turnout - what do you do ?

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kirsti

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would you rather your horse was turned out on his own in a small electric fence 'square', safe but bored OR turned out in 10 acres with 10 other horses ?
Safety or Freedom ??
 
freedom everytime - horses are heard animals and are happier in company, i think your horse would love 10 acres of grass and horses for company
 
Normally I would go for the 10 acres and freedom. However, if there was a very aggressive horse in the 10 acres who repeatedly bullied and injured my horse, then I would think I would opt for the electric fence square as a temporary measure, until I could find a better yard!
 
Freedom! I want my boys to be able to run and be horses. There was an interesting article in one of the magazines i read the other day about the mental health issues associated with not giving them chance to run and interact. How true it is I don't know, but I know how much my two love their space.
 
Freedom
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Depends on the horse. Some horses just dont get on well with others and dont seem to flourish in a big field as an underdog. I would say see how the horse gets on with the others before making a decision. Theres nothing worse than fetching your horse out of the field with cuts and chunks taken out of it every day
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Im with tgm if they get on great my horse would be fine with mares but hes grumpy with other geldings
 
Safety every time.

I own horses for my own benefit not theirs, if I wanted them to be free I could just sponsor a New Forest pony!




(runs for cover, fast.....)
 
Ditto Kanter.....I'm running with you!!!
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Def individual paddock. If my chap got injured at this early stage of the season I'd be mighty p*ssed off!!!
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Well, I'd never put mine on their own, but would be worried about him in with 9 others!! I like a small herd (4/6 horses) really. 4 is ideal, mine aer very happy at the mo (a mare and a gelding, in with 2 other mares!)
But if I really had to choose of those two options I would put him with company unless he was being bady bullied.
 
Would turn out with friends...

We've got groups of 3 or 4 at the moment, liveries 2 horses together, the 3 girls that do nothing together, 3 boys in work together and 3 girls together with the 2 babies
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We will have to come up with new arrangements for Summer TO pretty soon though!
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Def freedom - you may own your horses for your own pleasure but it is only fair to remember they are horses & not machines therefore are most likely to be happier with company & not in a square box totally alone. In fact I would go to the extent of saying I would prefer not to own my horse if I did not have adequate enough facilities to keep him happy. Be it a competition or pleasure horse.
 
for my horse - individual paddock, only because he is an absolute target for being kicked, the first time it happened we put him back out in a herd and he was kicked again, thankfully(!?) in the other leg. He now has uninsured front legs and goes out by himself for his own safety.

My other ponies all went out as a herd and were fine, so if I got a new one it would go straight out with everything else.
 
Easy, for Bodey it would be freedom. I don't think (from knowing him) that he would like being on his own. I know he came from a field of about a thousand cobs before I got him.
 
10 acres BUT with conditions - single sex herd, fairly stable herd, no known enemies put together & no idiot owners going in with buckets of feed!
 
In an ideal world, freedom everytime. Sadly though, at present yard, V is out individually in a small fenced area. Better than nothing I guess.
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Depends on the horse, but usually Freedom. In ten acres there is plenty of room for a horse to segregate itself.
 
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Do you eat battery eggs too? as they are for our benefit aswell.
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Erm, no, I don't eat eggs at all, and not sure of the relevance of this comment?!

The truth is, we don't have horses for altruistic reasons, but to fulfill some personal need. Anyone who thinks otherwise is just kidding themselves.

The notion of freedom is not that relevant to a domesticated horse, and they don't necessarily need the security offered by living in a herd, because good horse owners will make their horses feel secure. Also they don't need to roam large areas for food as we can provide it for them. And finally, how do you assess 'happiness' in a horse? If someone came round to your house tonight, dragged you off the sofa in your nice warm living room, turned you out in the street, locked the door behind you and said "There you go, now you're free" - would that make you happy?!
 
Freedom definitely. my lad loves being out in the herd now, before i got him he was in a small paddock on his own and it did take him a few months to get properly used to it and make friends and not hang round the gate.
 
Freedom with conditions!

Only if the other horses are unshod behind and there are no bullies. Preferably single sex herd too.
 
Freedom. Space to move around in and have a good hoolie round if they feel the need. And should be lots of hedging etc,, whereas with a small fenced off area there isn't usually enough shelter from wind, rain or sun.
 
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