A Natural Life for your Horse

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are you meeting your horses behavioural needs?

Horses rely on us in all aspects of their lives, as an owner it is our responsibility to meet their physical and behavioural needs in the best way possible. A horses natural behaviours include; foraging for 18 - 20 hours a day, living life in a relatively stable herd environment and movement. A recent study has shown wild horses regularly move over 10 miles a day. We can't recreate the conditions that wild horses encounter but we can do our best to meet the needs of our horses by endeavouring to provide them with as many suitable alternatives as possible. 

There are several systems to keeping horses; group turnout, individual turnout, same sex or mixed group turnout, summer only turnout, group housing, track systems and paddock paradise systems. The list goes on and can get very confusing, there are also limitations on what is available in your area. A big factor for landowners is how these types of horse management systems impact the land that they are kept on. The way the land is managed has a knock on affect to the horses that live on it. Is there winter turnout? Are areas overgrazed? Is there suitable areas for new horse integration? Is there suitable vegetation available? Is it all rye grass or meadow grass? 

Horses are notoriously hard on the land, causing poaching in winter and over grazing can cause souring of the ground which affects the plants that will grow there. Buttercups love acidic soil and can cause buttercup burn and other skin conditions. So choosing the right kind of system for your horse can be a complex mix of factors. 

Some important facts to remember include;

  • Horses need company, they need to be able to mutually groom their friends and they should feel secure in their attachment with their herd. 

  • Horses need to eat, a lot. Restriction of forage can have a negative effect on a horses mental and physical well being. Their digestive systems were designed to have low quality forage available 24/7. Feeding hay ad lib can protect a horse from boredom, frustration and ulcers. If your horse requires a restricted diet due to health issues there are many ways to enrich their environment to help meet their needs. 

  • Horses need to move, if a horses movement is restricted often rebound behaviours are observed when they are allowed freedom again, these are often seen after a period of box rest. Movement is also very important for their physical health.