With Britain’s first team gold medal in the bag since the London Olympics 11 years ago, at the European Dressage Championships, Carl Hester explains why many of his top horses live out.
At the Gloucestershire yard he runs with his team-mate Charlotte Dujardin, elite stars such as En Vogue and Charlotte’s current championship ride Imhotep, spend most of their time out in the field.
“My horse lives outside all night long, with another horse, pretty much all year round – until we are flooded,” says Charlotte.
Why Carl Hester likes his horses to live out
Carl outlines the reasoning behind this system.
“Not everybody is in the situation that we are in to be able to do this with horses,” he says. “I come from an island [Sark] where there are no stables, let alone bridles and saddles, so to me it was totally normal when I came to live [on the mainland] that horses lived normal lives.
“I know it doesn’t suit every horse. Valegro couldn’t live out 24 hours a day because he is too fat, and likes food – he couldn’t be one of those horses. But for some horses like Vogue and Imhotep, the more highly strung horses, it’s a brilliant way of keeping them.
“Grass is natural. People are horrified and I know they don’t believe me sometimes when they come to the yard and see horses in a field, together. I don’t do that with all horses, but I try to take care of that side of things.”
Carl takes responsibility for the risks of turnout, and considers the benefits far outweigh these.
“I’m the one who lives at the property so I hear them doing the Grand National at night, and no-one else has to worry about them galloping round,” he says. “I spend my life hanging out the window wondering if they’re all going to be in one piece in the morning!
“But I’m happy, for us, that they live like that. I know it’s not for everyone. We don’t impose our wishes on everyone else, saying you have to do this, but look what it does for our horses. That’s all I need to say. For me it’s natural and we have results from it and that’s why we do it. It doesn’t suit every horse but for those it does, it’s wonderful.
“And it’s a wonderfully cheap way in the cost-of-living crisis, this is how you keep the costs down!” he jokes.
Imhotep is quite content with his temporary enforced restriction, however, at the European Dressage Championships in Riesenbeck. Groom Francesca Gorni ensures he has plenty of leg stretches and grazing in the cooler mornings and evenings. And he repays that with second place and a team gold medal in the team test.
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