According to some of the posts on here...

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Crosshill Pacers

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...my horses should be dead by now! It would appear that for the last 16 years that I've kept horses (and the last 45 that my dad has), we have been doing EVERYTHING wrong!

I'm genuinely surprised they've lived as long as they have...

Just made me think, and I'm not trying to cause a ruck, have people become a bit 'over-protective' (for want of a better word) of their horses?

Friendly discussion please :p
 
This is probably the wrong place to post this, but being a computer numpty I do not know how to start a topic. So everyone out there I do not need to be slagged off today.
All my horses (Stallions) get the best of everything and want for nothing, but I find the more you pamper them the more things go wrong. I see horses over here neglected but can do a day's work no problem.
I had one of my Stallions put down today, a beautiful black Peruvian Paso. Had a new Vet to examine him and came to the conclusion it was internal and that the horse was really suffering. They have just finished burying him.
 
Mine too ST - he should have died in all manner of ways, from severe hypothermia to lack of nutrition, to being hit by a truck/helicopter/cyclist/savaged by a dog, bored to death, overworked, you name it ;)

He sure has a lot of lives does big G!
 
Totally agree with you SarahThomas, makes you wonder how horses ever managed to get through the last 5,000 years, doesn't it? I think the equine "industry" is mostly to blame; how else are they going to sell their rugs/feed/supplements/gadgets/fashionable clothing to all of us if not by creating "needs" for stuff that there isn't actually a need for?
 
I agree. It's good that things are there when needed in certain circumstances, but that's what they should be for only, not as standard. But I do think mine do get the best, not in material possessions or weekly back massages or saddle checks. But because they are treated like horses, & respected as such.
 
I used to think like that. Then I got my TB. He informed me that he's allergic to rain, mud, flies, neoprene and sheepskin. He said he needs at least 4 meals a day, he needs haylage not hay, he needs lots of grass but it can't be rich, cow grass. He can't be expected to be naked if it rains, even in July, as he'll get cold. He needs physio every 3 months and the dentist every 6 months. But don't bother with a saddle fitter, because he cannot possibly be expected to work. That is for lesser creatures, dontchaknow.
 
When I first joined this forum and started reading through the threads I had a genuine feeling of panic - I am clearly clueless when it comes to looking after a horse. Not only am I not doing things that I should be doing, to make things worse I'm doing things I shouldn't be doing as well!

But then I looked at my horses and I thought, 'if I was really doing that badly, why are you guys looking so happy and healthy?!'

I'm not saying that the amount of what I call 'fussing' that some people do over their horses is wrong, but I've found a way of looking after my horses that's right for me and works for them and I don't want to feel guilty about it!
 
SarahThomas said:
...my horses should be dead by now! It would appear that for the last 16 years that I've kept horses (and the last 45 that my dad has), we have been doing EVERYTHING wrong!

I'm genuinely surprised they've lived as long as they have...

Just made me think, and I'm not trying to cause a ruck, have people become a bit 'over-protective' (for want of a better word) of their horses?

Friendly discussion please :p
Click to expand...

I so agree with this. My horse is anything but pampered.... I love him but he is definitely left to be a horse. He gets a rug on if he feels a bit cold, he gets his feet trimmed when they look a bit long, if hes lucky hell get a scoop of feed to stop him banging, I pick his feet out if I remember, I put boots on him if I have bothered to give him enough of a brush so they dont rub :). I freely admit Im probably a terrible mother but hes survived so far and touch wood has never had any issues.

It makes me feel a bit stupid when looking through some of the posts on here as I hardly do any of the things people talk about. To me its quite simple, hes happy, hes healthy so just throw some tack on and go for a ride!!
 
SarahThomas said:
When I first joined this forum and started reading through the threads I had a genuine feeling of panic - I am clearly clueless when it comes to looking after a horse. Not only am I not doing things that I should be doing, to make things worse I'm doing things I shouldn't be doing as well!

But then I looked at my horses and I thought, 'if I was really doing that badly, why are you guys looking so happy and healthy?!'

I'm not saying that the amount of what I call 'fussing' that some people do over their horses is wrong, but I've found a way of looking after my horses that's right for me and works for them and I don't want to feel guilty about it!
Click to expand...

I am moving yards next week and have been gradually worrying more and more about what people will think. Everyone on my current yard is extremely laid back with their horses so thats what i have become used to. So I was beinning to worry i wouldnt be able to cope on my own as I clearly dont know anything about horses after reading through some of these posts. Thankfully the people at my new yard also seem quite laid back, and if all else fails my top tip for horse cuts or grazes is honey and sugar with a bandage over the top, old fashioned but works like a charm!!
 
Great post, I do laugh sometimes about how neurotic people are then they wonder why their HORSES are neurotic!
Keep up the good work you're obviously doing a fine job :D
 
I agree with SarahThomas - when I first came on here I went oh my god I've been doing everything wrong :( but my motley crew are all healthy and happy and that's all that matters to me :)
 
Keeping things simple seems to be the key to healthy horses.

Sugar free diet, ad lib forage, unimproved grazing, and as much exercise as I can manage is my method.

Not confusing them with hamsters also helps!:)
 
I would like to point out I'm not actively trying to bring about my horses' demise! They're fed when they need extra feed (they live out nearly all year round), they come in when it's really rough, they're rugged when they're cold. I groom them regularly because I like spending time with them, and I like them to look clean even if they themselves don't!

They're horses, they run about and buck and squeal and roll and more often than I like, hurt themselves. They get cuts and scratches and this is because they run around having fun and turn on each other sometimes, and not because I keep them in a dangerous field of doom, enclosed by rusty wire netting with huge spikes attached at eye level.

If ever I feel inadequate as a horse owner, all I have to do is look at their stupid mugs and remember I can't be that bad otherwise they wouldn't be stood at the gate waiting for hugs when I get home from work!
 
You might just be lucky. Some people treat their horses like crap and still somehow seem to get away with it. :mad:

Otherwise yeah, if you have your priorities right about care and safety, then a lot of the extra stuff people do is often pointless and sometimes detrimental.
 
I have always thought that one of the great skills a real horseman must master is that of being able to sift through all the advice and information on hand and work out for themselves exactly what they need to do for their own horse at any one moment in time. I believe it is important that we do take note of other peoples experiences and ways of managing their horses, but we should then be able to use that information to make choices for our own horses and above all others we should listen to each of our own horses - they will tell us if we get it right.
 
yup, ours would too....

they get fibre fibre and more fibre, and no cereals.
They live out all summer, with the option of using their stables for shelter if they want (and they choose to spend most of the day in them! :rollseyes:
They live out as much of the winter as we can (minimum 12hours a day, even in the snow!), and live in their turnout rugs when clipped.
I pick out their feet before we ride, and brush of saddle and bridle patches but that's about it except for going hunting/competing
Ron doesn't wear boots, ever. Tom only wears front boots and only because he's got lumps where he's kicked himself!
 
the more natural a life they live, the happier they are. Mine have no stables or shelter, except trees. They are rugged in the worst of winter, 2-3 months of the year. No shoes, little or no hard feed. (Except for mare in foal, foal as needed, or new horse with poor condition). Hay and grass main diet. Trimmed, wormed, and dentist are attended to. All day turnout no yards. live in a herd.

Apart from the fact that it rained for about 6 months (late 2011 to early 2012) straight and they got some abcesses (feet), I almost never need the vet, the last few years especially so. Happy as larry, they are. And not too much big $$$ for me.
 
So what you are saying is that those that choose to stable, rug, trim, groom and shoe our horses all are doing a bad job? My horses are rugged according to the weather, groomed and hood oiled daily, come in at night, trimmed and tidied weekly, have the farrier every six weeks, are never ridden dirty, are fed quality hay and feed and have the best tack I can afford, the fact you imply that unless you keep your horse au natural means you create neurotic horses is totally insulting and ridiculous! My horses are all in perfect condition and are happy to work with me.
maybe charlotte should dragged valegro out of the field the night before the Olympics, scraped a plastic curry through his tail and cracked on, prob would have done far better! Really, why be so judgmental... how you choose to keep your horse is up to you, but don't accuse people of being clueless just because they don't do the same!
 
Well then. No point being on a forum then is there.

Why does it bug you that other people don't treat horses like you do and manage to also have healthy horses? I mean they actually are healthy despite having rugs on.

I just came back from visiting my family in the States. I wish I had my Stepmom's set up. A 2 stall barn with tackeoom and hay storage and out front a huge run in off the barn. But I don't. I rent and the land is crap from actual non stop rain the entire year. There is no shelter in my fields. I don't believe in the toughen up theory. Sorry. I know there are horses that do fine outside with no rugs. Most have run in's, or trees, or shelter of some sort. They don't live in a bog. So what works for those horses in that environment might not work for those horses in my environment. But oh no, much easier to start a slagging thread.

Just think about it. Sometimes it's not just people being soft you know. My horses shake and it's driving rain, yeah I rug up. I don't look at them and say, oh toughen up.

See I know it's my response that's ticked you off the most in the rugging thread because I am the only one who mentioned hypothermia. I've also had 3 horses get sick when I subscribed to the toughen up theory. They'll be fine with hay. They weren't. I just realised I needed more for them than "toughen up". If they don't have a decent enough natural shelter out there then rug them. Not rocket science is it.

Terri
 
charlie76 said:
So what you are saying is that those that choose to stable, rug, trim, groom and shoe our horses all are doing a bad job? My horses are rugged according to the weather, groomed and hood oiled daily, come in at night, trimmed and tidied weekly, have the farrier every six weeks, are never ridden dirty, are fed quality hay and feed and have the best tack I can afford, the fact you imply that unless you keep your horse au natural means you create neurotic horses is totally insulting and ridiculous! My horses are all in perfect condition and are happy to work with me.
maybe charlotte should dragged valegro out of the field the night before the Olympics, scraped a plastic curry through his tail and cracked on, prob would have done far better! Really, why be so judgmental... how you choose to keep your horse is up to you, but don't accuse people of being clueless just because they don't do the same!
Click to expand...

I would love to be one of those horses who always looks amazing but a. I don't have the time to always make him squeaky clean before riding and on a nice day I would rather be out riding than brushing him and b. no matter how hard I try he will always be that horse who's mane never quite goes in the right direction. I tend to have a day where he will be trimmed and bathed etc but as he lives out it is impossible to do it all the time. I don't think either way is right or wrong, like you say each to their own, my horse would just rather to out than in being pampered. :)
 
Thank goodness you posted this. I am incredibly laid back, in most areas of life not just horses... but when i read some posts on here i get so frustrated with peoples very strong opinions of what you should and shouldnt be doing and whats right and wrong, particularly the "if you think that you shouldnt own a horse" kind of cr*p. :)
 
I would like to add, everyone should do what they think best for their horse, not berate anyone for what they decide, rug or no rug etc x
 
Quote ~ Today | 12:23 PM
Moon
I would like to add, everyone should do what they think best for their horse, not berate anyone for what they decide, rug or no rug etc x~ quote

I agree, I certainly didn't mean anything by what I posted, I bet everyone here does a fine job of caring for their horses needs, I just noticed some people can get a little 'crazy' :D
 
One advantage of having kept a horse back in the early 80s is that a lot of stuff just didn't exist then and the horses were fine. So I'm a lot more laid back.

Although it does help to have a pseudoscientific claptrap sensor because the lunatics really have taken over the horsey asylum when it comes to alternative mediciney type suff.

Paula
 
There's no secret to this - just focus on the end point... Whatever you do, is your horse safe, happy, healthy and comfortable being a horse? There you go.
 
charlie76 said:
So what you are saying is that those that choose to stable, rug, trim, groom and shoe our horses all are doing a bad job? My horses are rugged according to the weather, groomed and hood oiled daily, come in at night, trimmed and tidied weekly, have the farrier every six weeks, are never ridden dirty, are fed quality hay and feed and have the best tack I can afford, the fact you imply that unless you keep your horse au natural means you create neurotic horses is totally insulting and ridiculous! My horses are all in perfect condition and are happy to work with me.
maybe charlotte should dragged valegro out of the field the night before the Olympics, scraped a plastic curry through his tail and cracked on, prob would have done far better! Really, why be so judgmental... how you choose to keep your horse is up to you, but don't accuse people of being clueless just because they don't do the same!
Click to expand...

Sorry charlie76 your post did make me laugh, its like you were roaming about in my head :eek: fwiw i agree with you :D
 
I think as far as keeping horses goes - as long as they are happy and healthy there is no right and wrong way. The only thing I don't like is when someone says you are cruel to your horses because you don't do what they do - everyone does things differently its just finding what works for you and your horses :)
 
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