Turned Out Or Turnout?

Turned out or turnout?  There’s a world of difference.

 

I’m in the snug house, watching the horse herd run the quarter mile down from the big hill.  Many of them are in their twenties; more than a few of them are gaining ground on thirty.  A small Welsh pony, with trademark jauntiness, shows his heels to the leaders and burns on ahead.  I laugh, knowing he’s celebrating his 28^th birthday this year.

 

From April until October, our horses and ponies are kept by, worked regularly and really monitored on their grass intake.  Their lives are interwoven with our own – and even the ponies are never allowed to get too fat.

 

Unfortunately, this need of ours to make sure they stay in work and don’t founder, that they are handled daily and kept in a program, comes at a cost.  Despite wanting to do our best for them, our horses and ponies end up paying the price.

 

Turned Out…

After about six months in steady work, with limited time to kick up their heels and check out of Dodge, we can see a change in many of them.  Some will get cranky in the pens, kicking at other horses, picking fights.  Others will lose a bit of condition, maybe have a bit of a hay cough, or get ‘noisy’ at the canter.

 

Some get restless as soon as they feel our eye on them, maybe getting a little funny to catch.  The older horses might look as though they’re moving short, not quite lame but not exactly moving freely.  Smaller ponies who have been kept off the green grass of spring and summer are now feeling a need to chew:  the fences, one another’s tails, even nipping at fingers.  We do our best to give the ponies grazing time on the lawn or on the picket, as well as active work under saddle, just trying to keep them mentally and physically fit.  The larger horses get turned out into small pastures overnight for all the same reasons.  But still…

 

When November winds hit and the grass turns brown, our youngsters in training are kept close by and worked throughout the winter.  The older, well-schooled ponies and horses are dewormed, their shoes are pulled, their teeth are done and until next spring, they are bid a fond farewell.  They will have water and salt and fairly regular surveillance – but that is all.

 

They will run, buck, play stallion games, grow hard and yes, even a little snorty.  On the dry, native grass that has been carefully saved for the season, they will become horses and ponies once again.  This benign neglect, I believe, is the reason so many in the herd are healthy and seemingly ageless.  Decades on, most of them have great teeth, sound wind and limbs – and they’re generally full of fun.

 

Turnout…

Compare this to what we know is true for most of today’s horses.

 

They live in a small turnout pen and maybe they come in at night.  They can roll and pace and turn and do the same thing over again, but that’s about it.  They live on man made feed and our lovingly given chemical additives; they wear man made clothing and often, even their legs are wrapped with protective gear.  They become easier to handle and much more convenient.  In never having a holiday from our agendas, they are expected to cope and adapt.

 

This ramps up even more if we have horses with which we compete.  Many sports require horses to be showing on circuits that run in all seasons of the year.  If the horses are to be in warmer climates, or working indoors, they must be clipped and either rugged up or kept stabled.  They might be campaigning with long hours spent on the road.  Hauling is stressful for horses, whether or not they appear to adapt.

 

Even the feed given to travelling horses is often compressed and processed highly, taking mere fractions of time to consume, as compared to the natural state of grazing and foraging throughout the entire day.  They might be required to wear shoes that don’t give as much over ground as the natural foot, stressing joints.

 

Our sports might require repetitive training that causes undue wear on joints and mental wellness.  These are horses that we value highly and think a great deal of; none of us wants to cause them hardship.  In order to work in our modern lifestyles, though, our horses have had to give up their evolved way of life.

 

Practically Speaking…

Why do horses thrive when turned out?  They enjoy the social aspect of the herd.  There is the pecking order that allows the bossy ones to make the decisions and the subdued ones to be told what to think and do.  There are the games and rough housing that keep horses happy and relaxed, despite our alarm when they show up with bite marks and missing chunks of hair.  There is the problem solving of traversing rough ground, travelling for water and looking for feed.  There is the socialization of grooming one another, rolling and sleeping, swishing flies and making friends.  There is actually mentorship within the herd, as the older ones give wisdom to the young.

 

There is the chance to really run and buck, which means these horses are often amenable to going more gently when they’re being ridden.  Turned out horses learn to be good on their feet.  They grow handy.  There is less need for deworming.  Teeth tend to wear more evenly on grazing horses, especially when out on tough native grass.

 

Horses that carry too much weight will often slim down appreciably through the winter months.  However, thin horses are cold horses.  If they are seniors, recently stabled or otherwise hard keepers, we’ve learned to blanket them in cold or windy weather.  Once they start losing weight, it is very hard keeping it on.

 

The whole herd has free choice water, minerals and salt.  Our pastures are kept for winter grazing and as such, the horses are fed hay in only the most bitter temperatures.  For the most part, they are happy just moving along, pawing the snow and eating their fill.  We go out most days, making sure all are healthy and then, we leave them alone.

 

Now, we’ll not get in a debate over whether most horses are too valuable to risk turning out – which, if you’ve been paying attention – is a far cry from turnout.  I’m not going to suggest that a horse doesn’t like a chance to get warm and dry and enjoy an indoors feed!  But I am going to say that our need to make horses and ponies live like people is not without a price… in breathing disorders, disgestive issues, injuries and mental snafus.

 

So what’s the answer?  I’d like to see more horse people do what they can to give their horses and ponies some time off in a real, live herd, no matter the group size or the setting, at some point within the coming year.

 

So often with real turn out, the hard-to-keep horse gains weight, the uneven horse grows sound, the heavey horse stops coughing.  So often the soured horse grows light-hearted, the aggressive horse settles down, the dry lotted pony gets a chance to live like a real horse through the winter.

 

If we are really worried that our horses will get hurt in a more natural state, perhaps that’s one clue our management has swung too far?  I can’t say for certain.  It’s just something I urge you to think about.

 

What can you do to ensure your horse has some quality time off in the coming year?  What are special challenges that you face in turning your horse out, whether it’s his sex or confined quarters?  Please share your thoughts.

 

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