10/10/2025
๐๐๐๐ ๐ฎ ๐ง๐ต๐๐ฟ๐๐ฑ๐ฎ๐ ๐ฒ๐๐ฒ๐ป๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐๐ต๐ผ๐๐ด๐ต๐โฆ
My biggest pet peeve: winter turnout!!
Does your yard offer winter turnout?
And by that, I mean any kindโฆ..??
all weather turnout pens, a small sacrifice paddock, a track system, or even a little grazing โpotโ where your horse can stretch their legs, drop their head, roll, and just breathe.
Because letโs get one thing straight, ๐ซ๐ข๐๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ ๐ก๐จ๐ซ๐ฌ๐ ๐ข๐ง ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐๐ซ๐๐ง๐ ๐ข๐ฌ ๐ง๐จ๐ญ ๐ญ๐ฎ๐ซ๐ง๐จ๐ฎ๐ญ.
Neither is ten minutes standing in a pen while someone sweeps the yard. Thatโs not freedom. Thatโs a token gesture dressed up as โcare.โ
๐ง๐๐ฟ๐ป๐ผ๐๐ ๐ถ๐ ๐บ๐ผ๐๐ฒ๐บ๐ฒ๐ป๐.
๐ง๐๐ฟ๐ป๐ผ๐๐ ๐ถ๐ ๐ป๐ฎ๐๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐น ๐ฏ๐ฒ๐ต๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐๐ฟ.
๐ง๐๐ฟ๐ป๐ผ๐๐ ๐ถ๐ ๐๐ฒ๐น๐ณ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฒ.
If your yard doesnโt provide any form of turnout through the winter, thatโs not a management choice, thatโs neglect. Plain and simple.
To every yard hiding behind โtradition,โ โspace constraints,โ or โitโs too wetโโฆ..enough.
F**k tradition when it comes at the cost of animal welfare.
If you canโt give horses the basics, then reduce your numbers or rethink your setup. ๐๐จ๐ฎ ๐๐จ๐งโ๐ญ ๐ ๐๐ญ ๐ญ๐จ ๐๐๐ฅ๐ฅ ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ๐ฌ๐๐ฅ๐ ๐ โ๐ก๐จ๐ซ๐ฌ๐ ๐ฅ๐จ๐ฏ๐๐ซโ ๐ฐ๐ก๐ข๐ฅ๐ ๐ก๐จ๐ซ๐ฌ๐๐ฌ ๐ฌ๐ฉ๐๐ง๐ 22 ๐ก๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ๐ฌ ๐ ๐๐๐ฒ ๐๐๐ก๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ ๐๐จ๐จ๐ซ, ๐ฌ๐ญ๐๐ซ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐๐ญ ๐ฐ๐๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฌ.
And to the ownersโฆ.yes, you too, if your horse is standing in a box all winter, you have a responsibility to do something about it.
Hand walk before work. Hand graze after. Lunge, long rein, free school.
Make the effort. Because your horseโs sanity depends on it. โ๐ง๐ผ๐ผ ๐ฏ๐๐๐โ ๐ถ๐ ๐ป๐ผ๐ ๐ฎ๐ป ๐ฒ๐
๐ฐ๐๐๐ฒ ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ป ๐ฎ ๐น๐ถ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ฏ๐ฒ๐ถ๐ป๐ดโ๐ ๐๐ฒ๐น๐ณ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐ถ๐ ๐ฎ๐ ๐๐๐ฎ๐ธ๐ฒ.
To the livery yards, welfare is not optional. Itโs not something you offer when the weatherโs nice or when it suits your schedule.
Itโs your duty as a yard owner to provide the basics: movement, space, air, light, and social contact.
๐๐ ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ ๐ฅ๐๐ง๐ ๐๐๐งโ๐ญ ๐ก๐๐ง๐๐ฅ๐ ๐ญ๐ฎ๐ซ๐ง๐จ๐ฎ๐ญ ๐ข๐ง ๐ฐ๐ข๐ง๐ญ๐๐ซ, ๐ญ๐ก๐๐ง ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎโ๐ฏ๐ ๐ ๐จ๐ญ ๐ญ๐จ๐จ ๐ฆ๐๐ง๐ฒ ๐ก๐จ๐ซ๐ฌ๐๐ฌ. ๐๐ง๐ ๐จ๐.
Stop hiding behind excuses and outdated thinking.
Stop normalising cruelty because โthatโs how itโs always been done.โ
Horses arenโt ornaments. They arenโt there to fill boxes and balance books. ๐ง๐ต๐ฒ๐ ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐๐ฒ๐ป๐๐ถ๐ฒ๐ป๐, ๐๐ฒ๐ป๐๐ถ๐๐ถ๐๐ฒ, ๐๐ผ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ฎ๐น ๐ฎ๐ป๐ถ๐บ๐ฎ๐น๐ ๐๐ต๐ผ ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐๐ฒ ๐๐ผ ๐น๐ถ๐๐ฒ ๐๐ถ๐๐ต ๐ฑ๐ถ๐ด๐ป๐ถ๐๐, ๐ป๐ผ๐ ๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ฝ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐ถ๐ป ๐ฏ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฑ๐ผ๐บ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐๐๐ถ๐ณ๐ณ๐ป๐ฒ๐๐.
So yes, this is a Thursday night thought, but itโs also a challenge:
Take a look at your yard. Take a look at your routine.
Ask yourself honestlyโฆโฆdoes your horse actually get to be a horse in winter?
๐๐๐๐๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ ๐ข๐ ๐ง๐จ๐ญ, ๐ฌ๐จ๐ฆ๐๐ญ๐ก๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ง๐๐๐๐ฌ ๐ญ๐จ ๐๐ก๐๐ง๐ ๐. ๐๐จ ๐๐๐ญ๐ญ๐๐ซ. ๐๐ ๐๐ซ๐๐ฏ๐๐ซ. ๐๐ฉ๐๐๐ค ๐ฎ๐ฉ. ๐
๐จ๐ซ ๐ญ๐ก๐๐ฆ. ๐๐ฅ๐ฐ๐๐ฒ๐ฌ. ๐ด
