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It rained Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday. The horses were in those days, and yesterday as the pastures were fairly flooded. I'm cool with that. But they are out today! Hopefully Miss A. won't have rolled in the mud. She is polite, though, and only rolls on her right side.

PaulaO wrote: She is polite, though, and only rolls on her right side.

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Sweet of her! Mine are pigs and get it even in their ears.

We have a big change of weather coming (again). Today it will be sunny and 70 F. Tomorrow is windy and raining with a high around 50. Emi will be retreating to her digs (and changing her turnout to the warmer day time hours). I love my barn.

Well, Miss A. wasn't so polite. She rolled on both sides.... It was by her ears, above her eyes, in her mane. Bob was grey and didn't show dirt or dust (manure and urine, yes), but chestnuts show dirt. And she's not a huge fan of deep grooming....

At least she is not a gray, PaulO

Paula, I think Bob really was a magic horse. How did he stay clean as a grey? Here in the south chestnuts can just "deepen their glow" with the help of clay soil LOL! The red horses (and even the bays) always look good.

Emi's preferred color is "biscuit"...and sometimes it is "biscuit with red and green highlights." I plan to give her a good bath today after our workout as it may be quite some time before it is warm enough again to find the magical grey mare...

Emmy is extremely clean! Bob was a flea bit grey--I always said he was beige with tan speckles. He hid the dirt well. Mind you, he still rolled and there were times I had to break up the dried mud clumps with my fingers because no curry or shedding blade could do any good. And as I decided, when you have a grey, you have to lower your standards of cleanliness.....

My horses go out rain or shine, blizzard or cold. Horses are creatures of outdoor, not indoor. Fortunately most of my owners know that rolling in the mud and such are signs of happy horses. ( normal rolling of course) though the do seem to appreciate it when sheets and blankets are on, and divert most of the mud off the body,

CHisamba but it is such a PIA to get the caked on red clay off my hairy horses!!

I am lucky I have a couple that are not big mud rollers:) but of course my filly, a buttermilk buckskin is! She takes after her dam and grand dam, both mudders of outrageous proportions!

PaulaO wrote: And as I decided, when you have a grey, you have to lower your standards of cleanliness.....

You are wiser than I am. I'm in the grey club that just works harder to maintain some modicum of the appearance of care. One of the fellow grey owners at my barn told me, "you know at horse trials, you get to meet all of the other grey horse owners because they are all at the wash pit at 5 am!"

After Emi's bath today, she was still a pale soot color. But a lighter shade of soot I call that good--especially since I just didn't have it in me to do another round! For clinics I usually do at least two baths to approach something like whiteness.

Obviously, she is good at bath/spa time or I wouldn't fight it! And of course I know that horses are fine being muddy (but I often find/treat little boo boos with all of the grooming she requires..). But Emi personally disagrees with going out when it is 50 or below and raining. She shivers in those conditions---even with a good sheet or blanket.

The pastures are dry, the horses are put, and today was a high of 39. Miss A. is wearing her sheet.....Everyone who came out today was carrying their horses clothes...

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khall wrote:CHisamba but it is such a PIA to get the caked on red clay off my hairy horses!!

I am lucky I have a couple that are not big mud rollers:) but of course my filly, a buttermilk buckskin is! She takes after her dam and grand dam, both mudders of outrageous proportions!

lol, buttermilk mud ,

My vet came out the other day and he appreciated that my horses were out in bad weather. I He raised the topic, because i do not think much about it, its just something I do, but anyway, he spoke of how many increases in emergency visits he has because people do not turn out in inclement weather, and his opinion agreed with mine, horses are designed to be out, rain or shine. Of course in feral circumstances they move around to find the best sheltered areas, and since we keep them in fenced areas providing shelter is essential, but I the horses go out, rain or shine. Yes most of them have "clothes" sheets, mid weights or heavy weights, because we try to avoid very hairy coats to make drying off after riding less chilling. The inconvenience of a dirty horse is part of being a horse owner

In my opinion keeping horses in increases things like ulcers, stall vices, colic, behavioral issues, and I really hate it when a horse has an unsoundness that requires stall rest, it is so stressful for the poor horse.

Nobody here is saying "keep my horse in so s/he stays clean."

After our worst day so far of the fall (torrential rain and 40), Emi ventures out for exercise on a grey and chilly day (we were the only ones to brave the weather yesterday). She would love living out 24/7 in say Portugal....or maybe Florida! You can see that we don't have very good colors this year in TN. Rains came at the wrong time for the leaves!

Helmet cam or cell phone? Very nice.

Cell phone! I like the ear commentary. By the way, notice that the grey mare is already back to having a biscuit colored neck

PaulaO wrote:Nobody here is saying "keep my horse in so s/he stays clean."

so why are you okay with them staying in?

She said (in the first post) that the horses were in because the pastures were "fairly flooded". It sounds like it's more about land management than the horses. . . . of course it's better for horses to be out as much as possible, but it's not always possible. I can think of lots of boarding situations that have worse things going on than this. . . .

I will say though my horses NEVER go out in T storms here if at all possible. Too dangerous with lightening. I personally have known 9 horses within 15 ming of my farm owned by 2 different people and 3 different occasions get killed by lightening. One lost 4 in one night.

In summer my horses cannot go out in the daytime. Just way too hot here, plus they need time off the grass for my plump ok FAT horses. Sugars are higher during the day. I tend to TO overnight all year round. So horses are in for about 6-8 hours during the day, sometimes like this time of year and once winter hits I will leave out almost 24/7. My horses like their stall time too though and I feel it is necessary for horses to get used to a stall in case of having the need to stable them for medical reasons. Rip's dam Gallie was stalled for 10 months after she foundered June 2015 and she handled it well. She had to grow the entire hoof out to stabilize the hoof capsule before she could go out. Joplin was stabled 2 months as a foal (5 months old) when she had her check ligament cut for club foot. She and her dam did just fine in the stall thankfully. Quite the sensible filly.