The Horse-Pasture or Turnout

Turn-out of horses.... into a well managed horse-pasture or paddock is essential for their mental health. We might think that a pretty barn with little cubicles and horses all tucked away in a row is the ideal setting
But for a horse this is... b o r i n g. Imagine standing there for 22 to 24 hours a day !

When horses are kept in horse-pastures (at grass) they move around slowly for most of the time. They have different things to look at and if they have a companion they can socialize and groom each other. Even at grass the horse does not get enough exercise. Exercise and variety is key to the physical and mental health of a horse. The physical health is something we can learn from a book and our vet. Physical health is directly linked to nutrition and exercise. But what about mental health?

Exercise and variety... are essential for the well being of horses. Even top level horses can be turned out safely with proper management of horse-pastures and the use of good horse-fencing.

For instance, my very spunky stallion Xantel has too much energy to just turnout like most of the other horses. He tends to gallop and buck and play a bit too exhuberantly, for the size of the paddock I have. So I work him first and make sure he has gotten a lot of that energy out. Then I turn him out. Since he is a stallion, I have to make sure that the horse-fencing is high enough and strong enough to contain him and... his energy. With most of his energy used up in working, he quietly walks around his turnout grazing, enjoying the sun and watching all the barn activities. I also make sure to use proper boots for horses that might need them.

I had to be reminded of this once...the hard way....and by one of my own horses: Hassa and Stress