Be A Friend to Your Horse By Letting Them Have Friends

The horse industry is a very interesting and unique place, which is unsurprising given the finnicky and unique nature of horses. You do have to be a little bit crazy to involve yourself with such accident prone, difficult to care for animals, let alone revolve your entire life around them. Yet, here we are, as horse people who live, breathe and dream horses. Such passion is something that is hard find and should be coveted, however, it is also important that we do not allow our zest for the sport of equestrianism to come above the overall wellbeing of our horses and this is one of the biggest shortcomings of the horse industry.

This is not to say that horse people don’t care about their horses, they most definitely do, however, the industry itself is flawed in that from day one, many equestrians are misled about facts surrounding the care and behaviour of the animals that they so love. What I mean by this is that we are often taught to over value things that in the grand scheme of life are unimportant such as big, beautiful stalls, lovely arenas with good footing, making sure our horses are blanketed for all different types of weather. We hyper fixate on what our idea of comfort is for horses, rather than considering what they actually need to be comfortable and happy. It’s to the point where as a horse owner, you’re honestly more likely to be criticized for having your horse out in the rain or snow or standing in a bit of mud than you are for having them in a meticulously groomed single dry lot paddock. This is because the focus of horse care is still surrounding the human idea of what horses need, rather than what we actually know about them. I won’t go into too much detail about the typical boarding situation in the areas I’m familiar with or what the typical schedule may look like for the average sport horse, I’ve done this at length in other posts. What I will do, however, is discuss the importance of socialization for horses and how often this is missed out on as a crucial, key factor to equine welfare.

Individual paddock turnout is what I would personally view as the most common way to keep horses, particularly in boarding situations. Horse owners are often exceptionally paranoid about the idea of injury and to them, having horses out together increases such injury due to risk of being kicked. This isn’t untrue, however, I feel that such risk is amplified to a point where people fear it more than what the bigger problem is- lack of fulfillment of their horses’ needs. Well socialized and stable herds really shouldn’t bring about an extra risk. What we need to remember as horse people that by depriving horses of basic needs like friends and foraging behaviours that are consistent with being out on pasture, we bring about new risks. Colic is such a huge fear in horse ownership and while it can happen even to pasture-reared horses, it is much, much more likely to occur in traditionally kept horses who live in stables and small paddocks with limited social contact. Horses who have a deficit of social contact with other horses are more likely to engage in stress behaviours or show signs of depression or boredom. Social contact is an incredibly important need for horses and such need isn’t considered enough by the average horse owner or boarding establishment. I am not sure how we got to the point where we have somewhat forgotten how crucial social bonds are to equine welfare, after all, they are herd animals, should this not be a no-brainer? Unfortunately, though, many well intentioned horse owners do not realize just how important the socialization aspect of horse behaviour is.

I write this post without judgment of others who keep their horses in the situations I’m discussing here. I used to be one of you. For much of my riding career, my Arabian was kept in a stall 16+ hours a day and when he did get out, it was in a small dry lot paddock that was barely big enough to trot in. Sure, he could touch noses with horses over the fence sometimes, but the fences were hotwired so such social interaction was limited due to fear of electrocution on his part. During this time, I was constantly frustrated with him. Ride after ride, he would spook at the same things. He would bolt. He never seemed to get used to things or really relax and it led to me resenting him to some extent. Fast forward several years to when I got him out on group pasture turnout: quite literally a different horse. He was suddenly beginner safe. No bolting. No spooking. A happy horse. The only “bad” part that came along with this was that he was hard to catch, but realistically, who can blame him? If you’d been cooped up for the better part of your life only to now taste freedom, would you want to risk giving it up? To him, I was the death of his freedom because we had so many consistent years where I was the one bringing him back inside to solitary confinement or taking him outside to a slightly better location but one that still left him feeling unfulfilled.

The difference in my Arabian’s behaviour upon getting adequate amounts of turnout and socialization took me down the path of researching equine behaviour and husbandry. It was eye opening to read about how crucial foraging and social behaviours were to the wellbeing of the horse. I had known they lived off of hay, but I hadn’t known how dramatically risk of stomach ulceration was to increase with set feed times and hours spent without access to forage. I hadn’t known how closely horses bonded with each other and how much lack of ability to do so could affect them mentally. I’d not had the pleasure to actively engage with a stable herd, to see the horses hanging out together constantly. Napping together. Eating together. Running together. Playing together. You name it, they’ll do it together. When I finally had the chance to see this, it was quite honestly one of the most beautiful things I’d ever witnessed. Truly happy horses, who had the ability to develop the herd connection that all horses should have access to.

Nowadays, my horses have been living out 24/7 for the last several years. Milo, the horse I’ve had the longest term, has never had to live a life without access to at minimum an in/out paddock. For the last 5 years, he has been out fulltime in a large dry lot or pasture with a shelter, always with a friend. For the first year I had him, though, despite having an in/out (which is far better than being stalled for part of the day, as he always had the option to leave) he was unfulfilled and bored. He didn’t have a buddy out with him so was reduced to trying to solicit attention from other, older horses from over the fence and it wasn’t enough for him. This resulted in much more excited outburst behaviours due to his lack of ability to utilize this energy on his own time. It was frustrating and it made handling him more difficult and dangerous. As he adapted to the herd lifestyle later in life, he was able to tire his busy brain by engaging with buddies. He was able to self-calm by having a friend to stand by him in periods of high stress. He was able to maintain a consistently lower threshold of stress due to the relaxing and calming aspect of having the ability to practice natural behaviours, which for horses will almost always include being around other horses. It made him a better horse as a result and by default, a better partner to me and better competitor.

Horses do not choose isolation when given the choice. While we may see horses who have aggressive behaviours towards other horses, this is largely due to our lack of ability as an industry to allow for enough socialization for horses to develop a proper social repertoire and avoid frustrated behaviours that at their core are likely stemming from the stress of having been unable to engage with other horses and/or not knowing how to. These types of behaviours need to be viewed for what they are: abnormal. It is not normal for a herd animal to choose isolation, to not want to be around conspecifics. When this happens, it should be viewed as nothing other than a tragedy, an abnormal behaviour adopted due to less than ideal social circumstances growing up or, perhaps, some type on anomaly with that particular horse if it has been an issue since birth. Regardless of cause, though, we need to acknowledge that herd animals who resent time spent with their kind are abnormal. Their behaviour is not what you should model your typical care off of, it is something you should work to avoid creating in the first place.

In boarding situations, horse owners may be limited in what they can do due to barn rules. The key to changing this, though, still revolves around spreading the idea that horses are herd animals and this means that socialization is not optional, it is a necessity. In the mean time, though, for people who are stuck having to follow the outdated rules of establishments that may discourage group housing options, there are some ways you can help bridge the gap between isolation and socialization. This starts with trying to find similar minded boarders who are willing to allow their horses to get to know yours. Socialization can be done behind protected contact, such as between stall bars or with safe fencing between the horses, so they can interact and get to know each other while limiting risk of injury. For horses with behavioural problems from poor socialization, there is definitely more work involved for remodelling this behaviour but protected contact for these types is even more crucial. Engaging with other horses over a fence or between a stall is better than nothing. Taking your horse out for hand grazes with other horses or going hacks with other horses and actually letting them engage with each other is preferable to the alternative of absolutely no socialization.

The picture I want to paint for people skeptical about letting their horses socialize is truly a beautiful one. My horses are such a joy to watch, their zest for life and overall happiness is superior now that they get to engage in natural social behaviours and hang out together in a space where they have enough room to run and play. We frequently catch them playing “tag”, running after each other, bucking and kicking or standing stationary and finding entertainment in nipping at each other’s faces with the occasional rear. When they’re sleepy, they have group naps together, preferring to sleep side by side rather than alone. They even go to the water trough together to drink in tandem and even do menial tasks like peeing together. They develop strong relationships with each other and have different traits specific to their relationships with other horses. Two horses with similar play styles may play more, or they may adapt their play style slightly to fit the style of a less rambunctious friend. The vast majority of their time spent together is merely spent enjoying each other’s company and while they do sometimes bicker, the vast majority of the time it is merely the warning of pinned ears or perhaps, at most, a bite. This is also reflected in studies. Horses really aren’t aggressive creatures and provided they have enough room and resources, they will often choose to warn rather than “attack” so the risk of being kicked or injured in group housing should drop dramatically with well socialized horses with enough resources.

Horses are herd animals. We know this. We have studied it extensively and there is a wealth of information pointing to the problems associated with individual housing while highlighting just how much a social living style can amplify the wellbeing of your horse. This is an indisputable fact, it is just something so many choose not to recognize out of fear of not offering the “best of the best” for their horses, they do not want to admit to any shortcomings of their care. It isn’t the end of the world to not have the perfect situation for your horse, it becomes much more of a problem, though, if you cannot recognize where there is room for improvement and do whatever you can to better the life of your horse in the areas that are lacking. This is why the conversation surrounding the species-specific social needs of the horse is such an important one to have.

We live in a modern world where land is limited and depending on geography, options for grass pasture in a group setting may be limited. Horses may have specific dietary or physical needs that necessitate different living circumstances, too. But- at the end of the day, if we recognize what the best case scenario is and work to enrich the situation our horse is in, we can improve the welfare of our horses to the best of our ability. I live in a pretty populated area with limited land. Many of the boarding facilities here do not have any option for group turnout. Huge multi-acre fields are not a common thing here, let alone expanses like what those living in more rural areas like certain parts of Alberta may be accustomed to. I wish my horses had a bigger field. I wish I had acres and acres of grass to rotate them on year round. But, I live in a rain forest and do not have the land mass to do this. So, I make do with what I have. Their field is more than large enough for them to actually run in. They have free choice forage in different locations so they can walk to seek different types of hay, still nothing like pasture grazing, but as good as I can offer here and their behaviour isn’t reflective of a stressed horse. Eventually, I want more for them but they have it pretty good. If I’d never been able to recognize where care was lacking or where there was room for improvement, though, my horses would likely still be spending the majority of their time in stalls, which would be far worse than what they can have now.

Be the best friend you can be to your horse, simply by letting them have friends and prioritizing their need for socialization.