Running Free - A Wild Horse Tale

First Horse - Module 2

Module 2 - Horse Lifestyle

Where and how will your horse live?

Where and how your horse will live largely depends on what you want to do with your horse. Is your horse for pleasure, recreational trail rides, dressage, jumping, or endurance? Your goals for you and your horse will help determine where and how you want your horse to live.

Boarding Facility

Boarding facilities come in all shapes and sizes. For most urban horse owners this is the only option, as horse property within the city is hard to come by and very expensive.

First, let's start with care options. There is self care, partial care, and full care. Self care is where you pay a monthly fee to board your horse at their facility, but you are responsible for feeding and caring for your horse. Full care is where you pay a monthly fee and the facility feeds and waters your horse. Partial care is somewhere in between self and full care.

Second, let's cover the types of housing for your horse offered at different boarding facilities (not all facilities offer all of these options).

• Pasture with shelter = large area with some form of shelter, typically a lean-to.
• Corral/run with shelter = small area with some form of shelter.
• Stall with run = a box stall with a small outside area.
• Stall = box stall.

Third, let's cover the options available to you the boarder that different boarding facilities offer (not all facilities offer all of these options).

• Tack Storage
• Horse trailer storage
• Outdoor riding arena
• Indoor riding arena
• Heated indoor riding arena
• Wash rack
• Electricity
• Running water
• Trail accessibility
• Training programs
• Riding lessons
• Veterinary services
• Farrier services
• Blanket services
• Turn out services
• Hand walking and other exercise services

What is the best option for you and your horse?

Again, this largely depends on what you want to do with your horse. The majority of veterinarians agree the closer you can get your horse's lifestyle to that of a wild horse, the happier and healthier your horse will be. This means having your horse on pasture with continuous access to food. This is not always possible, especially with today's urban sprawl. So try to get as close to it as possible. Most show/dressage/jumping horses do very well in stalls with runs and adequate turn out time.

Home

Most horse owners dream of having their own horse property with their horses just outside their back door. For those that are lucky enough to have that opportunity, it is a wonderful and rewarding experience. If you want your horse on pasture, the rule is two acres for each horse. If you plan to provide hay only, then you can decrease the amount of acreage and increase the number of horses (within the laws of where you live). Having your horse at home is a great way to control their environment, especially if they have special needs.