Interesting how she thinks her treatment of her horses has nothing to do with her character.
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Yes, the Budweiser horses do get turned out while on tour. I have pictures somewhere of them at the barn across the street from mine (in Wellington) getting temporarily boarded there while down for some big event in Florida and they all were out gallivanting around 
My horses were quite impressed!
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I remember seeing the Budweiser Clydesdales in my hometown as a kid. They stopped at the local show grounds and turned them out in the two grass rings to graze. The locals were allowed to wander through and admire them. It was a really lovely experience. I think I remember them having one out hand grazing with his ribbons in so we could love on him. Or maybe I’m thinking of Busch Gardens which also does turnout for them.
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I’m in the turn out or bust camp for me and my horses. Fortunately I live in an area where turn out in spaces large enough to romp around is the norm and affordable enough for me to secure for my horses.
But should all the people in urban areas be barred from having horses? There are lots of horses living in pens with a few minutes of arena turn out here and there. Should all of those people no longer have a horse?
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please tell me where I defined turnout in post? Oh wait, you can’t because I didn’t. Can turnout be very different depending on where you live, etc. Absolutely. Some places it might be a round pen on sand, some places it might be 100 acres of scrub in cattle fence, some places it might be an hour in an indoor, some places it might be a few acers of grass so lush you need to muzzle.
But if the only thing you can provide is a 12x12 stall- then I would hope you conscience would keep you from doing that
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So a 24x24 pen would be ok but a 12x12 stall with multiple rides/hand walks/swims/hot walker/hand graze/free lunge isn’t?
Interesting.
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Maybe I need more coffee but I’m confused by your response as I was saying it should be called out?
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Well since every one of those things is human directed- no they don’t equate to turnout time. Is a 24 x 24 pen sufficient? meh, not great but better than just a regular stall. Hopefully with something like a small pen or indoor ring turnout, it is being combined with daily exercise and outings.
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Correct, horses should not be forced to live in these areas and situations. Those farms should be moving further out of the city in order to provide adequate facilities, including turnout, or they should not have horses. That’s actually the point. People keep excusing these shitty management practices because they’re necessary to keep horses in certain locations for human convenience, such as having the horses five minutes from their home instead of 45 minutes.
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As a completely irrelevant aside…does anyone else tear up with the beauty of the Budweiser Clydesdales in full hitch? No???Just me???
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I hear you.
I personally think there is no substitute for turnout with a friend or friends. I saw very clearly how my horse was unsettled by individual turnout in a plush paddock with friends all around.
Part of my curiosity stems from the fact that on a previous thread myself and another poster were basically jumped as we suggested a poster’s issues would be resolved by providing her horse turnout.
IMO an hour loose in the ring isn’t sufficient turn out.
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I hear you.
I’m all for turn out. In groups. On as much space as possible and as for as many hours as possible.
Much of my questioning on this thread is related to a previous thread where another poster and I were treated to outrage as we suggested a poster’s issues could be solved with turn out.
Perhaps the tides are changing
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Fabulous. I will let my barn know immediately so they can post a sign indicating that they’re shutting down and everyone has 30 days notice.
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There’s so many threads where I’ve gone to suggest more turnout for whatever issue they’re having, and just deleted my comment, because all the responses will just be “it isn’t possible” “it isn’t necessary” bla bla bla
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I do think everyone at least agrees that if turnout is possible, a horse should get some kind of turnout where they can frolic and goof around without human interference. I have known some horses that took a long time to adjust to turnout, if they ever did. But the option was there, and was tried.
Me personally, I think the problem is the refusal to turn out for any selfish reason. If you have the capability to let your horse out to blow off some steam or relax and you choose not to because it’s inconvenient or risky for you, that’s bad horsemanship to me. It’s fine if it’s not huge rolling pastures, the truth is that we will have less and less access to good horse pastures as everywhere gets more developed. But as long as the effort to give the horse time out every day is made, I’m good with that.
Also re: rodeo riders, yes they do get turned out. Maybe not always out at a rodeo (though I do know several that bring corral pens if allowed), but you can bet that as soon as they are at a place they can go out, those horses are out.
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As others have said, this is a hill I’m willing to die on. Mental health is just as important as physical health for our equine athletes and hand grazing and going on the hot walker are NOT the same as turnout. Obviously horses don’t need 24/7 group turnout in massive pastures (even though that’s probably what they would choose) but even a few hours in a round pen or small grass paddock is better than nothing.
Dani has always rubbed me the wrong way. Between complaining about money, using her feathers and the term g*psy for cultural appropriation, and now this I’m definitely not a fan. She even posted a video about how Lizzymary got hurt from kicking her stall non-stop. No wonder the mare kicks…
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Given how this thread has gone, curious how y’all feel about solo turnout. Horses are herd animals, after all. Would y’all die on this hill too? Turnout HAS to be with another equine?
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I think social interaction is important. However that may be. I prefer to have a fence between my competition horses. Being able to scratch each other and interact between a fence is sufficient socializing IMO.
Retired & young horses? I would turn out together.
My chestnut mare ironically loves other horses. Our two old, retired horses both died last year so now my horse is alone on our farm. We have neighbor horses and she can share a fence with him, but they both go into their separate barns at night. She is fine - in fact she often chooses to go to the farthest part of her pasture & isn’t near the neighbor horse, and other times she won’t leave the fence.
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Don’t all the same arguments that support turnout at ALL (it’s natural, horses need it for mental health, they’re not machines, we should not prioritize “safety” over “happiness”) apply just as much to turnout in GROUPS?
For the record I am both pro turnout and turnout in groups… but it amazes me that people who are ready to throw daggers at someone for not turning out can find ways to justify to themselves solo turnout. BOTH things we do for US not for the horses. Both subjective decisions. Both ones regularly made. The SAME justifications you make for solo turnout (a substitute is good enough, I don’t want a competition horse to get hurt, my horse is just as happy without, my horse is fine with this management) are the SAME JUSTIFICATIONS for not turning out at all.
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I wasn’t going to comment. I’m ready for the vitriol.
Her comment was about her competition horses. Doubling down on what? I have no real frame of reference on it since I can’t/haven’t see it. But I can tell you from doing a circuit this winter in Florida- no way in hell my horse would be turned out in the paddocks there. My trainer’s horse jumped out, mine tried to use his giant triceratops head to break out. So depending on the situation- I am not going to throw stones if I didn’t have the whole story, because he will never go out in a turn out at a show again. Period. Ever. He goes out with me, gets walked, we go far far away if we want to graze so hopefully aren’t around where any horses may have been. Everyone says “there they go on a date again”. I know him like the back of my hand, and he hasn’t suffered in that situation or his current boarding situation (see below).
I have followed her through the spyware on my kid’s phone. Kid follows her on Instagram. I have seen plenty of turn out on videos with her an her farm. Was it a poor choice of words around “competition” horse? I have no clue. Videos of their place have horses in fields, horses turned out on sand rings, paddocks. Horses seem to be able to touch and interact “from what I’ve seen” on videos. No idea IRL.
I don’t like her blanket statement, mine at home lived out all winter while I was in Florida.
My competition horse currently does NOT live at home, because I have an injury. They have limited turnout, juggle turn out. Some apparently hardly get out. They don’t turn out in bad weather, bad footing. I thought - who momma. Poopskie wont’ be liking this. He’s been there since I got home from Florida. He’s doing well. They have their stalls very open. A huge aisle that they can hang their heads out and still get giant farm equipment down- so no biting horses in aisle-, giant stalls, get out in the indoor, ridden blah blah.
Seriously anyone who knew him was said- this isn’t going to go well for him. Who knew?
They have some old horses (24 plus years) still sound, doing lessons etc. So something in their program works for them. It is NOT how I’d keep mine (this same horse went from living out 24/7, to living with me indoors in bad weather, to the show series to this farm). But I watched a really difficult fellow go from basically free range to a less-than-ideal-for-me arrangement and he has thrived.
I can’t wait to get him home, but I saw first hand how just because someone did it much different than I didn’t mean it was all encompassing terrible.
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