Horses "need" to go out and about.

[Deleted member 163966]

I'm not talking about turn out here. I'm talking about whether they actually "need" to go out competing, go out to clinics and training sessions and generally get away from their home yard to visit other locations to do things. This is as opposed to them being owned by people who "want" to do these things - which is fine. Would their physical or mental well being suffer if they didn't do these things?

My friend, "Lucy" owns a very nice, warmblood type horse which she competes (dressage) at a very high level. During the summer months, especially, she is out most weekends at some sort of event, be it a competition, or a lesson or training clinic with a very well respected trainer. I have no issue with this at all - I am very glad that she gets such a lot of enjoyment from her horse - but she insists that he "needs" to go out, almost in the same way that he needs to eat or drink water, and would somehow suffer if he didn't. This is as opposed to it just being a case of her enjoying the outings and entering competitions, would be bored if he/they didn't do these things, or the horse would somehow be wasted, or diminished in some way, if he stayed home more or did less.

Caveat - I am a happy hacker horse owner, who is content to be just that. I admire both Lucy's riding ability and her dedication to her dressage.

 

[AWinter]

Erm no of course they don’t need to go on outings.

 

[Goldenstar]

My horse Sky is a right royal pain in the bum if he’s not out and about.
In proper work and going to competitions he’s a very different horse he’s a horse with a busy and clever brain and he needs to use it .
Hacking about is just not enough for him.
I have owned several horses like this over the years tbh I chose them that way .

 

[marmalade76]

Some horses enjoy it, some are indifferent and some seem to get totally fed up with being loaded up and taken out every few days. Some horses probably do need it, I have had a horse that needed constant entertainment - I sold him because I'm too old for that now.

 

[Red-1]

I have one that is happy when switched off, a bit of hacking, turnout, maybe a potter in the school. But, if I want to compete, he needs to be out first. So, arena hires, lessons, clinics and THEN he is happy at competitions.

Many high octane competition horse owners discover that when they retire the horses and they don't have to be ready for anything, they become accustomed to doing nothing. But if they want them to be useful and relaxed in competition, they horses need to be out and about to stay accustomed and relaxed.

 

[ponynutz]

My former child’s pony thrived working at pony club camp fitness level and is thriving in her field doing sweet f all. Horses are horses and I honestly dont think they give a damn unless humans have bred the need to work into them.

 

[sport horse]

My retired competition horses watch for the lorry to return along the lane and then gallop in their field alongside until we reach the driveway. They sometimes whinny when we load others up and leave them at home.

The truth? They get used to their job and they do miss it when they retire. Many competition horses do need to go out regularly as part of their way of life. Horses that do not compete will not miss what they do not do.

 

[Miss_Millie]

The idea of a horse being 'wasted' is just there to stroke the human ego.

What a horse does need at a base level is socialisation with other equines, room to roam, and a species-appropriate diet. A horse's life CAN be enriched by human interaction, including riding. They can also be massively hindered by human ideas of what some people think horses need, when really they are just projecting their 'wants' onto the horse.

Horses did not evolve for us to sit on their backs, they are conditioned to be ridden and would be happy not to be ridden at all, let alone competed. Competition horses can suffer a lot of stress from heavy training schedules and big expectations from their riders. They can also suffer frequent injury due to the strenuous work that is demanded of them. Dressage horses in particular, often have lameness issues due to the repetitive movements they are required to do.

This may trigger some people, but the higher someone's competitive ambitions become, the more likely they are to view their horse as sports equipment and less as a sentient animal. E.g. some competition yards have very limited or individual turnout to prevent injury, when horses benefit from being able to move and socialise in herds.

I'm not actually strictly anti-competition, but I have seen the welfare of so many horses compromised in competitive environments, that I think the bad often outweighs the good.

 

[Barton Bounty]

I don’t think so, I too am a happy hacker and I know for a fact that it would fry my boys brain being around so much stuff going on.

 

[blitznbobs]

Some horses need to go out and about a lot if you want them to be settled in a competition environment - some dont and some owners have no desire to compete so it’s unnecessary I doubt any horse is thinking in its stable/ field ‘i need to go to a clinic’though

 

[Ample Prosecco]

'Lucy' is not saying the horse would be wasted. She says the horse needs regular outings. I assume she means 'to stay sane in work or out competing'. And Amber did too. She has loved retirement but it had to be all or nothing with her. She was out regularly or retired. She could never have been a happy hacker. Or a 'ride every so often' horse.

 

[SatansLittleHelper]

Like people, I think some horses just need to be busy ?‍ I don't think horses necessarily "need" to go out to competitions etc but they do need to have their minds occupied...going out is a good way to do yhat.

 

[paddi22]

depeneds on the horse personality. i have 3 that would happily load and drive themselves to shows, clinics and events if they could. the feeling I got off them was that if they were people they would be the ones going to nightclubs and parties. they seem to love the change in environment, the stimulation and the challenge.

I've had ones before that really found it too stressful and overwhelming and would have been much happier hacking and never going far. but there are definitely horses that love the change in environment and they get flat, bored and under stimulated being in the yard all the time.

 

[Gloi]

They don't need to do anything but live in a field with their mates.
If you want to sell them one day they will get a better price if they have been doing things out and about successfully.
The horse doesn't have a need to do it though.

 

[cauda equina]

Obesity aside, I expect more damage (mental and physical) is done to horses by their doing too much than too little

 

[Gloi]

Obesity aside, I expect more damage (mental and physical) is done to horses by their doing too much than too little

I often steward at competitions and quite a lot of the horses look like they wished they were someplace else.

 

[Goldenstar]

Obesity aside, I expect more damage (mental and physical) is done to horses by their doing too much than too little

Yes but You can’t put obesity to one side because it’s the single biggest welfare issue horses face .

But OP is really probing temperaments and how the the individual horses mental make up drives what it likes to be doing .
Some horses just have that extra something, in a herd these would be the ones who found new food and water sources , went to new places .
I can just see Sky in that role .
He gets bored he likes jumping he likes different places he loves the truck even a trip the vets is entertaining.
He would be hopeless on a livery yard stuck in a small paddock on his own .

 

[Goldenstar]

I often steward at competitions and quite a lot of the horses look like they wished they were someplace else.

That may well be so but not all of them lots of horses love shows Sky likes a dressage competition and he’s one of those horses who performs best at a show and at a strange place .

 

[sakura]

Horses don’t “need” to work, all they need to do is be horses.

 

[paddi22]

Is there a difference between the attitude of competition horses vs leisure ones though?

my eventers really enjoy being out somewhere new jumping. i can see in the photos their expressions are relaxed and happy and that they are enjoying themselves. they compete at a level they are comfortable at and are never over faced. they just feel like they enjoy the challenge and being athletic and brave.


Is it the same as people in some way? people don't need to run or cycle ten miles a day, but some people love it?

 

[SEL]

I took over the ride on a retired showjumper many years ago (retired from jumping but OK with other stuff).

He was more than happy with this life but our yard used to hold occasional low-level competitions and he would really come alive. Nothing nasty or silly but he just felt 10x the horse he was on other days. I took him in a prelim dressage competition at the yard and he was incredible - absolutely nothing to do with my schooling and everything to do with him putting on a performance. He always looked so disappointed that he couldn't join in the jumping.

But I've seen others who do just look miserable or in the case of my Appy her head couldn't handle busy lorry parks, let alone the warm up areas. Her injuries called time on even my low level aspirations but I'm not sure I'd have ever got her relaxed enough to find going out and about anything other than horribly stressful.

 

[Squeak]

Agree Paddi, that its the same as people. Some are very happy out doing huge amounts of exercise and activities and others would rather not.

I've also found that a lot of horses will be very happy living in a field or happy hacking but also that they'll enjoy going out and about. There's nothing wrong with either lifestyle for a horse as long as it is happy with the one it has. I've certainly had one or two horses that were the same as AE & GS are describing. They could be retired and doing nothing or they had to be out and busy most weekends.

 

[eahotson]

To be honest I think its what they get used to.I want my little young mare to get out and about a bit, albeit at a low level simply because I am old and if I want to sell her at some stage I will stand a better chance of getting her a good home if she has been out and about and knows how to behave.She couldn't care less.

 

[stormox]

I think horses "need" to go out to places, especially when young, to prepare them for any life they may have in the future.
I also think it's bordering on cruel to go in an arena every day. Get them out hacking at the very least.

 

[palo1]

It's an interesting question and not as simple as some folks think i reckon. We have feral hill ponies whose lifestyle is about as natural as you will find here in the UK and we have domestic horses that are managed sympathetically but still with much more input than the hill ponies. Competition bred horses often do seem to need more than what we can sometimes provide for them in a low-intensity life, especially if that includes limited turnout in both acreage and variety. These horses are bred differently to hill ponies too after all; they are not primitive horses but those bred for physical and mental exertion. For me, having seen the management and lack of enrichment for horses on many ordinary livery yards, I do think that more can be done for these intelligent, curious animals. A skill a horse has learnt sympathetically, whether that be loading, competing etc is mentally 'comfortable' and enables their lives, potentially to be enriched mentally and physically. I think that potential can be lost in arguments about 'sport' tbh. I loathe seeing really quite nice horses kept in the same paddocks for years, doing very little; when you realise what a feral horse gets up to, and how rich their lives are, it can make the lives of domesticated horses look dreary, repetitive, physically and mentally stagnant, to say the least. Overtraining can be an issue but obesity and total lack of appropriate stimulation are real issues too. I feel I 'owe' my horses the chance to 'do more' than just be pets in honesty as the way I keep domestic horses doesn't feel 'enough' in comparison to their feral friends. It is a thought provoking subject...

 

[millikins]

I think horses are a nomadic species so most cope well with new places, situations if they are confident. My dogs though I believe would all have happily done the same walk every day of their lives possibly since their wolf ancestors would have a territory to patrol. We go to different places more for my benefit.

 

[Ratface]

Back in the day, Old Horse was a successful Grade B showjumper. When I bought him, he'd sustained an injury and needed resting for quite a while. After box rest, he was turned out with some quiet horses and continued his recovery. He came sound enough for long distance hacking, low-level local cross- country jumping and yard level show jumping. However, whenever he saw show jumps he hotted up to such an extent that he became unmanageable without tie down gadgets. I disagree with these, as I'm only a leisure rider, so we stopped doing it.
Now, just the sight of show jumps produces a growth of a least three hands, accompanied by jig jogging, snorting and head tossing. Thus, I try to avoid all show jumps, any day, any time, anywhere!

 

[eahotson]

It's an interesting question and not as simple as some folks think i reckon. We have feral hill ponies whose lifestyle is about as natural as you will find here in the UK and we have domestic horses that are managed sympathetically but still with much more input than the hill ponies. Competition bred horses often do seem to need more than what we can sometimes provide for them in a low-intensity life, especially if that includes limited turnout in both acreage and variety. These horses are bred differently to hill ponies too after all; they are not primitive horses but those bred for physical and mental exertion. For me, having seen the management and lack of enrichment for horses on many ordinary livery yards, I do think that more can be done for these intelligent, curious animals. A skill a horse has learnt sympathetically, whether that be loading, competing etc is mentally 'comfortable' and enables their lives, potentially to be enriched mentally and physically. I think that potential can be lost in arguments about 'sport' tbh. I loathe seeing really quite nice horses kept in the same paddocks for years, doing very little; when you realise what a feral horse gets up to, and how rich their lives are, it can make the lives of domesticated horses look dreary, repetitive, physically and mentally stagnant, to say the least. Overtraining can be an issue but obesity and total lack of appropriate stimulation are real issues too. I feel I 'owe' my horses the chance to 'do more' than just be pets in honesty as the way I keep domestic horses doesn't feel 'enough' in comparison to their feral friends. It is a thought provoking subject...

It is certainly thought provoking.

 

[Goldenstar]

Horses don’t “need” to work, all they need to do is be horses.

To be healthy horses need to move and the small fields most of us keep horses in are just too small .
We turn horse into the equine equivalent of couch potatoes a paddock is to them like living in a small apartment with a big fridge they are meant to roam miles everyday walk hours for a drink theres no way for any but a tiny minority in a country can just be what a horse was supposed to be .
Work done appropriately is I believe key to giving horses a healthy life in a country like this one .

 

[Auslander]

ALf went to a party a few years ago - we hacked there to accompany the spotty nutjob, who didn't hack alone.

When he heard the tannoy, he grew at least 2 hands, puffed himself up like a turkey and strutted in like he was the most important horse in the world. He was a bit confused when he saw showjumps, and slightly perplexed that we had to hide behind a lorry so that Spotty didn't see him - but he really enjoyed the atmosphere, and the chips!