How Important Is Routine?

I think it depends on the circumstances
If you have them at home and there are not other owners / other horses coming and going from paddocks or being fed close by, then depending on the horse you can do as you please, if they have one feed a day they can have it any time. If they go out it can be for as long as suits provided they have company wherever they are.

Where people say they thrive on routine is more to do with not putting them in an actively stressful position- which does happen on some DIY yards and I know my super greedy horse would be truly devastated if someone else got fed and he didn't. But if that meal didn't come to anyone until an hour or two later than usual he wouldn't be bothered.
 
My horse requires a predictable turnout routine, or she fencewalks/box walks. Letting her work it out, as I've been forced to do at some yards, results in a horse that paces herself into looking like an RSPCA case. Like an alcoholic or a person with OCD, she just won't stop once she goes into that space. And forget a chaotic DIY routine. I keep her on full livery because I can't turn out or bring in myself predictably enough to suit her. The only way to deal with the fencewalking is to run things in a way that makes her feel like she doesn't need to do that, and a regular turnout routine is a big factor.

She doesn't really care when I show up to ride, though.
 
My horses have a fairly set routine - but because I do.
In the winter, they are either out all the time (they are now, because of various life issues that has made me delay bringing them in for the winter) or in every night.
I find it easier on myself if I don't change things - because I can go into the 'stabled auto-pilot routine' or the 'field auto-pilot routine' and don't have to think about it.
Having two horses is much easier - they wait for me at feed time, but they don't have that screaming panic that some do when their buddies are caught and they aren't.
 
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