Do we pamper horses too much?

Emma'n'Alfresco

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Aug 18, 2008
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Ok so i was thinking about this the other day. My yard manager has a thoroughbred and the slightest little cut and she is all over it. She hates her horse getting dirty and will brush her untill she sparkles. Her horse is always wrapped up in X amount of rugs lah lah you get the point. So most horse owners do worry about their 4 legged other halfs. 'Did i leave him enough hay, is he warm enough'.

So basicly i was comparing this to ourselves. I work on a yard 50 hours+ a week. My hands have a million and one cuts, blisters, yahdy yah, i have random bruises from walking into doors (I'm a bit clumsy) and i couldnt care less. Yet if a horse cuts themself heven forbid call the vet! well not quite but you know! Does anyone else think we goa bit over the top at times looking after our horses? I mean we cut ourself 'so what' they cut thereself 'OMG!' I go out in the cold shiver have a moan about it but deal with it, our horseys are the tinist bit under the reccomended warmth and :O rug them up.

Sorry I dont know if i even made my point there lol but I hope you guys get what i mean! (one to many drinks, tis Friday night :p)

So yeh let me know what you guys think about this I'm interested If i am the only one who sees a cut and think's, wash it and leave it! (a minor one ofc anything major obv call the vet) Ok now i sound mean :( im not honest :p xx
 
Some may think they are pampering, I tend to think that many manage their horses in such are way as it compromises to much/often the horse's ability to be a horse. I don't see that as pampering :(
 
Mine arent :eek: spoilt yes, pampered no.

Very little rugging if possible, very little in terms of hard feed, thoroughly groomed once a week, but not to a show standard, just removing hair/mud and checking for soreness thoroughly... no lotions and potions apart from for SI...

That said, I go up twice a day, spend hours just sitting with them (on days off) and watching them, they have everything and more that they need, Im constantly looking for improved methods/equipment to solve problems (tack, sweet itch)... but not pampered in a clean/rugged etc way - they are natives and meant to be hardy :)
 
I completely agree! Some do go over the top! I once had mine in a field with another young gelding (M is so amicable he's often babysitter) and overnight they must have been playing and t'other chap had a nick on his whither (grooming? who knows!) and M had a chunk taken out of his neck. The owner of the youngster went crackers at me!!! I had a show to go to that saturday too but I didn't say a thing. I just cleaned it up and hoped for the best.

We still went to the show and got a 2nd in show hunter and his chunk took ages to grow hair again whereas the other gelding's "injury" scabbed over and was invisible within a day.

(Have photo, will upload when I get back!)

Tsk.

Although, I have to admit, when he got mudfever and it just would NOT go away I did call vet. I wish I never because he was totally bloomin useless. I used homeopathy in the end and it left within a week!!!!!!!
 
You only have to look what's available on the market to answer that one!

YES, too many horses are kept like china cups and not allowed to be horses in case they get dirty or get a bruise or a cut.
 
I don't know how to attach big pics but you should be able to see the scar on his neck. It disappeared very quickly but this is how I had to show him after he got bitten.... and tbh, judges don't mind at all. It's part of being a horse, you sometimes get scrapes and scratches. All you can do is your best for horses wellbeing and best in their interest. It's supposed to be fun, not stressful!
 

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I think horses are too 'pampered'. I personally think lots of owners treat horses they way THEY would like to be treated, which is not necessarily the same as what the horse would want. Mine live out all year round. I sometimes get criticism for the horses being cold/miserable if they are out in a gale. (They have trees to shelter under). But the way I see it, yes there may be times that my horses would prefer to be in a warm stable with a haynet when the weather is bad, but there are plenty of other times when they might be far happier being out when the in-at-night horses are bored or restless. In winter horses are often in from 4pm to 9 or 10 am. When the weather is bad, eg in a gale, maybe the stabled horses get freaked out by weird noises, but can't escape because because they are enclosed. Frankly we just don't know, but I treat my horses as horses. I assume they are evolved to cope with things like cold/wet/wind far better than enclosures/fear/isolation. I'm not critising stabled horse owners, just saying that it is not reasonable for them to criticise me. I do look after their health though. Wouldn't leave cuts untreated etc. But would just do that myself unless cut needed stitching or horse was lame.
 
I feel really sorry for all those poor horses who spend all their time in 'jail' aka stables. You wouldnt lock your dog in a cage all day, lock your kids in their rooms or yourself in the house - why do it to your horse?

I do agree that people are way too fussy - a bump or a scrape wont kill them and its all part of everyday life even for a horse! Which would you rather - never feel any physical pain from a knock even if fleeting but have nothing to do or no-one to interact with and be bored to tears every single day or would you rather be out with your mates, having a life but taking some small everyday risks? Saying that - they may not get bumped but must be really stiff and achey from not being able to stretch their legs and move around. I know which one Id rather chose. And whats the point of it anyway? Ive never understood why you would want to stable your horses all the time?

And as for rugs etc - Im a bit cold now as I only have a Tshirt on - is it going to kill me? Can I fix it by running around? Go somewhere warmer?

And while Im at it is it really necessary to ride with contact all the time? Even out hacking? Cant horses be trusted to find their own way/decide where to put their feet/move their heads? Heaven forbid even make a few decisions of their own even while you are on their backs?

I really think locking horses up for 23 hours a day isnt pampurring them - its cruel (box rest for injury illness doesnt count of course)

Morning rant over now!
 
This is a difficult one. In an ideal world all equines would be kept out 24/7 in herds on suitable large areas of land, with natural shelter etc. However, we keep our horses/ponies in the UK - with limited land, too rich fertilised grass designed for dairy cows and a wish to ride/compete.

Frayne is an Exmoor, who was suspected to have LGL (low grade Lami) and certainly can't cope with too much grass (in fact for nearly 2 years she had to be kept off it most of the time). When she was kept at home on our dairy farm, the ponies had the only field not fertilised, but it is still rich grass. Frayne had to be muzzled when out, and kept in as well with hay a lot of the time (either in a stable or concrete yard). I exercise her as much as possible, in order that she keeps her weight down and can cope with some grass (if I can't ride, then she does groundwork in the school or is led out in-hand/longreined).

She has been at livery since December - and has daily turnout in a small paddock (either by herself or with one other). There is literally hardly any grass at all, so when it is wet she stays in (otherwise she stands by the gate in the mud, hungry and does her feet no good). She has haylage, weighed out, and a bit of chaff/Blue Chip Lami Lite. She may be an Exmoor, but has always loved being in and is very relaxed in the stable. It is a large busy yard and she thrives on the attention (everyone stops to talk to her :rolleyes:). She is rugged minimally - LW turnout, and a fleece in the stable (had thicker rugs in the very cold weather). She is barefoot (wears boots on stony surfaces).

She is coming back home soon, as finances are too stretched to cope with the cost of travelling to the yard. She will probably be living at a neighbour's smallholding - where she will have a combination of stable/turnout again. More grass there, so the muzzle will come out of retirement and she may have to stay in more.

Having a spell in livery has meant that she has lost a lot of weight, is a lot fitter (I have got back to riding regularly, as the company has encouraged me to get out) and is absolutely blooming.

Getting back to the original question - yes, people do pamper horses too much. At my yard all of the horses are clipped/rugged to the eyeballs, many wear boots in the stable and field. However, most of them are ridden very occasionally - not even every weekend :confused: They are all shod, despite very rarely going out on the roads. One horse has to have his 'special' haynet or the owner says he won't eat :D

I hope one day to keep Frayne and a companion on a track/yard/grazing combined system - so she can go without a muzzle and wander around all day.

Ali xx
 
On one yard I was on, if a horse had a cut, everyone turned into a vet:eek:
My last horse Jadie, got a puncture wound above her knee, yes I know, its a bad place for a cut.. I got the vet out, who gave me healing gel, and antibiotics for her feed, and suggested turnout as normal, to keep the swelling down..
Well... the next day, it had swelled right up:eek: the whole knee.. everyone was saying "Get the vet out, she'll get septicemia and die:eek:!"..
Hence I called the vet for advice this time, who told me give it another couple of days, continue to cold hose (original advice 2 days before) and turn out as normal.
The next day, the swelling had gone right down, so it just goes to show, how much people really slap it on, when your horse is ill. The vet I had at the time, didn't want me to pay out for an unnecessary callout, and said some times a bit of the right advice can go along way;)

So yes, I do think people can go over the top.. but in this next case, quite the opposite happened...

One of the mares' got barbed wire wrapped around her back legs in the stream.. I managed to free her, and it took a good hour to catch her (she just wanted to be left in peace:rolleyes:) The owner did decide to leave her in the end, but I managed to catch her.
She had nasty gashes down her cannon bone on her hind legs, but they didn't think it was bad enough for the vet.. two days later, she had weeping wounds, and an infection.. a visit from the vet when the accident had happened would have prevented this from happening:(

There, is an example of when nature does take it's course, an underestimation of a cut, can lead to problems if ignored..
 
I think far too many horses are what their owners/carers would call pampered, but I think that the horse would call it a different word.

My horse is def spoilt and I do enjoy fussing around her, grooming her, keeping things right etc. But she's not pampered.:)

nani your horse is lovely, is he a roan or a spottie?
 
I sometimes get criticism for the horses being cold/miserable if they are out in a gale. (They have trees to shelter under). But the way I see it, yes there may be times that my horses would prefer to be in a warm stable with a haynet when the weather is bad, but there are plenty of other times when they might be far happier being out when the in-at-night horses are bored or restless. In winter horses are often in from 4pm to 9 or 10 am. When the weather is bad, eg in a gale, maybe the stabled horses get freaked out by weird noises, but can't escape because because they are enclosed. Frankly we just don't know, but I treat my horses as horses. I assume they are evolved to cope with things like cold/wet/wind far better than enclosures/fear/isolation.

Just to add, one of my ponies (a shetland - hardy as they come) was brought in by someone else on the yard, because she was 'shivering'. I wasn't told/asked. When I arrived on the yard I checked that she wasn't ill (she wasn't) and turfed her out again. Obviously I don't know what the other owner saw, but this particular owner keeps her young pony on his own. He's been alone in a small field since 8 months old. He sometimes freaks out and gallops round and round, whinnying. Her solution: stable him so he doesn't get hurt. I don't interefere with how she treats him (though I have my own private opinion about it) but she feels fine to not just criticise me but actively make decisions about my pony wihtout wvwn telling me.
I think some people see horses as sort of mini-people and can't see that they NEED company, turnout (whereas humans are ok alone and indoors) But they don't NEED rugs and stabling (whereas we like clothes and shelter). They go by what WE need not what THEY need. But just my opinion.
 
All you can do is your best for horses wellbeing and best in their interest. It's supposed to be fun, not stressful!

Well said, I couldn't agree more :)

When I do eventually get my own horse (trying to be patient :rolleyes:) I want it to be kept out and as natural as poss. I am a worry wort by nature but will try to resist treating my horse like a helpless infant. I know people that do treat their horse's like children and there's nothing wrong with that if that makes them happy.. but its not always necessary for the horse :)
 
Have seen horses rugged up so they can hardly move and even wearing leg wraps - all in the name of keeping them warm when they don't need to be - thats pampering!!! I don't think I overly pamperours - the old tb gets more care (he needs it obviously at 19) but I certainly don't smother them in rugs either. I think if you are on a big yard sometimes you can be under pressure to do as the others do. Used to happen to us, but I stopped giving in, in the end and just did my own thing.
 
mine are totally and utterly spoilt/pampered/whatever you want to call it, but their welfare is always at the heart of everything. They get regular rolfing treatments (physio/massage technique), saddles always checked and reflocked or replaced as appropriate, regular instruction, both have huge wardrobe of rugs/boots/bandages/therapy products but these are used as appropriate. yes, i used to get mightily peeved when at livery and other liveries horses 'damaged' mine, but poor old tobs always got pretty bad injuries off of other horses. He gashed open his leg, got bitten on the withers so badly it swelled up and required hot/cold compresses and bute. i'm experienced enough to know when summat merits a vet visit so never bowed to 'yard pressure', i wasn't paying for a vet callout if it wasn't needed! i also manage my horses appropriate to their needs and make no apologies for stabling mine for part of the day all year round (day time in the summer to keep out of heat and flies, and night in winter to keep out of worst of weather). they did live out for a fortnight when our stables got flooded and i'd two miserable, narky and peed off horses.
 
eventerbabe I too make know aplogies for the way I treat my horse. He has a full clip in the winter as he is schooled everyday and yes for my convenice I dont want to be stood waiting for an hour for him to stop sweating so I can turn him out wet and hairy!!! I clip wipe down pop on stable rug feed and go home. Better for me, not as itchy for him. He is never over rugged has had no more than a 300g on through out the snow and frost.

When he meant his new field mate he was bitten weekly the vet was not called but yes I was worrid.

He is only in Dec-Feb from 1830 - 0600 daily and out 24/7 the rest of the time. He wears wraps in his stable as it improves his circulation.

Like eventerbabe he has every check on time and i have just brought the latest magnetic rug because it 'might' help his muscle problem. If he needs it he gets it. If that means we live on bread and water so be it.
 
I'm not a pamperer/worrier/fusser in the slightest. I think that horses are much, much tougher and more resilient than many people give them credit for.
 
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