Stalling horses

Question
Denise:
You helped us months ago with our filly.  She is doing great. Maybe a little too much like a pet, but leads, loads, ties and walks around with a saddle occassionally. She is now about 18 months old and ginny hopes to be able ride her a little next summer.

Anyway our question is this. We have friend who boards 4 horses on the property next to where we board ours. Ours spend most of their time in a lusious 5 acre KY pasture.  Our friend keeps his in completely enclosed one horse stalls, in a fairly dark barn.  He lets them out only to work with them.  Many times they never get out for 2-3 days even though there is plenty of pasture available for them. They do get fed and watered twice daily and have good medical care.  Our friend, who does have experience traing horses, says that this will eliminate the heard mentality and make them easier to train.

When we occassionally care for them when he is out of town we feel so sorry for them being closed up like this.    In fact, last weekend when we were caring for them, we let them all out in the pasture for the night. They loved it. They ran and played like kids.  We just stood and watched for a long time. And no problem getting them back in the next morning.

We would appreciate your thoughts.

Thanks, Roger and Ginny

Answer

Our Herd! Hi Roger, Hi Ginny!

Nice to hear from you again!  The horses that belong to your friend are in jail.  How they live is like being in solitary confinement.  It is sad and cruel.  Think for a minute how a horse is made...everything about them is meant to spend long days waking and grazing, not stuck in a tiny stall.

No, this will not eliminate the herd mentality.  Horses are herd animals.  It is how God made them.  You cannot undo nature!  You can however stress a horse to the point that they will start cribbing,  weaving, and developing many other "stall vices" due to their completely un-natural environment.  This person thinks that they may be easier to train because the horse is so happy to spend whatever time possible out of its cell.  It is much the same way that a humans will start to love and adore their captors and do some very strange things due to the stress, and fear they feel.  Think of Elizabeth Smart and Patty Hearst!  Horses will go through something very similar.  Some horses find a way to cope, while others will break down.  

Many of my fellow horse show folks do the same thing.  Horses are kept in stalls blanketed under lights to keep them looking show ready.  The biggest problem is that these horses become "ring sour" and those in the show industry are on the constant quest to find ways to keep their horses "fresh".  This is why there is such a huge market for stall toys, hanging treats, rolly things, balls, all in an attempt to cure stall boredom.

The answer to helping keep horses healthy and happy is simple...turn them out.  Let them BE horses!  If people are using confinement as a means of "training", they just are not good hands.  They don't understand horses and opt to be cruel instead of learning about good horsemanship.  Again, sad.  

Good for you for turning them out.  It is a small bright spot in their very sad lives.  Your instincts are not wrong.  Your heart and soul is telling you that how they are kept is wrong.  Trust your feelings.  The only thing you can do is treat your horses right and lead by example.  There are so many things you can do to eliminate herd behavior, being a leader your horse can trust is at the top of that list!  I hope your friend comes to see the error in his thinking and creates a better life for his horses.  Maybe some small thought or well timed words may make the difference for him and he will allow his horses out of jail.  I'm hoping.

Bless you for caring!

Smiles, Denise