Management varies according to the preference of the owner, the value of the horses and the availability of pasture. We live in a land of granite and bogs, so our horses get turned out in fields that would probably make
@Joshua Jones’ mum’s hair stand on end. They learn to jump streams and climb rocks virtually from birth. They are also turned out in mixed-sex herds, but we are super-cautious about introducing new herd members.
When we had 10 at home, we divided them into smaller groups that got on well, with a dominant horse in each to reduce risk of injury. These days we only have a retiree and a youngster, both geldings, so they mooch around together.
One of our livery clients in the past (someone who paid us to look after her horses) insisted on individual turnout, one at a time, and only in a small gravelled area we use for winter turnout. Both her horses were top class event era in the making and she planned to sell them for big money. A small scar from a bite or kick would have knocked £1,000s off the value.
The importance of picking up poops is multi fold. Poops can introduce worms to the pasture (although all ours are wormed), and they make the pasture ‘horse sick’ if left alone. The grass grows thick and green where they lie (horses make themselves latrine areas to leave the rest of the pasture good), and then the horses won’t eat it.
Our fields would be impossible to keep perfect (see above: rocks and bog), so we manage them by pasture rotation, harrowing the poops across the land then rolling the grass. This allows the droppings to dry out and reduces worm burden, plus it fertilises the land evenly.
