Yes, really. Check her Instagram.
Good! Maybe her horses will be bought by someone who believes in turnout.
I had a horse on trial some years ago that lived 24/7 in either a stall or a very small, muddy turnout when not being ridden. Nice horse too - five year old TB. I brought him home and turned him out in a 1/4 acre paddock with a run-in and he ran around for a while, happy to be able to stretch his legs. A few days later, I turned him out in the big pasture and he must have run for about 15 straight minutes just going around and around having a ball. He finally came running up to me with the happiest look on his face.
And, when I rode him in a lesson, he was cheerful and happy to do what I asked (or tried) instead of the hot mess I saw when I first came to check him out.
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I worked at a show jumping barn in NY and they got maximum one hour of turnout in very small paddocks. We were instructed to bring in any horse that started to “misbehave “ immediately. The stallions didn’t get turn out, just put in the walker. Always made me sad.
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From Carl Hester’s Instagram (note the caption):
https://www.instagram.com/p/Ceo2NzmKWuE/?hl=en
@GiveEmEl I know someone who got a horse from one such a barn in the city, and sadly that seems pretty typical–the horses were sort of kept stalled or “shelved” for when the owners could dip in and ride during their busy schedules, or for maximum tacking speed (by the grooms) when having lessons.
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Looks like Queensland E has ended up with Lillie Keenan. Should be interesting to watch how the horses change under different programs, now that they seem to have been sold.
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I can understand stepping away from competing or even riding for one reason or another, but I can never quite wrap my mind around giving horses up completely, other than maybe for financial reasons when you truly just can’t afford a horse.
Obviously, it’s her decision (and maybe even in the horses’ best interest, if many of them get to “horse” a little more in their new arrangements) but I don’t get how you can go from having dozens of horses and riding full-time to deciding to sell them all to focus on “fashion and travel.” Why not keep a favorite horse or two, cut back on the competing, and use the extra time and money to also travel and whatever? Why is it all or nothing?
Unless, of course, it wasn’t really about the horses.
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I think, from watching many of her videos, that horses are not an emotional part of her life, if that makes sense. She takes good care of them but there does not seem to be any real love there or attachment. I guess it just depends on how you look at it. Seems from most of her new posts, she is more interested in being photographed and eating in fancy places. The horses will probably be better off in new hands, especially if they get some actual turnout time.
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I have met people who regard a horse much the same as any other piece of sports equipment.
Sad, though.
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Dani’s statement was she wanted to pursue other interests. Reed Kessler did the same thing as have many, many young rich women (and probably men). Competing at that level is pretty time consuming. Lots of travel, hotels, planes, etc. leaving not a lot of time to do other things. Being a professional athlete is physically and emotionally hard. Not to mention that huge financial commitment on someone’s part to even do it. Another one who has changed her direction a bit is Jennifer Gates. Just seems like the normal attrition in sports and life that people make. I will miss the hair style. The Israeli team looks like it’s opening up for newer members with Dani and Teddy Vlock moving on. Interesting to watch.
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I don’t blame her (or Reed, or Nina Ligon, or any of the others that competed at the international level then left horses completely) one bit for wanting a break from the stress of competing at that level … that’s why I’m perfectly happy with being an ammy that competes only when I want to! Leaving the “sport” of riding is one thing, but leaving horses altogether is the part I can’t understand. I can’t imagine not going for a trail ride at the end of a long week, or not at least hearing horses munching hay and feeling velvety noses against my neck.
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Didn’t she just get married too? A lot of people make major life changes around marriage.
While I think not turning out horses at all EVER (or caring for your equine partners as well as you are financially and logistically capable of doing) when you have big, manicured paddocks to spare, is pretty indefensible, I can completely understand stepping away.
I also know people who got out of horses (who actually were excellent horsewomen) and just weren’t interested in the opportunity to say, bomb around on a trail horse on a half-lease to keep their hand in it, it was just all or nothing for them.
I mean, it’s true that the “work” of competing like DW did isn’t nearly as hard as someone running a barn on a budget, or trying to compete while doing a fulltime job, but it can be pressure, and I think the social media-pile on probably got to her, too. Not enough obviously to, you know, change her horsekeeping or learn to do things differently, though, so it’s probably for the best.
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She married a big breeder Alan Waldman, together they have 600 horses.
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Still, being on the road all the time is hard on any marriage, even to another horse person.
I thought she had said they sold the farm and all the horses in Europe?
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I agree with the article, but how reasonable is it to expect the average horse owner access to the type of turnout the article is suggesting? Unless you live somewhere like Montana…
All the barns I’ve been at offer (for extra charge) 30 minute turnouts in a round pen or arena for however many days the owner is willing to pay. Horses are usually turned out by themselves. I ride five days a week so my horse gets turned out twice a week. Some owners don’t pay for any turnout.
Of course a pasture is better, but there’s nothing unusual about 24/7 in a stall.
What I don’t like is the mesh fencing that’s getting popular. At least horses can touch between bars.
Are you in California? The article isn’t specific about the actual size of “big fields,” but at least 8 hours in a 1-2 acre field (typically in a pair/group) is the norm on the East Coast.
Obviously each horse varies, rarely you’ll have one that can only go out alone, or doesn’t do well out for extended periods of time. And horses that spend most of the year stabled at A shows are another matter… but most “average” horse owners don’t have to settle for 30 minutes in an arena as their horse’s sole form of “turnout,” let alone pay extra for it.
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Millions of years of evolution as a herd animal prove that it is highly “unusual” to continuously stall horses for our convenience.
I didn’t own horses in the Bay Area because I felt sorry for them. But even there, you could go a bit further to the coast and find some pasturage. Just fewer fancy showbarns. Maybe metro CA and some more populous areas of FL have little turnout but everywhere else, the norm is at LEAST 8 hours.
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Just because it’s not “unusual” doesn’t mean it’s OK. Can you imagine being stuck in a closet for all but 30 minutes a day? and even then only let out into a slightly larger room all by yourself or, alternatively, only let out to go work for someone for an hour? There’s a reason solitary confinement is used as punishment, and is considered unethical by many.
We should strive to do better for our animals, and not be complacent because “that’s how everyone else does it”. If you know better, do better.
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That sentiment is exactly what’s wrong with modern horse husbandry, especially in the sporthorse world.
No wonder there’s such a market for calming supplements and ulcer medication and intensive veterinary maintenance. We refuse to allow horses to live like horses and wonder why we end up with medical or behavioral issues.
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