThreeBoysChicks

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I would have to say that I can see it both ways.

My horses are on pasture during the day and then in dry lot / barn access at night. During the winter, my girls are on dry lot, mainly to give my pasture a rest period. Especially during the winter, I stall my girls, mainly to eat, becasue one eats like a pig and uses every ounce she eats effectively. My other girl eats much slower and tends to lose weight in the winter. I stall becasue then I know much grain each is getting and can control their weight.

Years ago, when I worked on a race horse farm, they all were stalled part of the day.

I guess it is to each his own.
 

redtailgal

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I sorta ride the fence on this one too.

So much of it is dependent on other things. Some horses will quickly become obese if left on pasture 24/7, many horses today dont get the exercise needed to have this luxury. For instant, the 30 year old that I care for from time to time, he stays way to fat on pasture, and is not physically able to be worked enough to keep his weight correct. He MUST be stalled at night or he gets too fat, ends up with an infected sheath and lame, as well.

I've worked with a trained some champion dressage horses as well, they need to have stall and pasture time rotated for optimal coat and to get sufficient rest as well. Many of these horses need stall time to maintain a proper obedient attitude as well.

I dont mean any disrespect to anyone here just stating my opinion. I think that maintaining a "natural environment" for many of our critters is a novel idea. However, nature did not create Quarter horses, and Thoroughbreds..........people did. Nature also does not provide an animal with a barn or run in so that animal can choose a warm barn over a cold pasture. Horses in a natural setting would not have this barn, nor would they get fat from pasture because their would be no fences restricting their movement.

That said, when I have a healthy, sound horse with the right mind and digestive tract for it, they will spend very little time in their stall. The reason? I dont like to clean stalls.
 

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