Help me to decide whether to move yard again!

[HeadFairy]

My poor horse has already moved yards twice this year, first time when the yard went bust. We ended up at a lovely yard but they turned out in a herd with no option to be just in pairs and he was horribly bullied by another horse. Plus they had no grass and he dropped a load of weight and condition (some of that might have been because of the horrendous summer - vet has been and prescribed a vit E supplement which has made a massive difference)

So last month we moved again. The yard is larger, he’s in a small barn of 5 horses but there are about 25 in total. He’s in a pair with another TB and they get on well. He seemed to settle really well, the facilities are great. All was going great guns until it turns out the turnout in winter is far more restricted than we were led to believe. We were told 8-3 in winter. Turns out it’s 8-12 for one half of the horses then they come in and the other half go out 12-3 ish (sometimes can be 3.30 or 4 depending on weather).

We’ve always had year round turnout, with at least 8 hours a day so I’m worried this restricted turnout isn’t good for him. He’s very sensitive to food changes and not having much access to grass worries me. The YO even said she’d stop all weekend turnout if people complained when they missed their turnout because they’d been to a show.

There is a space on a yard nearby. The do at least 8-10 hours out a day, I know because a friend I trust is on there and she does the bring in most days. Obviously yards that have full turnout all winter get muddy, I’m not bothered by that, but my horse had mud fever for the first time last year so I guess that means he’s likely to get it again if he’s in mud a lot. So which is the worst problem, lack of turnout and grazing time or muddy fields and the risk of mud fever again?

sorry it’s so long! Which yard would you choose?

When you say he's in a small barn of 5 horses, do you mean a block of 5 indoor stables or an actual barn, like livestock are housed in? If the latter, I'd probably stay put for winter and see how he copes as he'll still be getting to move and spend time grooming with his chums but without the mud.

If the former, I'd move and invest in gallons of 7 Day Mud Away to try and stop the mud from sticking and reduce the likelihood of him suffering mud fever.

It’s an American barn style thing, with separate stalls for the horses but they can all see each other - he’s definitely happier there, but is it enough to counter the lack of turnout?

If the yard is a business then in all likelihood they have too many horses for the available turnout in winter so it’ll be restricted, they can’t afford to keep going otherwise.
I’d always lean towards more turnout BUT there must be hardstanding available otherwise you’ll probably see the mud fever return.

There isn’t any hard standing in the fields of the other yard. We have had him clipped all the way down his legs, so less for the mud to cling to. I could invest in a ton of pig oil or pig oil adjacent products to stop the mud clinging. I know having mud fever once means they’re more likely to get it, but how much more likely? Is it inevitable?

They have tons of fields, they have winter and summer fields so they can rotate them. Even if the winter fields get trashed they’ll recover over the summer.

I wouldn't want my horse stood in mud all day even if they didn't get mud fever - for one that does it's asking for trouble. You could easily have ongoing really sore infections.

As he seems happy I'd stick with the current yard if the fields are in good nick, and make sure he has ad lib hay in his stable. That will probably mean paying for them to sling another net or two in.

I’d move , even at your current yard with such limited turnout there will be mud as I assume the afternoon horses are turned out in the same field as the morning horses otherwise they may as well be out all day . I’ve owned for about 45 yrs now and mud is a fact of life in the winter and turnout is really important for me

Not inevitable but highly likely even with barrier treatments, the legs need to be able to dry out which is why hard standing/any type of dry surface to stand on is required.
We had some success with feeding forage on mud mats when we didn’t have hardstanding, we also used to regularly change the position the mats and the feeders to try and limit them standing in mud.

I'd move. Turnout is a huge priority for me, and 3 hours a day is not even nearly enough. I'd have mine out 24/7 if he weren't so keen on escaping during the night 🙄😂

I think mud fever is a bacteria that lives in the land. Mine are in a limestone hard standing on at least 12 hours of turnout a day, rotated in summer. I have had muddy bottom legs (not sinking) every winter. Not had mud fever on any of the three yet and coming up to 4 winters. It depends on how muddy you are talking. A little is fine. For context though I have 3 on just over 7 acres and the winter field which is rested the rest of the year is around 2 acres

I don’t think either sound ideal. Your current place sounds good for the summer but I wouldn’t want any horse in really muddy conditions, and I am a huge advocate for turn out.

Have you looked at the potential new yard to see how muddy it is?