Why You Shouldn't Stable Your Horse

06/15/2022

Many modern-day equestrians subject their horses to long periods of confinement — some spend up to 23 hours a day in a stable, with just 1 hour of exercise.

But does this confinement cause an animal welfare issue?

In short, yes!

Continue reading to find out why and what you can do to help.

What Does the Law Say About Animal Welfare? 

The laws on animal welfare are pretty similar in most developed countries.

In the US, the legislation is the Animal Welfare Act and Animal Welfare Regulations last updated in 2017, in the UK it’s the Animal Welfare Act 2006, and in Australia, it depends upon your state.

In all of the above Animal Welfare legislation, it is stated that animals should be able to display ‘species-typical behavior’ or ‘normal behavior patterns’.

What does this mean for horses?

Horses should not be kept in a stable. 

Why?

Horses are free-roaming flight animals. They are designed to roam 5-20 miles a day grazing and looking for food, water, and shelter. They thrive in herds and require social interaction for survival.

Horses that are confined to a stable:

    • Have a small 10x12ft stable/stall to move around in
    • Have forage put into hay nets or hay bars, removing the ability to graze
    • Have water provided in a bucket or drinker, removing the ability to search for water
    • They are separated from other horses

The above points show just how restricting a stable is. Good horse care standards should enable your horse to perform natural behaviors in their living environment. 

What Can I Do to Improve My Horses Welfare? 

Firstly, if possible, don’t confine your horse to a stable or stall.

Even in conditions that humans would consider extreme, like cold temperatures, snow, and rain, horses can be outside. Domesticated horses are able to cope with harsh weather conditions as they, unlike humans, are ethologically developed to live outside. Being in a stable during a storm is dangerous for a spooky horse. Calm horses may be stabled if the barn is grounded correctly.

If your barn manager doesn’t allow unlimited turnout, then it may be time to look for a new barn with enough land to have your horse outside 24/7.

If moving barns isn’t an option, then consider exercising your horse more, taking them for in-hand walks, or even turning them out to the pasture for an hour or two. 

If your horse has been prescribed stall rest by your vet, then there are a few things you can do to improve their welfare, until they get the all-clear to return to the pasture.

Enrichment Activities in The Stable 

Horses on stall rest will be bored. To remedy this you can, for example, hang carrots on a string, hide their favorite treat amongst their hay, add flavored tea to their water, or give them a treat ball.

Give Them Some Company! 

Giving a horse on stall rest a companion is the best form of enrichment. This could be another horse or a grazing animal like a goat or a sheep. Horses become very stressed when isolated, and this will help your horse keep calm.

Spend Time Doing Horse Care Activities 

Horses don’t value human companionship as much as that of another horse, but your horse will feel less stressed if you are there. If your horse is on stall rest, spend time grooming, massaging, talking and just being there with them.

Stereotypes in Stabled Horses

If your horse performs a stereotypic behavior, the best way to deal with it is to find the root cause by hiring a behaviorist. However, some behaviors can be caused by what your horse is lacking in its environment:

    • Box walking (where they walk in a repeated pattern in the stall) could be related to restricted movement
    • Wind sucking/cribbing (where they bite down and suck in, making a burping noise) could be related to the restricted forage/grazing
  • Self-mutilation/aggression (biting or hurting themselves or others) could be related to resource guarding or a lack of social interaction

If your horse performs a deep-rooted stereotypic behavior, then it may be too late to undo the damage. Horses like this will still benefit greatly from being turned out but will likely perform the same behaviors in the field.

Horse Welfare Today 

All horses will live a happier, healthier, stress-free life if they are able to live in conditions similar to their natural environment. This means as much time as possible in the pasture with free access to grazing, water, shelter, and companions.

Improving animal welfare standards for your horse should be your first priority as a horse owner.

Leave a comment below! We’d love to hear your tips and tricks for horse care in the stable.

Comments

just don't put them in a stable a run in shelter can multifunction as a stable as a friend of four beautiful horses, I am going to tell you why horses should be kept in a pasture with a run in shelter rather than a barn. After all, why put them in a trap if they could be happier and have a better quality of life in a pasture? I have done research to back up what I already know about horses and that you can learn as well. For one, I know they are claustrophobic. Some relatively more than others but all are one way or another. Horses and other members of the equine family do not feel safe in tight small areas; it could cause them to panic and hurt themself trying to escape. Stables can feel much like a trap for them because some need to be lured in and then to have a door shut behind them can make them uncomfortable, especially if you only interact with your horses for work. Horses can be claustrophobic by being surrounded tightly by other horses or people, not just by walls. Most horses can utilize their defenses of all four hooves, their sheer strength and weight, and teeth to escape if they feel it necessary. Horses are a living moving creature just like us, and that also means they need room to be comfortable and be able to have something to do. Horses need at least 3 hours of sleep while laying down. Some know it as vital sleep and if they can not lay and stretch out to get this sleep there is a chance it can cause behavioral problems and make your horse mentally confused. A horse that is stuck in a stable that they can not walk in a full circle is much too small and if they can not roll in the stable there is a higher chance your horse gets parasites in their coat and can develop box walking from not being able to move around enough that's when they move in the same pattern like an animated idle. Horses are also prairie or grassland mammals. The wild horses in the United States usually roam 5 to 15 miles a day for food and water. A paddock is not a suitable roaming place as they don't usually have grass and are not large enough. Horses that can not get enough natural exercise can become fat and unhealthy or depressed. Horses naturally eat a lot. Cows might have four stomachs but horses need to eat throughout the day unlike most animals that eat at certain times or people who have meal times. Horses can develop a condition called wind sucking or cribbing from restricted grazing times if your horse does this a lot, it is because they are hungry. If your horse isn't getting the eating time it needs, then when given food in the stables they can eat too fast resulting in complications with digestion and can cause a variety of other health issues. In addition to all of this feeding and watering from buckets can cause your horse to lose the ability to find food and water on their own if anything were to happen and they would be needed to set free a good example would be in the california wildfires when thousands of horses had to be set free so they had some of a chance of living as their owners wouldn't be able to get them away from the fires in time. Some might say that horses are not safe if they are in the pasture 24/7 from predators and the weather elements and may even argue that they would have nowhere to put their horse when they wanted to work with them but there are many solutions to this problem. One way is that a run in a shelter can multi-function as a stable when working with horses and an arena can be set up to work them in. Horses in a barn can not defend themselves from predators if they were to get into a barn, horses wouldn't have room to kick or buck and would have nowhere to run to but while in a pasture they have all the room needed to do that. That is why horses should be kept in pastures with run-in shelters, rather than barn stables. Horses are claustrophobic, need room just like us, and they eat way more than we think. A thing you can do to avoid ferrier bills or extra vet bills being high is keep them in a pasture where these things can be maintained naturally.
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