How rc horses are kept

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horselessy

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It it normal for them to be in tied up in stalls?

I was at a particular yard, and they had their horses tied up on concrete only, in two rows, with not much space.

What annoyed me personally is that they had no hay and the particular building was grubby and some of the horses where just stepping in their own poo/wee and getting it up themselves etc?

I'm sure they must get "swept out" but it worries me. I was talking to one of the instructors who said they do a morning and evening lesson. What i gather is that they must be standing there for hours on end.
What do you think?
 
I knew of a riding school that had that set up. Easily 10 ponies tied in individual stalls. Were there all day lived out at night and were just tacked up and dragged out the stalls as often as they were needed! (maybe twice a day :confused:)
If i remember right they were skipped out once or twice a day and then after they were out in field and they did have some hay although not much!
Not nice for the ponies but was a big riding school and i guess only way they could do it, they had a fair few stables but they were taken up by the horses!!
It does happen though!
 
Yes, agree it's not nice for ponies, but is is a buisness i suppose! Tbh even just a little bedding would make it a nicer experince for them since they are in there for a long time!

We might be talking about the same place, was it one in bucks by any chance?
 
There used to be a riding school near Hyde Park wher all the horses were stabled in the ground floor of a building, the boxes were small and it was very dark. Yet they all looked well fed and clean.

The horses at the Royel Mews live in stalls - tied up 24/7 - they can lie down thanks to the good old fashioned log they are tied with. It weights the rope so that they don't get tangled in it.

We used to stall some of the riding school horses during the day - they had water buckets and were fed three times during the day before being turned out after the last lesson.

Though first impressions count a lot before making judgement I look at the way the horses themselves look - are they well fed, clean, sound and curious? If yes the conditions are not affecting them too much. If they are dull and light in condition then they are not being cared for properly - and I've seen many a riding school that has ponies looking like this in paddocks.
 
I think a lot depends on how long the horses are kept like that for... both in terms of their day-to-day schedule (e.g. are they turned out at night? if so they may actauilly get more freedom than horses stabled during the night and turned out in the day) and also any 'holidays' where they are turned away for a few weeks. Plus obviously it is much more suitable for some temperaments than others.

As mentioned looking at how healthy/happy the animals are and how much they enjoy their work is often the best way to tell.
 
I've seen working horses kept like this in a couple of places and they seemed fairly happy. In both the horses mainly lived out and this was where they went between rides to be fed and shelter. They had bedding, hay and company so were reasonably happy.
 
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