Blog - The Open Gate Reader

horse stories, ella coles thunderbird show park, fun horse articles, can horses have friends?

When I first heard I could write an article for Horse Community Journals about my time at a gold-level show, I immediately started writing about the incredible experience it was for me. But then I stopped for a moment and thought it would be more important to write about how it was for my horse, Petey.

horse blogs, equine blogs, horse poetry, horses that died

A Reader Shares a Loving Goodbye - Kneeling, we formed a circle as our beloved ailing mare, now 34, sank down gently onto her right side in the lush grass beneath us.

hay optimizer, feeding horses hay in winter, horse grazing summer, turnout for horses summer, horse winter turnout

Stabling and turnout practices are dependent upon many factors. These include owner preferences, setup of the barn, number of horses, size of paddocks, availability of outdoor shelter, sources of food and water, gender mix, as well as the health and work requirements of individual horses.
It seems to me that a lot of horses are kept in stalls most of the time, with many stables limiting turnout to a fraction of the day and keeping horses inside during the night and in cold weather. This makes sense based on our human schedules and needs. But does it make sense when considering the different sleeping and eating schedules between humans and horses?