[kookicat]

Just curious, really. I have mine at home so I go out at about 11pm to check on them. I've heard of others going out as early as 7 or 8pm or as late as midnight.

What time do you go out?

[Beckham03]

Usually 10:30-11:00 this time of year. In the summer they may still be out, or if it is spring/summer and I don't feed till late (like 9) and I know I am going to feed at 6:30 am, I don't go back out so I can get some sleep. It varies depending on the weather, time of year.

[exvet]

Usually around 11 pm which is the same for us all year round.

ETA: Mine are out 24/7 but in the desert we check water multiple times a day plus it's nothing more than a glorified dry lot (with cactus and palo verde trees, fenced in for their own protection ) so we feed hay 4 times a day which is also done at the 11 pm check.

[katyb]

Mine are out 24/7, and most nights, I don't check them. I see them sometime before dark, but what would I be checking?

[kookicat]

Mine are out 24/7, and most nights, I don't check them. I see them sometime before dark, but what would I be checking?

Mine come in on a night, so I check hay/water/general well being.

[quarterhorse4me]

In the winter I feed around 6:00 and do a night check between 10:00 and 11:00. I make sure their nibble nets are full and my guffle gut has enough hay to make it through most of the cold night.

In the summer it really varies because they are turned out to pasture more and I often feed later. I may skip a check here or there. Summer checks are mostly for my peace of mind.

[S1969]

Mine are out 24/7, and most nights, I don't check them. I see them sometime before dark, but what would I be checking?

Me too. Mine are out 24/7 in either paddock and pasture overnight, or in winter they have access to pasture and stalls all the time. I am home during the day and can watch them throughout the day; but generally do not check on them after last feeding/turnout, whichever is later. After nearly being trampled during a thunderstorm at 2:00am I decided my life was worth more than theirs.

If I have any concerns about a horse, then yes, I do check again. But if everyone ate dinner normally I do not.

[wsmoak]

Around 9pm this time of year. Breakfast is 7-8am, lunch 12-1pm, he gets soaked pellets around sunset and then I go back out to check and give more hay at 9pm.

If you are doing night check at 11pm, do you have someone else feeding breakfast? I need my sleep!

[PNWjumper]

I didn't do night check for the first 9 years we were here. Mine are all out 24/7 and I can see (when the moon is bright enough) and hear all of them from my bedroom window and so the last check was usually when I fed around 6 or 7 at night. For a large part of that time my husband was tossing hay in the morning for me at 4am, so there was a very early check. With kids getting older and both of our jobs changing, though, all feedings/checks are back to me.

Then my big guy colicked this year....twice (thanks to an adverse reaction to daily/maintenance pop rocks/omeprazole) Through all of that I would feed for the last time at 6pm and then go back out at 11 or midnight to check and give him a few treats. I think I've created a monster because now that we're a few months out I've started skipping night checks here and there. My guy is out 24/7 but has access to his stall. He now destroys his stall if I don't come out to check on him at night. Could be random coincidence, but it's pretty darn consistent, and he hasn't ever destroyed his stall (pooping everywhere and then grinding it in circles around the stall) other than the nights I didn't come down. And he's kind of an ass like that and too smart for his own good, so I think he's come to expect treats at midnight and has a mini-tantrum if he doesn't get them.

So my short answer after a long explanation is that I do night check around 11:30 or midnight most nights. And when I don't, I spend an extra 10 minutes cleaning my one stall to clean in the morning. Lucky for him that I think he's worth it!

[exvet]

I do the night checks and feed in the morning. My work is 75 miles one way away from home so I'm up to feed by 4:45 am at the latest (usually 4:30 am). I don't sleep but it's not just because of my schedule in all honesty.

[andylover]

I try to manage night checks based on when I feed dinner which this time of year is around 4:30. Based on that, I usually do night check around 8:30 which is not as late as I would like but all I can manage right now. At that time, I throw more hay and hang out for awhile to make sure they are going after their hay with their normal vigor. I have mine stalled at night right now due to a horse with an injury. Normally they are out 24/7 and if they are out 24/7 I will do a pasture check around 9.
It is so easy to fall into a false sense of security until an incident happens and then we are reminded of why we do night checks. For me I think it is both relaxing for the horses as well as myself to do night check - kind of puts things in prospective as well.

[kookicat]

Around 9pm this time of year. Breakfast is 7-8am, lunch 12-1pm, he gets soaked pellets around sunset and then I go back out to check and give more hay at 9pm.

If you are doing night check at 11pm, do you have someone else feeding breakfast? I need my sleep!

Breakfast is simple- I make the feeds up the night before, and dump them when I first get up (about 6:30). Then I go into the house and do what I need to do, turning them out just before I leave for work.

[horsepoor]

Our night check is between 10 and 11 PM, pretty much year round, except 4th of July and New Years as we have to check on them in the late late night (after midnight) to see how they are fairing with the buffoon blasting around here those nights. I feed hay then (all ready to go, just hang a net for one horse or dump a muck bucket of hay for the other two).

[snbess]

My barn is literally right next to my house. From my bedroom, I can hear if there is any banging or such in the barn. I might peak out the window at them when I go to bed around 8:30pm, but otherwise, they tell me if they need help. I only remember having to go out there twice in 10 years. The last time, my mare was just being pissy and kicking the wall between herself and my gelding. I was annoyed, but glad they were fine.

[SmartAlex]

10:00 pm is bed check

[Texarkana]

I usually check on my horses between 10pm and 11pm and toss extra hay if needed.

[katarine]

No such thing at my house. They are on round bales all the time with a heated water tank with a Hudson valve. At about 5-6 pm they get their small supper so we can eyeball everyone, add/remove blankets (only used in rainy weather) then turned back out. DH will look them over in the AM briefly but no, night check doesn't happen here.

[jump4me]

I only check on my guys for am and pm feed and replenish hay, unless of course one is sick or something and needs attention at some other time. They have 24/7 in/out access, with hay and water available all the time.

Horses at work are the same, left alone from pm feed until am feed unless one needs special attention. Some are in/out 12/12, others are generally out 24/7.

I've never even been in a barn that did night checks!

[Crackerdog]

I don't do night checks either. They are right outside my bedroom so if I hear something I will get up and make sure everything is fine, but that's it.

[Bacardi1]

Depending on when I plan on going to bed, I go out between 9 p.m. & 11 p.m. to do a check & toss some extra night hay.