24-hour Turnout for Horses?
Living conditions, from the horse's point of view
If we look carefully at the way we keep our horses, nearly every aspect of their lifestyle in captivity is done the way it's done because it's more convenient or less expensive for the human. Unfortunately, most disease and lameness is caused, directly or indirectly, by the standard boarding situation; so we make up in veterinary costs and in lost riding time, what we try to save in ease of care.
The Domesticated Horse's Origins
Not exactly dry plains... but at least they're turned out!
The horse is a creature of wide-open, dry plains and mountainsides (except for the big-footed breeds of northern Europe, which are adapted to living on marshy land). The horse's natural environment includes extremes of heat and cold. The ground is dry, hard, and often rocky. Rivers or water holes are scarce. The wild horse's food is the dry bunch-grasses of low-rainfall areas, with a variety of herbs and shrubs. Wild horses cover 30 km. or more every day to get food and water.
The horse is exactly designed to survive, and to have a good life, in that environment. Every part of his body, and even the particular social life of the herd, is fashioned for a strenuous life on the dry plains - and he requires such extreme challenges to keep his immune system in peak health. The horse has lived this way successfully for many millions of years, long before human beings existed.
What happens when we confine (stable) our Horses
If I had to choose the single most damaging thing we do in "taking care of" our horses, it would be keeping them stabled overnight. The horse's body and circulation depend on nearly constant movement for best functioning. Horses only sleep for two to four hours daily, and the rest of the day and night they should be walking along nibbling at dried grasses and herbs, with the occasional gallop for fun or to escape predators.
When we prevent the horse from being in their natural state of almost constant movement, a number of bad things happen:
- Circulation throughout the body is reduced, lowering immune response and the capacity for healing wounds
- Muscles, ligaments, and tendons go unused, and joints lack the concussion that irrigates them; do we really want our athletic companions to have reduced toughness of these tissues?
- Digestion is less efficient, setting the stage for colic
- The feet are deprived of circulation and therefore of nutrition, leading to weakening of the white line with gradual loss of pedal bone suspension, flat sole (sore on gravel), and susceptibility to laminitis; hoof growth is slow and low-quality
- Socially, the horse is deprived of the herd's company that makes him feel safe from predators. I believe much of domestic horses' 'spookiness' and underlying anxiety are due to separation from the herd; wild horses are not observed to 'spook'
- Lack of environmental stimulation leads to boredom, "stall or stable vices" and explosive built-up energy when we go to ride the horse
We can set up living conditions - "natural boarding" - for our horses, to promote their health even in captivity. The horse is a masterpiece of living design, and we can sustain them by providing what they need.
24-hour Turnout
24-hour turnout makes a huge difference to the horse. In the wet climate of the UK, there should be a field shelter or free-access stable with well-drained footing to allow the feet and coat to dry out occasionally. Feeding can be arranged to encourage movement even in a rather small paddock: place the hay as far as possible from the water, and spread the hay out as much as space allows. In a small paddock, a light fence or hotwire that nearly divides the space can double the amount of walking between water and hay.
Barefoot horses can be kept in a small herd situation much more safely than shod horses, as there is substantially less potential damage in an unshod kick.
Horses generally feel safer spending the night in the open, where they can see and hear the approach of predators. The stable is like a cave; bears and lions are found in caves...
Other Improvements to the Horse's Lifestyle
Some other improvements we can make to approximate the life of a free-living horse:
-- Hay should be available 24 hours. The horse's stomach is small and empties quickly; they need a small but constant amount of incoming food throughout the day and night - don't ignore those long hours of the night when the horse is awake with nothing to eat. Grass hay is closer to the horse's natural diet than alfalfa or lucerne, half-alfalfa, or half-clover. Grain or pellets (starchy carbohydrates) are unnatural for horses in the amounts we commonly feed, and should only be used for horses in heavy work. For further information on grass and hay, see the website www.safergrass.org.
-- Vitamin, mineral, and trace mineral supplementation is probably necessary, given the depleted condition of agricultural soils. If you can get organically-grown hay; hay or pasture with additional herbs seeded in, or can convince your hay grower to fertilise with seaweed meal, this is helpful.
Preferable to a full daily "dose" of vitamin/mineral mix would be a half-dose, and offer in addition a small amount of daily vegetable chunks. Rutabaga (swedes), turnip, kohlrabi, broccoli, kale are important for the sulphur content, though if overfed can reduce thyroid function. Horses enjoy many other vegetables and peelings, "weeds" such as dandelion and plantain, and occasional fruit; so offer a variety and discover what they like. Offer tree and shrub branches (for the leaves) as a different source of nutrients.
-- Rugging prevents the horse from raising his hair coat to handle gradual changes in temperature. When I stopped rugging my horses, I found they would happily stand out in a blizzard rather than go under cover; cover is used only in a freezing rain, or to escape flies in the summer.
-- Feed and hay should not be given above the height of the withers, and are best eaten at or near ground level where horses normally graze. The jaw is used incorrectly when the head is high, leading to incorrect wear of the teeth and TMJ malfunction. The back is arched when reaching high for hay, reversing your training efforts that the horse learn to raise his back (collection). Hay particles can enter the guttural pouch when eating high; the horse is unable to clear these and can get a chronic cough.
-- Free-living horses move 20 to 30 km daily. Even constant movement in a small paddock doesn't approach this distance. Long rides are good! For barefoot horses, riding on firm ground gives better circulation inside the hoof than arena work on sand or other soft, fluffy footing.
These are some of the ways horse owners have thought of to improve the health and happiness of horses kept in captivity. Some of them will require a good bit of arranging! They are goals we can work toward; and as there is more demand, the "standard" for boarding conditions will change towards a more natural lifestyle for the horse.
[Ed: Don't feel that you have to do everything at once! Every small step we can take towards more natural ways of keeping our horses are beneficial; NAGTrader will be publishing more articles and tips on ways to achieve these goals over time.
If, for example, your horse or pony suffers from rain-scald (also called rain-rot) and will not use a field shelter or if you are unable to provide one, then it is better to use a lightweight turnout rug and turn your horse out, rather than stable it]
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