Small but significant changes can make confinement healthier and more comfortable for horses.
I wish I could say my experiment with group housing for our two ponies came from a virtuous desire to do what was best for their health based on the latest equine research. In truth, putting the ponies together in one large stall was about necessity, about working with what we had. And what we had in 2010 was one large, wide-open space in a long-neglected pre-Civil War stone bank barn.
We had just moved to our small farm in southeastern Pennsylvania and we reeager to bring Cupcake and Falcon home.
But our barn was little more than walls, windows without glass, and a roof---and a barely functioning roof at that. “They are ponies---they are tough,” I told my family. We threw up nylon stall guards in the doorways of a huge stone room that had probably housed cows or pigs back in the day. We put down bedding, brought in hay and water, and led the ponies in as a cold rain fell in sheets outside.Cupcake and Falcon looked at one another, walked around and started eating.
“It’s just like a big run-in,” I told my husband confidently. My daughter the hunter/jumper rider was less optimistic. “This is weird,” she said. “When can we put in stalls?”
But we never did put in those stalls. What started as a temporary arrangement became permanent because it worked so well. Our ponies were calm and better behaved, on the ground and in the ring. Today, a growing body of research helps to explain why.
Esta historia es de la edición July 2017 de Equus.
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Esta historia es de la edición July 2017 de Equus.
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PROGRESS AND STRUGGLE IN SENIOR HORSE CARE
A study from the Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University confirms what many dedicated horse owners have long known: Caring for a geriatric horse with a chronic health condition can be a significant physical and emotional burden.
THREE WAYS TO PREVENT BLANKET INJURIES
Of all the things your horse could injure himself with, his blanket seems an unlikely candidate. But don’t rule it out. Blanket mishaps do happen and they can be serious. Here are three things you can do to avoid them:
PUT AN END TO BARN DRAMA
While it’s impossible to prevent all discord at the barn, conflict resolution techniques can help solve problems, restore calm and enable everyone to enjoy their horses.
The turning point
You don’t always get the horse you want, but sometimes you get the one you need.
A FOREVER HOME
How a Facebook post led to a midnight rescue and an unexpected partnership
Nice work if you can get it
A career focused on horses is not for the faint of heart but the rewards are many and can last a lifetime.
MAKE WINTER EASIER FOR YOUR OLD HORSE
The season ahead may be hard on aging horses in cold climates but with some planning and preparation you can help yours sail through until spring.
7 THINGS YOU MAY NOT HAVE KNOWN ABOUT TETANUS
With modern vaccines and wound management practices, tetanus is almost a thing of the past. But the threat persists, so it’s wise to remember which horses are most at risk and why.
THE FIRST AMERICAN “SPORT HORSE” BREED
The very name of the American Standardbred reflects the performance requirement established at the inception of the breed. Here’s how genetics, conformation and training came together to create horses that could trot a mile in 2:30 or less, or pace it in 2:00 flat.
THE 6 WAYS HORSES LEARN
You’ll be more successful in teaching your horse new skills or maneuvers if your lessons, timing and tasks are aligned with his natural modes of acquiring information.
