Horses at GEC are turned out approximately 4 hours per day, usually between the hours of 10am and 2pm daily, weather and work force (numbers) permitting. We always consider the welfare of the horses and our workers when we make daily decisions about turnout.

We love having the horses outside! Turnout makes it easier to clean the stalls, keeps the stalls cleaner and the horses love being outside in good weather! However, they don’t especially enjoy horseflies, so we put flysheets on horses whose owners have provided them and we use fly spray, if provided. Horses don’t enjoy excessive humidity and hot sun. They don’t enjoy rainstorms, although a light shower can be fun. Some horses enjoy mud, but it can be dangerous to ligaments and tendons. And, certainly, horses do not belong on ice, under any circumstance. We do not turn out horses on days when threat of thunderstorms is indicated by radar and the forecast. We check radar and the forecast several times daily and use http://www.wunderground.com/US/MI/Wales.html for that purpose. We do not turn out horses during drastic changes of weather (for instance, 90 degrees on one day and 60 degrees on the next) since we have been advised by veterinarians that horses turned out on those days are more prone to episodes of colic.

If you require more turnout than provided by GEC policy, we offer “EXTENDED” turnout for $1 per day per horse and “ALL DAYS” turnout which requires written instructions from your veterinarian and an extra charge of $2 per day per horse. Keep in mind that our workers will NEVER be asked to turn horses out or bring them in on ice or during thunderstorms.