On Thursday, 26 December 2013 19:16:12 UTC-4, Mr. Luddite wrote:
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.


If you want to move south bad enough, you'll just have to come up with a plan to accommodate the horses.
It would be pretty tough for Mrs. E to abandon then at this stage... especially after the family losses.