Is my horse better off in the field or stable before competition?

Question

I have a competition this weekend and generally, I would clean my horse the day before and keep her in overnight.

However, this is a big show so I need her to be extremely clean so I am considering keeping her in a few days before this time, also because she's a grey and to give her some rest.

My main concern is that she was diagnosed with slight arthiritis in one of her back legs earlier this year and although she is showing no signs of soreness, keeping her in a stable may make her stiff????

Can someone share knowledge/experience please?

Thanks for your help in advance!!

Answer 1

It is my belief that stalling your horse will NOT be the best thing for her.  Her limbs are MORE likely to stiffen up and be sore if she is not allowed to amble around in her pasture.  Also changing her routine just before a competition could lead to colic or other stress related conditions.  Better to keep her routine as normal as possible and just put in the time to get her clean.  Also - been my experience that nobody but you will notice if she is not "perfectly" clean.  A lot of time and elbow grease for no reason if you ask me.  She should, of course, be competition spit polished but going above and beyond is just not necessary.

Answer 2

keep her in the stable until the show. but if you ride her every day of at least walk her around she should be fine.

Answer 3

well your the one who knows your horse best. my horse is only young and goes crazy if i keep her in when all the other horses are out so the next day for the show shes full of energy and doesnt listen to me at all!! so i keep her in the field and get up extra early to bath her the morning of the show. if your horse is fine being kept in and it doesnt effect how she is when you ride her then keep her in!! with the arthiritis thing then if you have the time could you walk her around? like twice a day for a little while just lead her out the stable and walk her around let her graze on some grass while you sit or stand beside her then lead her on some more. it just gives her abit of a walk to stretch and losen up? hope i helped

Answer 4

well i would keep her in a stable so she doesnt get an injury in the field. my ponies get really mucky in the stables, but this might not be the case for you, well one of mine does, and it doesnt help her being a palomino!!! lol

if your horse does get a few stable stains, just clean them with a sponge and cold water.

hope this helps!

Answer 5

I think you should keep your horse in the stable so that she dosent get injured in the field. You should leave her in the feild for a couple of minutes every week. Im not even sure if you should put your horse in the competition because she might get hurt because of the arthifitis.

Answer 6

It's a little known fact, that people and horses both have a "pad" inside the bottom of the feet, which fills with blood, and then, as the animal (or person) walks, the blood is squeezed out, and pushed back up the legs... of course this doesn't mean that if you stand still, you loose blood flow to your legs, but it walking certainly does help speed up the blood flow, and also healing time in the event of a leg injury...

Hence, unless the horse has an injury which is so bad that walking on the leg would actually hurt it, it's usually better to turn the horse out for some gentle walking in the days leading up to the show...

However, this doesn't mean that you can't put her in overnight on the night before the show... (especially if you've spent hours bathing her!!)

a few hours in her stall is not likely to hurt...

And as someone else that has had a grey (and arthritic) horse, I FULLY recommend Cowboy Magic's green spot remover... it's amazing how well it works on those nasty stains that she'll suddenly get a few hours before the show :)

I found it here: http://www.rods.com/p/2428,141_Cowboy-Ma...

But you should be able to order it from your local tack shop :)

Good luck with the horse, the show... and all that cleaning :)

Answer 7

Turn her out! Not only will it be better for her legs, it will be better for her attitude. Keeping her in will only make her anxious and grumpy. And you are correct in thinking that it would be bad for her arthritis.

We show frequently and if time allows, we even turn them out on the day we're leaving for the show. Usually they can't be turned out at the show, so they need all the play time they can get before we go!

Answer 8

leave her in the stable, but take her out daily just for a short time. Just to get her legs moving a bit.

Answer 9

I found that leaving my horse in the stable didn't always keep him cleaner - sometimes he got "p**p stains". Instead I turned him out in the field with a sheet or other light blanket to keep him clean, and i gave him a really good cleaning the day before the show. After I cleaned him I would put him (with the sheet on) in his stall, and I walked him around a few times to stretch his legs. If there were marking I couldn't get out, I covered them with chalk or that horse spray paint (both available at most tack shops). This is allowed in most athletic competitions, however if it is a halter competition then you will have to check the rule book. Good luck at the show!

Answer 10

I know how hard it can be to keep a horse looking spotless for a show. I keep mine in the night before a show and wash them etc the day before like you said. I wash, groom and plait in the evening and get out any stains with horse stain removing sprays (in the uk I use dung away for poo stains) and put stable bandages on overnight to keep beeing/dirt of her socks.She also has a light day rug and zip up hood which keep the rest of her clean. Wake up really early the day of the show incase last minute cleaning is in order. She'll be fine overnight. Good luck at the show!