Keeping horses naturally - POLL

Which ones?? Help!!!

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I keep naturally in a sense that I prefer him out 24/7, but thats about it! He has to be shod, clipped etc, I don't think those things affect his 'naturalness' though. He's happy
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Yeah, Im just thinking of an article ages ago in one of the horsey magazines on a top dressage rider who kept her (warmblood) horses unrugged, unshod and turned out 24/7, even in the winter. Cannot remember who she was!

Ive always thought mine have a really natural life as they are out 24/7 all year round with access to decent shelters, lots of hay etc. but then again I compete so some of them have to be shod (although I do try to go unshod until I cant any longer!) and clipped etc. So I cant really say mine are that "natural".
 
I prefer to keep naturally as possible but horses are not ridden on roads and competed in their true natural habitat so some things are actually kinder IMO.

Bert was barefoot but could not cope with the increased work and roadwork so was shod in front......and then behind as he was occasionally foot sore.

He is trace clipped as he gets to hot and sweats......which he wouldn't do in the true natural state.

I do keep him out as much as possible try to use products without chemicals, and use as little tack as i can get away with. We also predominantly hack rather than school (just once a week).

i think it is very difficult to keep a horse as a working animal in it's natural state.
 
Mine live out 24/7. But I have to have them shod as they have to do road work to get to any off road riding. And being hairy cobs have to be clipped but I take off as little as I can.
 
i dont really school him & he is ridden 2-3 times a week which is hacking & once in the school just trotting about. he has a hunter or blanket clip during the winter as we have to stable from Nov until end of April with restricted space from Dec - March and being clipped makes it easier to excercise him

he is shod because of the amount of road work we do (driving).

he only as a saddle/bridle but wears a cheltenham gag or pelham simply because its kinder for him to not have me pulling on his mouth all the time!

atm he is wearing a muzzle but thats because now he has friends i'd rather he stayed in a big field and the opportunity to run around than to be cooped up in a small field with no company.
 
My gelding is barefoot all round, not clipped but is rugged in winter and comes in at night from about end of October to end of March. My mare has shoes on the front as she can't cope with being barefoot all round, and again not clipped but rugged and comes in at night through winter. They are fed Simple Systems feed with Top Spec balancer and ad lib hay/haylage. They have natural salt licks (Himalayan ones in their stables, Simple Systems bucket one in the field) and live as part of a herd.

If we had our own place with a large barn and plenty of natural or field shelters then I would happily let them live out 24/7 all year round. But at the moment we can't, and so all we can do is keep them as naturally as is possible within the limitations of being on a yard. But they are happy, therefore so am I!
 
mine are stabled/rugged/clipped & shod but these are all done for their comfort & what they want,in the summer they are out 24/7, in the winter they come in at night.

i would love to have them out 24/7 all year but it is not practical for my horses
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I do what is best for my horse, she would never have even existed in the wild let alone survive so I have no worries about shoeing/clipping/stabling her etc. If I had a little native with tough feet I would treat it totally different to the horse I have now.
 
ted lives out summer and is shod (would be lame i he wasn't)

he is in in winter, hunter clipped,. rugged and shod..

It always depends on the horse, the welsh i know will not be turned out in summer if i asked ted to winter out i would have the RSPCA on my case.

I know he would hate to be turned out 24/7 in the winter.. so i dont
Lou x
 
Mine are out 24/7,unshod etc because they are natives and having 4 it is also cheaper. However my Fell has severe sweet-itch so without rugs she would be red raw. I also clip in the winter but they are hardy enough to cope with it. It is mainly for my convenience they are kept as they are but it seems to suit them so why make more work for myself?
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Ours are out all year, unless one needs box rest.
If they get too hot they are lightly clipped, but as they are rotated round and never do hard workloads, prefer not to.
Will rug in winter if needed. Most are shod, some aren't because a) they never have been b) hate farriers! some are half shod.
As we are next to tracks etc, only do minimal road work.

Top priority is the horse, without them we don't have business, so as they are happy being horses in the field, that's how they stay.
 
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Yeah, Im just thinking of an article ages ago in one of the horsey magazines on a top dressage rider who kept her (warmblood) horses unrugged, unshod and turned out 24/7, even in the winter. Cannot remember who she was!.

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I suspect you are talking about Lucinda McAlpine?

I can't tell you how much that lady has improved life for me and my boy. I started off spending one day with her and she turned my world upside down in a good way. (Everything was crap until that point). I have spent many days with her. The woman is magic.

She does magical things with horses from all disciplines. Yes she is in to the natural thing but she certainly is not anal about it.
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Yes after all horses are horses...Its not fair to treat them with human needs. We all forget they are disigned to keep them selfs warm, to sweat to cool them selfs, so unlike us they don't care for being wrapped up in cotton wool and tucked into a pillow. Hoovies are never given enough credit or the effects shoes do to them. Won't start on over studing! I know competion horses that have been very succesful when living out, not on hard feed, unshod, unclipped, they are far far less stressed then a horse from many competition yards.
 
Rock is out all day and in at night (rules of the yard, if i had it my way he'd be out 24 7)
He is shod all round because his feet would just fall apart with out shoes and the one time he had a shoe off he went very very foot sore. He has typically bad irish feet.
He is clipped because otherwise he sweats off all his weight as he has over active sweat glands and grows a thick coat even in the summer.
He is fed hard food and supplements to aid his breathing has he has mild copd.
and i compete him.

And hes perfectly happy and healthy may i add
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i read an article also on her was just looking to see when her clinics were i have a mare who was neglected and mistreated . shes lovely but has issue i thought i may be able to help her with .......lucindas way...
 
There are plenty of arguments for and against. People often say to me why do you get your horse a back person or a dentist they wouldn't have it in the wild. My reply is that horses aren't ridden in the wild they have their own way of dealing with weather, eating feet e.t.c

But the fact remains that we do ride our horses and they are not wild. Just like we give a dog a bed and it's own water bowl e.t.c

We have to shoe if going on roads e.t.c Mine is unshod as we do minimal road work and his feet (touching wood) are very good. I have the dentist as he doesn't just eat grass and has a bit in his mouth e.t.c

I completely have respect for the competition lady who has her horses natural, but for most of us we don't have the luxury if owning loads of acreage and the facilites to make this happen.
 
We have a lady near us that has her horses very natural, barefoot, un-clipped etc. She also rides then in the parelli headcollers. She took one of her horses to a xc clinic my boss was at and her poor horse slipped straight over on one of the turns as he had no grip without shoes/studs.
So yes lots of horses can compete happily without shoes but I wouldn't go xc without the for grip.
 
Mine all live a fairly "natural" life. They live out 24/7 all year round, only the 2 oldies are shod as they have soft soles, but the rest run barefoot.

I do rug when the temperatures start to go below -10c; so they are all rugged for about 2 months per year. Once the temperatures get back up to about -5c in the Spring then I take the rugs off.

I feed natural feedstuffs and the horses have ad-lib hay (although ad-lib anything wouldn't really be classed as natural). I run 4 herds and they all run in large pasture fields with varied terrain and are generally a mix of sexes.

The horses here are Quarter Horses, Appaloosas, Paints, TB's, WB's etc.....we also have one little British native pony.

It is very, very easy to keep horses like this; hardly any work involved and far more relaxing for the horse.
 
I agree with you Kudo - I have complete respect for Lucinda McAlpine and her horses always look lovely. However not all of us have the luxury of acres of our own land, drying rooms for the horses when they get hot and nice ground to work on.

We have REALLY bad flinty ground and I did try going barefoot for a while. Gen had a huge abcess and was lame for weeks - he had never been lame before this or had any foot issues. He is in NB shoes now as a kind of compromise.

Gen is also clipped - all year. He has a HUGELY thick coat and sweats just stood in the field so its for his own benefit.

He is also stabled and fed hard feed and bathed and plaited and ridden etc etc - all totally unnatural. However he is out in the field for as long as possible (currently out at 7am and in at 8pm).

I think what we have to remember is that many of these horses are now bred beyond being able to cope with being 'totally natural'. We have to make progressive adjustments to how we treat ALL domesticated animals in order to ensure that their welfare is the best we can provide, for their individual circumstances and needs.
 
Yep exactly i agree with kudu and folara
Thing is i think if rock was wild, he would have been one of the ones picked off lol if he was left to go natural, he would be swollen up from fly bites (which hes badly allergic too) lame from his feet falling apart and dying from his breathing problems.
The way he is now, hes happy and thats what im aiming for
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Mine is stables overnight in winter, clipped out every year, shod, ridden, turned out in a field of lush grass, wormed, boostered, rugged etc etc etc.
I dont believe anybody will have a horse on here that is kept completely naturally unless they have a native that is turned out on the forest.
 
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I agree with you Kudo - I have complete respect for Lucinda McAlpine and her horses always look lovely. However not all of us have the luxury of acres of our own land, drying rooms for the horses when they get hot and nice ground to work on.

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I agree. However, we all work with what we have got to create the absolute best we can for our horses.

Some of us have less choice than others due to Livery yards etc.

I have made huge adjustments to our land to enable me to keep my horses out 24/7 without suffering all the problems that come with it. This winter was fab. I am pleased with the decisions I made.
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I think keeping them naturally is desirable, but I have to say mine aren't really close..yes they live out in pairs during the summer, but all are shod in various ways, are clipped in winter and rugged, are fed all the year round and have to work for their livings...

so actually, not natural at all
 
I wish I could keep mine naturally, but can't, due to restrictions. Jayjay gets footsore without shoes on his front feet, and the other two are in the gelding field, and you're not allowed to turn them out overnight until the end of april in there.
 
Both mine live out 24/7 unless it's really hot or deep snow, they are rugged only when needed, live in large fields with natural shelter and in a large mixed group. Both are fed a forage based diet, Fudge only has front shoes on and Lady has a full set but this is because the ground is so flinty it makes them foot sore. I mostly hack out but also school, lunge and do in-hand work with both of them. Neither are clipped but they are regularly wormed and have their backs, teeth, saddles checked and annual vacinations. I do make an effort to keep mine as naturally as my livery yard allows as I feel it is better for them and they are more relaxed. Fortunately my two are quite hardy being a Welsh D & a Welsh B x Arab and i have a livery yard where I am allowed 24/7 turnout.
 
No, my lot are not kept naturally at all really compared to native ponies on the moors/forests/mountains.

Mine live out 24/7, purely because it is more convenient for me and they seem happy enough.
They are unshod a) because I don't ride on the roads b) because farriers here seem to be rarer than rocking horse poo and c) because none of them have ever been shod anyway.
That's about as natural as it gets for them, they are rugged in bad weather, have shelters, are fed grain, wormed, vaccinated and have a constant supply of hay in front of them, the most they have to do is walk 50m to the pond for water.
One is also in an individual paddock for her own safety as she is bullied constantly and mercilessly by the others.

If turned out on say, a welsh mountain, for the winter, three of them would still be alive, the arab would not.
 
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