I have a long-standing belief that horses are forever trying to maim or kill themselves. It’s like they can’t even help it. You’d think a 1,300 pound animal would be sturdy, but they aren’t. They’re fragile. And the more valuable they are, the more accident prone they are. Ask anyone in the horse business. They’ll agree.
We have a lovely 3-stall barn on our property. We designed and built it a few years ago so that we could have the horses at home with us. I grew up on a ranch and didn’t have a lot of experience with boarding horses until about 10 years ago. There’s a lot that goes into being successful at a boarding facility. Not to mention all that goes into running one, which thankfully I’ve never had to figure out. Anyway, when we were designing our barn, we decided we wanted to make it just large enough to house a horse for me, one for JG, and one extra spot for the old man who’s living out his retirement with us. Any more space and you inevitably end up boarding a horse for a friend and then you have to figure out all that entails.
We have 12×12′ stalls, each with a 12×50′ pipe run. The horses have their stall and their run and we very rarely shut them into their stalls (only in a blizzard where the wind is blowing the snow directly into the barn). The boys (they’re all geldings) prefer to be outside, even in bad weather. The downside of this set-up is that the wind blows dust into the barn all the time, but happy horses win out over regular barn cleaning.
We were lucky enough to buy a lot across the street from our house a couple of years ago. It’s just about an acre and is perfect for a pasture (or paddock depending on where you live) and outdoor arena down the road. Plus, we get to keep someone from building a house there and blocking our view. It’s taken us until this summer to be able to fence the pasture for turnout for the boys. Fencing is expensive and we weren’t sure what we wanted, and whether we could afford what we wanted.
We decided on Ramm Per4mance Flex Fence. This fencing is made of three 12.5-gauge galvanized high-tensile wires that are molecularly bonded to a polyolefin plastic. It supposedly can flex up to 6″-8″ on impact, then return to shape. We went with the 3.75″ “rails” and did a 3 rail fence. They recommended 4 rails with the narrower product, but since this is just for turnout and we have 3 mature horses, we felt like the 3 rail would work fine. And so far, I’m really happy with the decision.
The fence has been up about a month and so far the boys are loving it. I turn them out every day for about 2 hours. I try to balance the benefits of exercise, rolling, socialization, and grazing with the need to manage weight and deal with the flies, mosquitos and heat. All our horses are “fluffy.” They’re Quarter Horses and are easy keepers. Deets (pictured above) is my horse and the youngest at 7 and by far the most active. I ride him 4-5 times a week and still feel the need to monitor grazing time and potential weight gain.
The only issue I have with the new turnout is Deets. I bought Deets from my brother when he was 2. He’d been turnout out with probably 20 other young horses on the ranch from the time he was weaned until he came to live with me – first at a boarding facility and then at home. But turnout for a yearling is very different than turnout as an adult. Colts play and are always messing with each other – like how kids play. Deets doesn’t understand that the 15 and 25 year olds he’s turned out with don’t think his shenanigans are amusing. They want to be left alone to roll a few times and then graze. Not Deets. Deets wants to play chase and he runs in circles around them trying to herd them or get them to engage. The other day I saw him trying to mount Sluggo, JG’s horse – the 15 year old. It shouldn’t surprise you that his annoying behavior has consequences. In particular, someone kicked him in the knee and then two days later he pulled a shoe off.
I’ve spent last week cold hosing my horse’s knee and tracking down a local farrier who could put his shoe back on (my farrier was in MT officiating a wedding). Luckily, Deets is young and heals quickly so the swelling is mostly gone and he isn’t lame. I rode this weekend and he was fine. But we’ve just finally recovered from a pulled pec muscle that sidelined him for 3 months, so I’m a little cranky. You see what I mean about them always trying to kill themselves? Or maybe it’s just mine.
Stephanie
