Pictorial of the Seasons of the Natural Horse

When we transition the domestic shod, stalled horse into a natural horse, she blossoms with health. Gaits improve. Skin improves. Attitude improves. I see this on a daily basis. But don’t trust me, trust your own horse. What do you have to loose? Absolutely nothing and all to gain.

Spring

Spring time gives us April showers, May flowers and the best of all, foals!

This beautiful Hanoverian mare is shown with her first foal, Lady. Even the vets were shocked when, after she retained the placenta and her feet became hot with pulsing blood, she never foundered. Her person and I attribute this to the natural trim that gave her ideal blood flow and volume, as well as top notch care of course.

Although she had never been shod, her pasture trim put her coffin bone low in the capsule. When I first met her, the soles were thin and flat. By the time her filly arrived, mom had lovely concavity and ideal feet. I use her hooves in an article about “Reading the Hoof” as I so rarely see nice, round front feet with perfect concavity and large frogs.

Mom and baby will remain barefoot and in a natural lifestyle their entire competitive lives. Perhaps one or both will end up on the Olympic Team. Look for some big, bay beauties to put barefoot on the map!

To the left, a photo of a TWH’s foot when she was just five hours old. Fortunately for her, she was born in a paddock and could move more freely than most. Within a few days of use, the feral foal is moving 10 miles with the herd reforging the baby foot into a working hoof. Sadly our domestics are often in bedded stalls early on and very few get the movement they should have.

Fortunately for the Hanoverian filly above, her owner took the time to learn how to trim. The filly is checked daily and trimmed accordingly so that what nature doesn’t remove, her person can. Most foals are left for weeks and even months, growing long toes and heels. This leads to a misalignment of the coffin bone, the last bone in the leg’s skeleton. I have seen a herd of high-end TB yearlings with horrible feet. Should anyone be surprised when these horses break down?

Summer

Ahhh, the benefits of herd life! I prefer to group horses in herds of 5-10, sexes mixed because this most closely mimics nature. In the wild a stallion and one or two mares, with foals and maybe yearlings form the typical herd. Most farms don’t have stallions so we make do with geldings! A feral herd is led by the alpha mare. I feel sorry for my own horse Sunny who has had this assignment since last fall. He is the leader of a two gelding herd but I have no doubt he would love to turn his crown over to one of the mares in the adjoining field. Sadly, not my barn, not my decision!

Herds come in all shapes and sizes. Any permutation is better than being stalled, even half a day. Stalling is abusive, IMHO.

Horses need skin to skin companionship. They need herd jobs. The low equine on the totem pole thrives in an environment where she is protected by her “superiors”. When everyone is unshod, nips and kicks are normally superficial. Mutual grooming fills an important part of the day.

A roll in the mud hole, creek or pond offers the best fly protection. I find fly sheets hot and annoying. Dealing with flies all summer gives a perfect, free chiropractic adjustment. Deshod and properly trimmed horses don’t over react to fly bites and wounds. My own Banjo is living proof of that.

Summer fun with their people does not feel like “work”!

Fall

Time for me to don my Polertec Coat, but my horse? Well he is smart. He begins to grow just the right coat for his needs. The best Horse Heater? Hay of course. Free choice timothy hay spread around the pasture to encourage movement is my method.

Being a natural horse, Sunny’s weight, look and coat barely change in health between seasons. If your horse is a hard keeper, senstive to flies, stiff in the winter, maybe your domestic horse keeping ways are the problem?

Winter

Brings a New Kind of Fun!

To the right, Hershel and Sunny meander through a storm towards the upper pasture. The snow doesn’t begin to penetrate those thick coats. Blankets screw with the equine hemodynamic system. Horses aren’t people! Come to think of it, I have yet to see blanketed dairy cows or steers raised for meat.

The Take Home Message

When we aren’t playing or working with our horses, let them be themselves! Rather than treating them like Barbie Dolls, why not study the feral horses and try giving our horses the best horse life. I know this presents a drastic change for many. It certainly did for me. I used to clip, blanket and feed sweet feed, shoe all around with borium in the winter, et. al. But I have learned that the old ways were wrong for my horse. I invite you on this journey with me.

Whether a pleasure horse like my Sunny, trying out the new Balance Saddle for fit, a driving burro, or Simon Earle’s high end natural racehorse in England, winning in barefeet and a saddle that is fit for movement, and not anchored to the withers…

Our horses need to be horses when not in work, in as natural setting as possible.

Read Jaime Jackson’s Paddock Paradise for the ideal habitat and check out my review.

Dawn Willoughby ©2007 Photos courtesy of Dawn Willoughby, Caroline Honse and Simon Earle

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Posted in Case Studies, General Articles, Hoof Articles | Tagged barefeet, examples, herd life, natural lifestyle, photos Leave a comment