To think a lot of horse owners don't deserve their animals?

In winter we have to bring them on by 4. Yo turns them out at 7. Once the mud gets better they'll be out full time

We have 24/7 365 days of the year turnout available. And mine are on their own track and winter paddock, divided by electric fencing.

Currently they are a bunch of mud monsters, but they are very happy about it too. They have a movable field shelter so it can be repositioned and strip graze the middle section of the track/winter paddock currently.

Hell my only concern is that temps are going to reach 12+ by the end of the week so we may have a sudden spurt of grass/lami risk.

Five hours of turnout is pretty pitiful though - I know you say you're there daily for exercise and company but that's still a lot of time stuck in a stable.

Well, some dogs are treated better. There are plenty of lazy and irresponsible dog owners about.

Medical needs and genuine bad weather aside, I think it's cruel to keep horses cooped up in a stable and I think it'll be one of those things we look back on as animal neglect in years to come.

Horses are designed to roam and move and graze - they're not designed to stand in a stall with no means of moving around or socialising.

All the yards around here offer 24/7 turnout and I don't know anyone who keeps their horse in a stable unless medically necessary (or if they're just being kept in for the farrier etc.) And we're in Cumbria so there's no shortage of mud or rain!

This used to drive me crazy on livery.

I would be up at 6am to turn out and bring back in at 4/5pm (only because mine was left alone or it would have been longer!)

The yard owner would complain all the time that the fields were trashed and would regularly stop us putting out. We also weren’t allowed to hay fields so they would just argue, rip rugs and bicker all day. This happened on multiple yards not just one!

As it happens I no longer have horses because I find lots of owning them unethical, unless you have the funds to do as you please.

in some cases the idea of having a horse vs the reality of going out in all harsh weathers twice a day is quite different. Youve got to be completely dedicated to the animal!

Is there not a minimum turn out requirement? Surely less than minimum would be considered neglect or cruelty.

That's so awful OP. YANBU.

Mine are in work, so they come in a couple of hours before it gets dark so I can ride and groom. I am retired and spend several hours a day in the yard so they aren't left alone in a stable. They have ad lib hay. 5 hours winter turnout for a horse in work is plenty. As soon as our ground dries enough in spring they live out.

The yard I'm on turns out whatever the weather, we'll perhaps bring in early if they're stood at the gate looking miserable but they're out every day.
My boy comes in through the day in the summer, keeps him out of the flies and heat and he always has a nice lie down.

Mine come in at night in winter. If it’s really wild weather we have a hard standing turnout and they go out on that all day with hay. In summer we flip it round and bring them in during the day (away from the heat and flies). We may turnout 24/7 for a month or two in spring before the flies start if we get a nice spell.

Completely agree about clipping and rugging. When I was young you only ever had trace clips. And nobody clipped their own. That’s why people only do full clips, they can’t do lines! Most people shouldn’t be allowed near a pair of clippers.

I've never been on a yard where that was the norm & don't know anyone who does keep their horses like that.
Mine are either out 24/7 or in for a few hours in the daytime to dry off & get their feet out of the mud.

YANBU. Where I am the fashion very much seems to be individual turnout and lots of "duvet days " in winter. It makes me so sad to see it. Mine spends his winter looking like some sort of bog dwelling creature but he's happy and relaxed.

YANBU. We were incredibly lucky and managed to buy our own bit of land 2 years ago. When setting up the stables my main concern was that our horses should be able to come and go as they please, so that's what we did! They've got free access to the yard (with 2 big open shelters and loads of hay), but can come and go from the field as they please. I would never, EVER go back to a livery yard if it meant they had to be stabled all the time. Zero excuses for owners who simply can't be bothered to turn them out, poor horses.

I have had horses on three different yards over a 20 year period and they have all had unrestricted turnout so it's pretty common.

Where we are there is masses of good quality year-round turnout and there are unworked natives breeds rugged 24/7, turned out for no more than an hour a day and then given huge feeds full of beet and mix. They are overweight and laminitic and it's heartbreaking to watch.

Lots of people have told them how cruel it is but it falls on deaf ears. I'm sure they think they're being kind to them, despite what people tell them.

Shame there isn't the resource for anyone to regulate livery yards.

YANBU. Horses are designed to be moving.

So stuck in a stable for 19 hours a day?

Mine are now out all year round all day and all night. The field is muddy but I have hard standing for feeding. I’ve got stables I can use but they are natives and hardy. The stable is mainly used for me to pee in 😂

To add I have my own yard on 7 acres and could rent it out everyday of the week . It's only 2 stables / storage barn but around here very few horses have this amount of land per horse .

No YANBU but we ill treat /abuse all animals.

I agree . My area has a lot of concerned Facebook posts about horses living in dire straits and some in paddocks literally under water . The trouble is too many are trying to keep horses on a shoestring budget and these people can't really afford a horse .
To keep a horse in good condition in the tight livery is expensive . It's the cheap purchased horses in rented fields that tend to slip through the net because there's no-one around to keep an eye on them .