From: Rach
Dear Jessica,
This is my first question to Horse-Sense, made on behalf of two friends of mine whom I believe would derive great benefit from your undisputed wisdom! First I'd like to take the opportunity to thank you for providing such a wonderful service in sharing your expertise so graciously :)
My question relates to the management of young horses. I have seen in the archives a similar question in which you dealt briefly with the reasons why it is not a good idea for young horses to be kept in stalls; if possible I would like to ask you to delve a little further into the topic.
The situation is this: two of my friends purchased, about a month ago, two 6 month old colts. I think it is fair to say that they have not had much experience of horses this young. When the foals arrived, they were unloaded straight into the barn and put in separate stables. This caused them some stress, compounded by the fact that they had been weaned a week before and kept in alone together during that time. It's my belief that too much was done too soon, as they made a big effort to touch and handle the foals when they were already freaked by their stressful experiences, and their first journey. The end result was that the more sensitive of the two colts broke through a wall made of concrete breeze blocks to get to his friend.
A few days later, when they were back together and a little more settled, there was an attempt to turn them out together (all this time they had been together in a largeish stable). This almost proved disastrous; the foals went mad and again the more sensitive of the two jumped into the next field where my horse and her companion are, irrespective of the electric fencing, and proceeded to gallop about wildly. I can only assume that they were looking for their herd, as they showed definite signs of wanting to jump out into a third field where there is a larger group of horses. The foals were caught and brought back in and there has been no further attempt to turn them out. Their exercise consists of one hour per day loose in the barn with a concrete floor, so there is no real free exercise as such. Once a week or so they are boxed to an indoor school for "a buck and a fart".
Although it has been suggested that my friends could productively introduce a companion animal to help them get used to their new lives, this wasn't really acted upon and the decision has now been taken to leave these two youngsters in for the winter, until Spring when they are cut. I am not a person who likes to see horses kept in at the best of times but for these two young horses it seems particularly tragic. As I am sure you will appreciate, it is not always easy to speak to friends about these things in an open way, particularly when you vehemently disagree with the options they have chosen.
To add weight to the problem, they have received assurances from both the foals' breeder and another well-known breeder in the area who agree that the best thing for the two foals is indeed to be kept in for the winter. They are now secure in the fact that they no longer have a problem and that they are doing the right thing by their babies. I remain unconvinced.
As you know I think you have a great talent not only in horse-sense but in helping people to understand why their actions might be adversely upsetting their horses, without them getting upset. Is it even possible to raise issues with friends who don't even consider that they have a problem, with any reasonable expectation of success?
On the plus side the handling is going well and the foals seem happy enough and are more confident with their new environment, but I can't help but feel they should be out in a field.
I would very much appreciate your input on this rather thorny problem.
Best regards, Rach
So, you're fighting several things. Ignorance about the proper management of horses is obviously at the top of the list, but I expect there's a large "convenience" factor as well. The separation of just-weaned foals in a new environment would be bad enough, but isolating and confining them on top of that is really unspeakably unkind. They should have been put out into a large field with other youngsters and/or with a suitable "babysitter" gelding, not put into solitary confinement and deprived of exercise.
The owners of the foals probably believe that they've thought of a clever and convenient method of foal management. I'm sure that it must be infinitely more convenient than seeking out a proper environment for the youngsters. I'm not being entirely facetious here - I realize that it's not always easy to find a large field, with safe fencing, suitable winter shelter (a three-sided shed for days that are both cold AND wet), and a stable, not-too-large population of resident equines. Such fields are in demand, and places in such fields are generally spoken for by knowledgeable horse-owners well in advance of specific need, and sometimes months before the search for a new horse even BEGINS. I do recognize the difficulties involved in making suitable arrangements for the proper care of foals (or, for that matter, puppies or infants). However, the person responsible for the foals has an obligation to do precisely that. To do this, it's necessary for that person to understand the needs and requirements of the youngsters, and to meet THOSE needs and requirements. Finding suitable fields isn't easy, but it's not optional.
On the other hand, it's generally not difficult to find boxes in which horses can be kept confined, all in the name of convenience. Yes, horses will stay cleaner, and won't acquire bite or scratch marks from interacting with other horses, but.... staying clean and avoiding interactions with other horses are not priorities for horses, and should never be priorities for their owners, especially for the owners of foals.
It's a sad fact that people who don't know much about horses will generally look at a slightly ribby, rough-coated youngster ripping around a field, and compare him UNfavourably with another youngster that is fat, shiny-coated, and standing quietly in a box. They don't realize that the first one is being managed well and given every chance to develop its full genetic potential, whilst the second, shiny, quiet one is being mentally and physically crippled in the name of.... of what, exactly? The usual answer is twofold: "human ignorance" and "human convenience". Your best hope, in this case, is that your friends will be willing to have their ignorance remedied, and that they will then come to see that their convenience is going to ruin the foals.
I will give you some more details about the reasons for allowing foals free exercise and an outdoor life, but first, I had better point out that the truth may not be enough to set them free. It is very difficult to help people solve problems when they do not want help, do not want to change their behaviour, and in fact do not recognize the existence of the problems. It's also, often, very difficult to convince people that something that doesn't appear to be a problem NOW will have horrible consequences later. Your friends are not necessarily horrible, wicked people (although the effect on the foals is the same as it would be if they were). They may simply not realize that what they're doing is the equivalent to keeping a puppy in a small crate 23 hours a day - or locking a human child in a closet or portaloo.
An unbalanced diet, lack of exercise, being worked on small circles, being worked on poor footing, carrying a saddle and rider too early - these are things that ruin young horses, but not immediately. Keeping foals in the conditions you've described is not only cruel, it's a burning formula for unsound adolescence and probably NO future after that. It certainly guarantees that the foals will be unable to meet or even approach whatever genetic potential they might have had, in terms of athletic ability. I don't see the point of this sort of foal management, at all - unless, perhaps, these foals are simply being kept in and fed so that they can appear on someone's supper table? Truly, what you've described is the sort of management that one would more typically associate with veal calves or battery hens - not that the conditions are kind or correct for those animals either, but at least in those cases, nobody even pretends that long-term soundness, much less athletic performance, would be a goal.
If their owners have any interest in seeing those foals attain sound, sane adulthood, they are going about it all wrong. Keeping foals confined indoors will prevent them from achieving proper neuromuscular development; giving them exercise on concrete (horrors!) will damage their bones and joints; allowing them the "freedom" of an indoor school once a week for an hour or so may make their owners feel better, but this will not and cannot make up for the foals' lack of free movement 24/7. This sort of "horsekeeping" is very anti-horse, and is generally done only so that the owners can "enjoy" seeing their animals clean and dry, and visit them without walking through fields and dirtying their shoes.
If you can, try to persuade the owners to have the foals gelded now. They're already six months old, they could have been gelded long ago, but it's understandable if the veterinarian wished to wait until the end of fly-season. The sooner this is done, the better, and then both foals would be vastly more acceptable to the owners of suitable fields in the area.
It makes me very sad to hear of weanling foals being kept in such conditions, and I can't even begin to imagine the thought processes of breeders who would endorse this sort of thing. Surely these cannot be reputable breeders producing horses of any quality! But if the foals' owners have managed to find someone, ANYONE, to encourage them in their "method", you may not be able to shine the light of reason on this scene.
I know from long experience that, just as some young humans don't believe in the dangers of smoking or sunburn, because they don't SEE immediate consequences (or, in many cases, recognize the longer-term consequences until it's too late), there are horse-owners who look at their horses and say "They're fat and shiny, how can you possibly think that anything is WRONG?"
By the time the horses' bones break, or begin to impinge on the spinal cord, because unsuitable food and lack of exercise can create a shiny coat and a layer of fat, but cannot produce good bones, it will be too late. By the time the horses' joints are SHOWING the damage they've sustained from occasional frantic movement in a small space on inappropriate footing, it will be too late. Even when a weanling brought up in confinement is rescued as a yearling and put into a suitable environment, it's too late - not too late for the horse to become reasonably healthy and well-socialized, not too late for it to have a much-improved life, of course, but too late to compensate for the for the all-important physical development that would normally have taken place during that first year. Can a stall-raised yearling grow up to be large, fat, and shiny? Yes, of course. Can such a horse be ridden and trained? Yes, of course. Will it ever have the balance and coordination and athletic potential that it could have had? NO.
Ignorance may be bliss for some horse-owners, but it's hard on the horses. In an ideal world, horse-owners would do their homework before they embark on the adventure of horse ownership; in a slightly less ideal world, people who are in the process of making huge, damaging mistakes would be willing to LEARN and change their ways before they destroyed the animals in their care. I can't believe that your friends are completely without access to sources of good information - I know that the UK is chockablock with books about horse management and foal development, the Pony Club, the BHS, and the RSPCA are good traditional sources of information, and a visit to any breeder known for producing sound, sane youngstock would only serve to reinforce the wisdom freely available from the abovementioned sources. But even if you collect an impressive array of books and pamphlets on the subject, will your friends read them and absorb the information? You may be able to make some headway if you can enlist the support of the local equine veterinarian, as this the sort of situation that makes good veterinarians desperately unhappy (no surprise - they know just how wrong it is, AND they'll be dealing with the consequences later).
If I were in your position, I expect I would try to influence the foals' owners, and I'm sure you will try. But please keep in mind that you cannot help people who are standing in front of you with their eyes tight shut and their fingers in their ears, singing loudly - you won't be able to reach them unless they are willing to listen and learn.
I expect you'll be familiar with the vast array of "lightbulb jokes" that seem to make the rounds every few years. The one that come to mind is this:
Q. How many psychiatrists does it take to change a light bulb? A. Just one.... but the lightbulb has to WANT to change.
Good luck, Rach, but try not to break your heart if your best efforts at persuasion fall on deaf ears. You may simply not be heard. On the other hand, I'd prefer to take the optimistic view! You may be able to get through to your friends, and I hope this happens. The best possible outcome would be a complete change of heart for the owners - and a complete change of environment for the foals, as soon as possible. With luck, your friends WILL listen, and then you'll know that you've done something very good, not just for these two foals, but any other horses your friends might ever own. And, last but not least, you'll have done something very good for your friends. I wish you all the luck in the world. Please let me know what happens.
Jessica
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