But this is Now.
With wells, city water & power.
Now it’s Choice, not Necessity.
Same goes for worming protocols & vaccinating.
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You would be surprised at how many people with barns ( keeping livestock) who don’t have electric at their barns or multiple water sources. In many cases the electric is old and providing heated water is dangerous.
Some just don’t have the extra money to upgrade, add water pipes and hydrants etc. Even in our age of convenience. I can only imagine it is less work to lead the drafts to water 3x a day over hanging multiple bucket in every ( too small ) stall where they will be pooped in or ripped off the wall anyways?
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People without the infrastructure, making do with what they have is not my issue.
People who could but don’t is what I questioned.
FWIW: Neighbors also have Hackney Ponies (3 or 4), a mini & a goat that do have water in their stalls.
But they also get very little turnout.
Just my bugbear re: horsekeeping.
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This is common in my area; 3 for 3 barns I’ve been at. If they are on overnight turnout for the summer, in the winter the horses all get switched to daytime turnout for 6ish hours. I asked a local vet tech friend that I boarded with for a while her thoughts and she said she personally wouldn’t be comfortable with much more than 6-8 hours without. Not something they see issues with from a vet perspective with this type of management either.
Not what I would do, but 
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Can you ask them why they don’t provide water for the drafts and why they keep all of the animals locked up? I know it is being a nosy neighbor but…
Already asked.
Water because buckets will get trashed.
Which turnout would eliminate, but…
Turnout limited as fencing is inadequate on the larger part of the acreage for the Drafts, no answer for why they’re not out in the smaller enclosures. For the smaller equines, storm recently took down a section of fencing (facing the road) where I used to see ponies turned out & it’s not been replaced.
Come to think… Maybe not a storm, that’s where they have a track they drive Drafts…
Though I’d think FG would have 'fessed that to me.
Dad & son work, Mom babysits grands (3 under school age) & I imagine she doesn’t want the added responsibility of horses not stalled.
When I worked, I preferred taking the chance & leaving mine out unsupervised from 8A-5P.
Stall cleaning ( which i hope is daily) must be a nightmare! That alone would have me out fixing that fence!!
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I can only imagine… 
I have subtly mentioned that I rarely have to pick a stall with mine out 24/7.
Literally not a single pile in any of 3 stalls.
Rarely a couple outside the stalls in back.
Even today, with the only shady place inside a stall, pony & mini were out, horse was in his stall & a single horse-sized pile just outside pony’s stall when my shoer arrived at noon.
This is pretty normal in the GWN. Turnout hours are shortened as the days shorten and by the time troughs can no longer stay ice free, they’re on short enough turnout that they are turned out without water.
Heated/ice-free water is obviously a concern for horses that live out 24/7. For those that live in, by the time everything freezes up are only getting a few hours (maybe 8 max, maybe) and do just fine. With the colder weather water intake is reduced because they’re not hot - they’re not getting dehydrated on the regular as they would in warmer weather.
It’s funny that many of us (myself included) are gasping at the thought of horses not having constant access to water. But I’m sure the people who do limited water access would come to my farm and gasp at something I do that I consider to be “just the way it is”. It’s a great reminder that there are so many acceptable approaches to animal care.
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All I am going to say on this is, lucky you.
Mine consider their stalls as a liter box.
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State of Maine laws require:
A. Equines shall have unlimited access to clean water to maintain normal hydration
B. Each equine shall have sufficient hay, grain, or other feed to maintain its normal body weight. Additional feed shall be fed to underweight animals to achieve normal weight.
C. The feeding arrangements shall be such that each animal gets its own proper share of food
D. All owners/keepers of equines shall have on hand at all times enough hay and grain to maintain all equines in a healthy condition.
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@Weezer Oh, I know exactly what my neighbors - and a lot of other horsekeepers - would have to say about some of my daily routines:
*Mini has the privilege of coming in the service door, sometimes with me, sometimes ahead or behind me.
Then plunders the stacked bales while I prep grain for all 3.
I tell him “go to your house” < his stall, front gate open, back closed & he goes.
Lately his little ears are pinned as he goes 
I’m going because I want to, not because you told me to!
He just turned 9, Terrible Teens?
- I dispense morning & evening treats.
Mornings I park myself on the bench just outside the barn’s front slider. Horses line up & politely take their treats.
Evenings I feed treats in their stalls, from partly-open stall doors.
Again, mini is in the aisle with me until I send him to his stall for his allotment.
Spoiled much? 
@trubandloki In bad weather, sometimes all 3 share 1 stall. That stall becomes The Men’s Room & I’ll get multiple piles.
But, at least just the 1 stall
@walktrot Good thing neighbors aren’t in ME.
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