Husbandry for happiness - what is it and how does horse lifestyle affect their health and wellbeing?

In my experience as a vet so far, I have seen many cases where a horse’s lifestyle is having an impact on their health and wellbeing. Sometimes it may be the predominant cause of ill health or wellbeing, sometimes it is just another contributing factor. Sometimes, improving their lifestyle towards a state we often think of as ideal for our horses (usually because it is closer to how they would live in the wild) risks exacerbating certain existing health conditions. One such example could be allowing a horse with insulin resistance 24/7 access to stressed grass.

First of all, I believe we should strive for our horses to live a lifestyle that nurtures their innate nature, and therefore looks after their physical, mental and emotional wellbeing (and, although I have separated these here for the purpose of explaining my thinking, I actually think it is a false separation as these things are so incredibly intertwined). A lifestyle that nurtures their innate nature is both species-appropriate and considers the unique individual.

It is also worth considering what sort of lifestyle you as an owner would like to have, the upkeep or chores you might have to do in some kinds of systems, and how this might affect your quality time (or lack of!) with your horse.

For horses, a useful concept that has been around for quite a while now is that of ensuring access to “forage, freedom and friends” and this is an excellent starting place. Restriction of these things causes a wide range of dis-ease, from ulcers to gut dysbiosis to postural changes alongside dental and foot imbalances to stereotypies, inability to regulate emotional and nervous system responses, frustration and depression. And that is only a small selection of possibilities. On the other hand, providing access to these things creates balance, comfort, agility and growth in physiological, structural, cognitive and emotional spheres.

Does “species-appropriate” mean that we should keep horses exactly as they would live in the wild? Not exactly. There are benefits to domestication, not least of which are not dying of predation, starvation, or crippling injuries, access to pain relief when they are injured or unwell, having their teeth looked after when they are dysfunctional or painful, and for mares, not having to be both lactating and in foal a lot of the time.

What “species-appropriate” really means is considering how a horse is adapted to be, from many viewpoints such as structural, functional, behavioural and emotional, and then getting as close as we can to a lifestyle that honours these. I also think we can be mindful of life-stage-appropriate lifestyles, health-condition-appropriate lifestyles, and individual-appropriate lifestyles, if this doesn’t add too much complexity to be practical about what to actually do!

I would like to consider for a moment the use of words like “optimal” and “best”, and whether these really help us out in making decisions in this area. I tend to think maybe not, because there are a lot of factors playing into how to provide a horse with a certain lifestyle, and some of these will be constraints, whether practical, time or space related, financial, or related to the horse’s existing health conditions. Thinking of it in terms of “optimal” and “best” might just make us feel inadequate or guilty, or might make us spend time or money we can’t afford, because we love our horses.

I propose thinking about this in terms like “beneficial”, “healthy”, “functional” or even just “enjoyable”. Where the uniqueness of individuals comes in again is in preferences for terms like “peaceful”, “safe”, “enriching”, “fun”, “stimulating”, and so on. This is where knowing yourself and knowing your horse is part of the journey.