Opinions please

[tbtess]

I just want opinions on this pic please. Its not my horse, my OH drove past it earlier today and he sent me the pic. Just want to hear your views.

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a267/tbtess/disgusting.jpg

[cvb]

are we commenting on the horse or the pasture management ? The horse is quite fuzzy in the photo and has a rug on... so not exactly easy to comment.

I had to take a closer look to see there IS a fence between horse and car park.

[Pink's lady]

Hope the poor horse isnt on it's own. :( I hate to see hem living on their own, I think it's cruel.

Apart from the fact it's muddy, it seems a nice sheltered feild.

[tbtess]

Any of it but was thinking more the pasture though. Think there is a wall all the way round? Will find out.

Hope the poor horse isnt on it's own.

Yes, the horse is on its own

[cvb]

well it looks like the drainage isn't great, if its that cut up already. But then again its a rare field that has no mud :rolleyes:

Could possibly do with some weed control around the edges - wrong time of year tho I believe ! Weeds just take up room that could be grass :p

Could possibly be their "winter sacrifice" field - and no thats not me going all pagan. If you live in an area where mud is inevitable, people will often "sacrifice" one field for the winter, so their summer pasture stays ok. Then in the spring you have to start over, reseed etc....

[tbtess]

What would your comments be if that was the only turnout field there was all year round? I'm not saying it is as i'm not sure at the mo. There is no stable in there only the tree for shelter.

[alliecatalex]

If that was the only turnout all year round I would have the owners rope parts off and re seed sections at a time. As for the no shelter part, depending on the weather I would feel bad for the horse, but I believe all horses should be given some type of shelter-dont depend on the trees to do it. The horse is blanketed so at least it has warmth there, but the poor horse must get bored with no other horses....at least to have just a pony for a pasture pal.

[cvb]

What would your comments be if that was the only turnout field there was all year round? I'm not saying it is as i'm not sure at the mo. There is no stable in there only the tree for shelter.

well that might explain the mud ;)

The problem with ground getting so very muddy is that I understand it destroys the soil structure - the natural structure that allows it to drain etc. And you lose the aeration through worms etc.

So its really just a vicious circle. I would want to find a way to give it a rest and a good sort out, but that isn't always easy.

A field like that, with so little gras left, will take some time to recover and will probably need a lot of help....

[mayS]

Not enough information!!!

The pic also doesn't show us what's around this horse. Is the pasture part of a larger area ? Are there other horses?

Just seeing some mud doesn't show anything wrong either. We don't know WHY the area is so muddy, how often the horse is turned out on the mud, if the horse is being given suppemental feed to make up for loss of grass.

You also have to think in the winter in places that get cold, damp winters (like here) many of us have small sacrifice pastures. You can't turn a horse out on your good pasture during winter ... grass isn't growing anyway and the hooves on the wet soil will turn any grass roots into mush. So the horse lives in a smaller (and unavoidably muddy) area till spring.

So please tell us -- what is the bigger picture? What is bothering you about this scene?

[SO1]

its hard to tell without more information. Is the horse out there 24/7 or just during the day so it can stretch its legs. It is rugged which would indicate that someone is thinking at least a little bit about its welfare if there is no shelter.

If the field is the only source of food for this horse I think it probably might not be enough. There are some horses on flash clean looking yards that never get turned out and alot of people think that is perfectly acceptable but I think it is more cruel than turning your horse out a muddy field. As long as the horse has enough to eat and is not cold (some of these modern turn out rugs are very cosy) and the field is not completely knee deep in mud all over it should be fine.

Also depends on what sort of horse it is as well, some sorts are hardy types, or it might have had a history of laminitis so not be able to be turned out on lush grass....