How would a German Dressage Comp horse have been kept?

[Gingerwitch]

Posted in NL... but thought I would get more imput from here....

Our latest addition is from Germany - he only came over a short while ago - what would his life have been like ? We have had one ex competition horse before and after about a month he really settled into the relaxed set up we have, but he liked his stable when the weather was a bit off - any tips - any advice - anything i should consider ?

 

[TarrSteps]

Sorry to state the obvious, but it really would depend where he was. He is perhaps slightly more likely to have had restricted turnout and less likely to have hacked in traffic but otherwise, you can't generalise. Anyway, his life now will depend on him and what you can give him. There will always be trial and error and he'll have to tell you what he can cope with and how he needs things to be done.

I would not underestimate how much he might struggle out of the routine he knows, though. Obviously I don't know the specific situation but I have seen people feel they are 'rescuing' a horse from a competition yard and assume it will instantly prefer what they consider to be a more horse friendly life, while the horse does not immediately agree. Is he rugged, stabled and in serious work now?

 

[Gingerwitch]

Yes he is stabled, rugged and in full work, horse walker once a day, turn out in a tiny paddock a couple of times during the day. He certainly is on the Diamond and Platinum livery at the moment - in the main due to the weather - I am just wondering for the summer months - and how to get him adjusted to a bit more freedom.... its difficult to judge currently as none of the horses want to be out in this awful weather.

Its not to do with rescuing him... its about what he may or may not be used to.... and yes i understand its all relative... but doing my best to second guess things is a bit difficult as I cannot be hands on at the mo- due to my broken leg - so far far more anxious than i normally am.

 

[FrodoBeutlin]

Have to agree with TS. Over the years I've had horses on 6 different yards in Germany and all bar one had super turnout (much better than anything they've ever got in England tbh! Think grass in Germany is better ), all bar one had an indoor arena, all of them without exception had super surfaces.

It's absolutely impossible to generalise, if I really had to I would agree that hacking is *usually* not an important part of a competition horse's life on the Continent and that the vast majority of competition yards have indoor arenas so he's *probably* used to more erm...sheltered schooling sessions in winter!

 

[Moment_of_Joy]

Obviously depends on where he was stabled. I would add that he may not be used to travelling in a horse box, most people use trailers over here. Generally most yards do have quite a clear routine as well. This often includes feeding (hard feed and hay, you won't find as much haylage here btw) 3x a day. Especially if he was a competition horse it is likely that he was fed crushed oats 3x a day, quite a lot of horses get them over here if they are in work.
Regarding turn-out it may be the case that he wasn't turned out as much (sometimes at all!). But that really depends on the area that he was in (some have got very limited turn-out) and the owners. Some owners don't like to turn-out their horses at all, others are alright with it. Ours is out 8am-4pm every day, all year, winter only on a paddock though, but most horses on our yard are only out in the morning.
Also agree with FB definitely a lot more indoor schools over here! I've only been to one yard without one, so he might not like to school outdoors in the rain .
In case you want to hack him out we don't tend to do any roadwork, so he may not be used to it and may not be as good in traffic. (Ours only sees traffic when we have to cross a road and is fine with that, but really it's mainly off-road hacking) Just something to bear in mind when you take him for a hack for the first time.
Have fun with him!