They say that there's nothing that can cure a horse's bad mood like a night spent under the stars. Indeed, keeping your horse outside on 24-hour turnout is the most natural way to keep him. There are many advantages to keeping your horse on pasture, but there are a few disadvantages as well. When deciding whether to keep your horse outside or whether to bring him in, be sure to consider all the facts.
Advantages to keeping your horse on pasture
The advantages of keeping your horse on pasture are huge. A horse on pasture is allowed free access to fresh air, sunshine, and exercise. Pasture living allows your horse to socialize with other horses, and to enjoy all that the great outdoors and herd living has to offer. Keeping your horse on pasture can also be wise economically. Depending upon the type of horse you have, as well as the quality of your pasture, all or most of your horse's feed needs can be met by eating pasture grass.
The mental and emotional benefits that a horse who lives on pasture enjoys are also a big advantage. Horses who live outside tend to be more content, more willing, and because they are generally well exercised are easier to control under saddle.
And let's not forget one of the biggest advantages of all—fewer daily chores for you. If you choose to keep your horse on pasture you'll have no stalls to clean!
Disadvantages to keeping your horse on pasture
Horses are pretty hard on the land, so depending upon where you live, this might be reason enough not be able to keep your horse on pasture. Some areas are so lush that one acre provides plenty of pasture. Other areas, specifically ones that are dry and barren, might require 50 acres for one horse. If you have two or more pastures, your chances of successfully keeping your horses on pasture improve, as you can rotate the pastures as they are trimmed. How do you know how many acres you need to support your horse? Talk to an experienced horse person in the area, or contact your county extension agent.
Potential injury is another reason why you may not want to keep your horse on pasture. Horses who are turned out together form a social hierarchy, and there is sometimes some violence before that hierarchy is determined. Even mild confrontations will result in an unsightly war wound here and there. If you have a very fancy show horse whose looks are everything, you might want to think twice about putting him out on pasture.
Horses who are kept on pasture generally take longer to catch, and they can get very dirty! It is important to note that if you keep your horse out on pasture, it will take longer to groom him and get him ready for riding.
Horses kept on pasture can also become "herd bound," which means they become very anxious when separated from the herd. Not only can they be difficult to catch, but their attention span under saddle can suffer as they'll have one thing on their mind—getting back to the herd!
One of the most major disadvantages to keeping a horse on pasture is that it can be difficult to control the weight of some individuals. With the 24-hour buffet right at their noses, some horses grow very fat, especially those kept on lush pasture. While this in itself is detrimental, excess weight can cause some really serious problems, like colic and founder. Horses who grow really fat on pasture may have to be brought inside. A lecture on the importance of staying fit and trim and the virtue of self-control probably won't do any good!
