Thoughts on Pastures

One thing I really liked about getting a Mustang is the ability for them to interact with other horses like well, a horse! Many people (my previous self included) often baby their horses so they never learn how to have proper manners and be in close proximity with other horses. Since he grew up with horses for the first 3 years of his life, he really learned what it's like to be a wild horse (for better or for worse, but mostly better). With the warmbloods, we would hardly let them touch noses because they could squeal and possibly hurt the other one. So with this horse, I wanted to be more natural and let him be in a "herd" and have some company, after all horses are very social animals.

I first noticed the difference a pasture makes when I was training beginners at a hunter/jumper barn. During this time, I had to go fetch a pony from the far fields. I would teach pure beginners on this pony. Now, anyone who knows horses knows that pure beginners can be tough on horses. Their balance is terrible and it's easy to catch a horse in the mouth by accident just because they don't know what they're doing. Anyone who knows ponies also knows that they can be stubborn a-holes because they are just too smart and can dump a kid in 5 seconds flat if they want to. However, this pony that I used was so well behaved and tolerant of beginners. In fact, some kids would use a crop to get her to listen and she'd still behave! I've never met such a well behaved and sweet pony in all my years of riding. The more I thought about it, the more I realized that it was likely because she had access to a large pasture! Of course, she was patient because she was able to exercise all day long if she wanted to! I could see she was a happier pony because of it, and I wanted that for my next horse.

Since Calvin's so easy to catch, I decided to put him in the pasture with these mares. I wish there were other geldings too, as geldings tend to play with each other and not so much with the mares, but I'm glad he's just with other horses in general. This way, when I can't come for a day or two or 7, I won't feel guilty because he can still get exercise. Another blogger who does endurance tracked her horses with GPS and found that they walk much more in a pasture than a stall, so I'm glad to hear my suspicions are likely true.

Anyway here he is with his roomies! Click on the picture to see full size:

Getting up from rolling

Calvin is on the right. The mare to the left (white) is a total bitch, always pushing him around and stealing his food. But then she'll neigh for him when he's gone...typical woman. The pinto is sweet though. 

You can see where the fencing is, he can run up that hill basically to the top just out of the picture, a very nice space for them.

This pasture isn't perfect, I'd still like him to be in a larger pasture and have all day access to food. While I wish he were with other boys that he could play with, he seems to still stick around these girls and enjoy them. Definitely not a bad place to live by any means.