 |
|
The
Natural Horse Group was established in 2001.
It aims to provide
information that enables people to explore ways of keeping and managing
equines that enhance wellbeing and encourage a natural lifestyle
|
| |
|
|
|
Okay, so we know that we can’t keep
our horses completely naturally, but by understanding how horses live
without us, we can strive to improve matters when they live with us.
Abigail Hogg considers how we define ‘natural’ when it comes to
horse keeping
|
Nutrition
Horses’ digestive systems
are designed to extract nutrition from poor quality
forage. To allow them to get enough nutrients from
such food, horses have evolved to eat almost
constantly, spending about seventeen hours a day
foraging. This impulsion to eat remains unchanged,
even when horses eat food of high nutritional value.
|
|
|
Movement
Grazing
is movement. Playing is movement. Going to water is
movement. Running from danger is movement. Horses are
creatures of motion and their physical and mental
health depends upon it.
|
|
|
Society
Horses are highly
developed social animals with strong family and
friendship bonds. They need to be in visual and
physical contact with other horses to feel secure.
Strong bonds between individuals are the building
blocks of the herd’s cohesion that is central to
survival in the wild.
|
|
Choice
Given the chance, horses
will choose when to eat, when to shelter, who to be
friends with and when to run. Natural
horse keeping aims to maximise the horse’s ability
to carry out its natural behaviour, in the interests
of its physical & mental wellbeing.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
