On 12/26/2013 5:41 PM, KC wrote:
On 12/26/2013 3:05 PM, Wayne.B wrote:


Keeping the horses in a stall all winter has got to be bad for their
psyche.

Absolutely... They need the security of being able to see the horizon or
the tree line anyway, a place to run to, and leaders/followers...

Our horse has another partner that she bosses around but they are
buddies. When we had to remove our horse from the herd a week or so ago
the other horse just stood at the gate all the time looking for her. The
other horse escaped and went straight to our horse, even though our
horse "beats her up" as it were... The horsed need herds, it's natural
for them, makes them nice horses...



I am not an authority on horses but I've been around them and people who
own and care for them for quite a while. I've listened to many opinions
and heard different of schools of thought regarding what horses "need".
Up here in the north there are more horses kept in stalls in barns
than are left outside all year. In Florida we had a shelter with
stalls. In both cases, the horses are "turned out" for most of the day
in a paddock when they are not being ridden or trained. During the
winter months my wife's horses go out for about half a day unless it's
raining or snowing heavily. After a few hours both of them want to go
back to their stalls during the winter months because the "busy" work of
grazing on nice green grass isn't available. They are very comfortable
and content in the stalls and it's the place where they get their REM
sleep (laying down).

Anyway, from what I've picked up about them, it's important that they
have at least one companion to keep with the herd mentality, but they
don't have to be in a huge group. Some are very content having a goat
or donkey as a "companion".

Everyone has their ideas of what horses need and like. For the most
part all the beliefs seem to work out fine and the horses live to be a
ripe old age.

Dammit.