the idea of a dog in a cage for hours on end spending most of its life cooped up and unable to interact with anyone or anything is something that humans will often pity they will feel sad for the shelter dogs without their own people looking up at passers by with doleful eyes as if begging to be chosen they will feel sad for the working dogs energetic as ever craving a job with their entire being but being left to sit board in a kennel for 20 to 24 hours a day outraged people will say this is
unjust it is ethical that it is no way to keep a dog and they're right but why do we not extend the same outrage to horses with horses it is common practice for them to stand in a 12x 12T box for hours on end often times anywhere from 12 to 24 hours a day if they're lucky they will have hay for entertainment and maybe bars between stall walls so that they can touch noses with other horses getting some semblance of socialization they may go out into small paddocks often alone with little to no ability to
properly interact with other horses and develop the types of friendships that they crave as social animals if they're unlucky they will exist with boarded up walls in their stalls and their closest interaction with other horses being staring at them from across the isleway able to see but never close enough to touch humans are fooled by the idea of a clean comfy and safe area for their horse with beautiful stained wooden walls and RW iron bars an aesthetically pleasing Barn that makes everything clean and accessible for human enjoyment but fails to provide basic needs for the
horses the horses may be fed small set hay feedings a few times a day gobbling up their meals in a matter of minutes or hours and then often going for hours without no entertainment in these confined little boxes and without the vital need of near constant access to forage after going without haast for an extended period of time the horse's stomachs will hurt from the over production of stomach acid damaging the walls of their stomach and creating painful ulcers when they don't have near constant access to Hay their stomachs overproduce acid because they are trickle
feeding animals who are meant to be consuming small amounts of grass or hay on a near constant basis throughout the day desperate to get rid of the discomfort of their painful empty stomachs they may consume the wood of their stall walls or try to eat the bedding that they stand on they get grumpy and frustrated due to boredom and physical discomfort this can make them dangerous to handle as they take out their environmental frustration on those around them when their innate and vital need for socialization with other horses goes unfulfilled they may even become aggressive
and fearful to other horses unsure of how to properly interact with horses despite being herd animals interacting over a wall or a fence simply isn't enough and the lack of ability to properly interact can leave horses frustrated and aggressive with each other when chronically confined to small areas that don't allow for much movement or exercise they will go without the movement their bodies crave desperately and that is so vital to their health standing in these small boxes for hours on end they are unable to wander anywhere near the 10 to 25 km per day that
horses will do when they are offered the space to forage in a herd on large spaces their owners well-intentioned will think that riding them for 30 minutes to an hour a day or a few times a week will sufficiently make up for the deficit in physical activity that comes with the reduced space of constant stalling or only having access to small paddocks but it doesn't and as a result the horses suffer they are at far greater risk of colic a digestive issue that is the number two cause of death in horses outside of old age
nearly 10% of horses who colic die from it colic is directly correlated with the stress restrained movement and unnatural lifestyle of the stalled horse stalled horses are also at greater risk of musculoskeletal injury due to abstaining from movement for so much of the day before being ridden as trickle feeding grazing animals horses are meant to eat small amounts of forage near constantly all while moving around and they suffer when they're made to stand listless and stagnant for much of their life their behavior also takes a toll unable to offload excess energy they may become difficult
and even dangerous to handle on the ground and ride they may develop repetitive stress behaviors to help them cope with the boredom and unfulfilling environment but unfortunately many people within the horse industry will view these behaviors as training issues or personality quirks because that is what they're taught to do when in reality there is substantial evidence that these stress behaviors that we see in horses particularly the repetitive stress behaviors only exist in domesticated horses and have not been seen in free roaming Wild Horses we also know that dangerous behaviors under saddle and on the ground
are increased in Risk installed horses due to them being more explosive and erratic in their behavior humans May label these difficult horses as naughty and physically punish them for misbehavior because that's often times what they're taught to do they may use harsher equipment harsher bits to help them control these difficult horses they may ride the horse until they're hot and sweaty to try to get the energy out of them failing to realize how controlled exercise where the horse is at the mercy of the demands of the human does not compare to autonomous movement and the
ability to make choice and engage with things within their environment us humans often underestimate how important autonomous movement is for horse welfare when we think that riding or use of equipment such as hot Walkers is a replacement for turnout for horses we are missing the mark because all of these things require the horse to engage in exercise completely on our terms not allowing them for any autonomy or play something that is so important for their [Music] well-being we underestimate the Deep bonds that horses will form with each other when they are allowed herd mates we
fail to recognize the Deep friendships that they form and how long they remember their friends for even months or years after being separated from their buddies they will remember them if ever reunited we break these bonds haphazardly and don't consider the damage that this does to horses we don't consider how this deeply emotional species is impacted by choices that we make flippantly without thinking about how it impacts them us humans May laugh and poke fun at horses repeative stress behaviors thinking of the hores just being quirky or silly and we mean well but we have
all been taught to normalize these behaviors unless we actively try to unlearn this or are just lucky with the types of Idols that we're initially introduced to when we enter the horse world it is so important that we don't reduce the potential damage that we're doing with certain normalized care practices as more and more evidence comes out showing need for change in the horse industry it is not our place to reduce or downplay the suffering that horses have to go through when they are not having their needs properly met especi es when you consider the
fact that most horse owners board their horses and only see their horses a few hours a day or possibly only a few hours a few times a week they aren't watching the horse on a day-to-day basis for a long enough time to really fully take in how boring their horse's life must be living in a stall and without access to proper socialization with other horses humans get to leave the barn after they're done playing with their horse and go on to their jobs visiting with friends playing sports going to school spending time with loved ones
or engaging in other hobbies and activities that they like they have the ability to make choices and do things that they enjoy to help entertain them and fulfill their lives while us humans are off fulfilling our social needs and making decisions that enrich our own lives we often fail to consider how long our horses might be remaining in a small walled room with little to no entertainment we fail to consider what the horse is doing during all of these hours that we as humans are able to self- entertain and enrich our lives with socialization and
fun activities we fail to consider that our horses are entirely dependent on us to provide an enriching life for them they can't just open the door and leave to go out with friends they can't just pull out their cell phone and get a dopamine fix while in a small room or waiting in line like us humans can comparatively most of us humans cannot even fathom the boredom and frustration that would come come with such an UND stimulating unfulfilling environment the closest comparison we might see is the life of prisoners in jail controlled by others in
more powerful positions and confined to boxes at the mercy of those in charge for what they're allowed to do on a day-to-day basis but what crime did horses commit to be confined to a similar type of Lifestyle humans often make these decisions for their horses with good intentions they think think that they're providing them a warm dry and safe place to keep them clean and keep them from getting injured but it is so important that we remember that horses aren't just vehicles for us to pick up and put away as we see fit they are
living and breathing creatures who have their own wants and needs and if we are more willing to put them at risk of injury for our own Pleasures like with riding than we are for their own well-being such as with turnout then there is a big problem that we really need to look look at and reflect on us humans usually mean well but we are taught that this is the normal care and behavior of horses from the time we start riding we often don't know better from a young age equestrians are introduced to horses under these
circumstances they often haven't known anything else and they take on the belief system of the self-proclaimed experts who teach them everything they know from the beginning surrounded by stressed horses we learn to view stress Behavior as normal horse Behavior we don't know better we just follow what we're taught and when we're surrounded by people who have been around horses for much longer than us at the start of our riding careers it's very hard to speak up about what we see even if we're uncomfortable with it initially and So eventually we learn how to tune it
out from a young age equestrians are introduced to horses under these circumstances they often haven't known anything else and they take on the belief system of those around them who teach them everything that they know surrounded by stressed horses they learn to view stress Behavior as normal horse Behavior they don't know better they're doing their best and just following what they're taught they enter into the horse World joyful and with a love for horses but they are taught to show their love for these magnificent animals in the wrong way and often end up harming them
as a result eventually a time may come in their life where they're exposed to criticism of normalized horse care and training practices due to welfare concerns and this may frustrate them they may react with anger having their entire belief system uprooted and grappling with the idea that the lifestyle they've offered their beloved horse could possibly harm them since they don't mean to cause harm and the idea of having done so is so painful to accept many people stay in denial and so the cycle continues the horse is left to pay the price for human ignorance
these animals give us so much they are kind for giving and empathetic creatures even when they are kept in inadequate living situations they just do their best for us when horses are allowed to live as their species is intended to with ample ability to socialize with other horses they Thrive they become less unpredictable and reactive because they're able to self- exercise and get needed social interaction and environmental stimulation they do not engage in aggressive and dangerous behaviors as often or at all due to the lack of physical and emotional discomfort they are no longer responding
to a deep lack of fulfillment with their environment they can wander run graze and play with other horses and forage on grass or hay keeping their stomachs full and protecting them from ulceration and as a result they become so much happier and more engaged with the environment their personalities Blossom and develop and they learn how to love interactions with the humans around them to an extent that they are not able to when they're existing in a frustrated State they become less prone to digestive issues like colic their bones and soft tissues become stronger due to
frequent use their Hooves become stronger and healthier allowed to move across different terrains and cover more distance the true beauty of a horse is in offering them a fulfilling lifestyle it will forever change your relationship with your horse and your perception of Horses The more you surround yourself with horses who are not trapped within the confines of stressful lifestyles all of the movies and media that we see of horses freaking out bucking off and injuring humans speak for how normalized it is for horses to behave dangerously and yet we still fail to properly Identify some
of the most key factors in these dangerous events occurring so frequently despite growing bodies of research showing the areas that we need to improve on in horse care and training and how they influence the dangerousness of these beautiful animals we owe it to horses to do better and this starts with re-education on how they're meant to live and be cared for a small box is no life for a grazing herd animal a life of isolation is no life for a social creature humans try as they might cannot make up for these deficits in care that
depriving horses of socialization with other horses and the ability to self- exercise causes but we can start to develop more horse friendly care practices we can tackle the issue of urbanization and discover more welfare centered ways to keep horses even in cities we can make a major difference in the lives of our horses but it all starts with accepting that there actually is Need For Change the horse industry is a world of horse loving individuals we have just been taught to love them in the wrong way it is time for us to show our love
in a way that they will understand much of the world as we know it has been built with the help of horses being the strong animals that they are to help us create the world that we live in now before we had all the Machinery that we do and now that they are no longer essential for work we can improve their lives to a degree that we might not have been able to in the past and we also know more about them now so with Newfound knowledge we can improve their welfare neglect doesn't only refer
to skinny malnourished horses who aren't being fed enough it doesn't only refer to horses who are being physically abused it can and does include shiny fancy expensive glossy coated sport horses who might be doing very well in their respective disciplines but spend the vast majority of their daily time budget alone isolated and in a small box unfulfilled so let's make the next horse industry Trend normalizing horse friendly care and the idea that all horses need and are deserving of socialization and room to self- entertain because after all they are highly social herd animals and it
is no secret the degree to which they suffer when we isolate them and keep them in too small UND stimulating spaces it is time that we do better for these magnificent creatures and set a higher standard of welfare for the other 23 hours of their lives outside of their use in horse sport
