A conscious horse owner

Natural horse keeping is a theme for many horse owners.I would say that it's an aim to strive for but almost utopic. I would like to see more horse owners looking for a more conscious horse ownership. And with consciousness, I think we actually have to acknowledge that any form of horse keeping is a matter of compromises and that we compromise with the horse's needs and our desires.

Something we must never forget is that the horse never compromises! The horse lives in the consequences of our decisions, our compromises. This means that we as responsible horse owners need to acquire enough knowledge to make as intelligent compromises as possible.

For me, the concept of horse keeping includes feeding, hoof care, equipment, training (choice of trainers and training methods) - basically all that I do that involves and affects the horse.

When I bought my first horse after 18 years as a riding school pupil, I believed I was well prepared. It was an illusion. I have now owned horses for 20 years and I am far from finished with my training and is still learning and thereby always willing to change the compromises I've made so far.

At the beginning of my horse ownership the horses were stabled in the traditional way, pasture during the day - stall at night. In 2003 I moved to my own farm. That was they way I started. Until one winter day in 2005 when the horses took down the gate to the pasture and went into the barn. They made sure to crack a post that made it impossible to mend the gate and from that moment my horses have had free access to both pasture and barn. I now know that I'd never switch back to the traditional way of keeping horses!

Keeping the horses in an open stable is not a lazy way of keeping horses, it also requires work, but of a different nature. My barn is insolated but the only heat source is the horses, and the barn only get as warm as the heat the horses generate if they are inside with with the doors are closed. So, as a way to meet my needs (and the vet and farriers) a heated management area to get a descent working environment during the chilly part of the year is on my "want list".

The way I feed the horses have also changed over the years. In the early years I fed concentrates (oats and sometimes barley) and four times a day the got hey. For a couple of years they had free and unlimited access to forage, but even if I have a relatively large pasture it is far from the size a horse needs to have the opportunity to roam around the kilometers they do in the wild. Free access is still free access but not unlimited access. I give the horses plenty of hay in slow feeding net which both prolongs the eating time and keeps the amount of forage in check. The period with free and unlimited access turned out to be a health concern for the horses, they became too fat.

For the majority of horse owners keeping the horse in a boarding stable is the only available option. That doesn't nescessarily has to be bad, it only accuires different demands on the compromises.

As far as shoeing, I know of two stories of why horses were shod (just as there are two creation stories in the Bible). One is that the horses' hooves were subjected to more wear and tear when they became "vehicles of war", another is that when they became a vehicle of war they were kept in stables, often spent too many hours in wet bedding and the health of the hooves were affected. The shoe became a way to keep the fleet running in spite of bad health in the hooves.

The methods of barefoot trim which I think is most usual is the wild horse model, Equine Podiatry and the Strasser method. Among both farriers and barefoot trimmers there are both good and poor performers, but also better and worse methods.

As a horse owner, you do not need to train as a farrier or barefoot trimmer but I think we have an obligation to educate ourselves in the hoof mechanics, if for no other reason than to be an informed consumer who can protect the horse. Whatever you choose - have the hooves cared for on a regular basis. Select a farrier/trimmer that comes to you based on the interval your horse needs. By being a knowledgeable and informed consumer, you are also a good customer.

Bit or bitless. Early in the history of riding we acquired control of the horse's head, we needed means to manage steering and adjust the speed. It still applies today and whether you choose to ride with or without a bit, you should keep in mind that NEVER let your hands go backwards. Your balance is best maintained through a vertical seat and not by hanging on to the reins and thereby the horse's mouth. The horse's mouth has no place for the bit, it must learn to deal with the bit with its tongue and a bad fitting bit can really hurt the horse. I suggest you do this experiment: Take a pen and put the pin header (pin inside the pen) against your gums (corresponding to the horse's bars). How does it feel? How much pressure can you stand?

Whether you ride with a bit or bitless, it's the quality of your hands that determines the quality of the communication, school your hands - establish touch. If the horse feels heavy in your hand, difficult to regulate with regard to both speed and turning, it is you who created the resistance! To make use of draw reins or sharper bit says more about the rider (or trainer who recommended it) than it does about the horse if you ask me.

It can be recommended to vary between riding with or without a bit, and please try to ride in rope halter (or neck strap) at some point. If nothing else it'll give you an opportunity to exercise your own humbleness as a rider. (I recommend that you try this in an enclosed area.)

Remember that the horse has silence as its survival strategy, it reveals no pain with the slightest sound. This means that we as horse owners need to be more observant of the horse so that we "hear" their silent invitation to communication.

"Everyone wants to be right, but few question if their perception of right is right." FM Alexander

(Recited from my memory, might be a different wording)