With every horse at NorthWest Horse Park having an individual paddock that is more than enough to provide a healthy living environment, pasture turn out is considered a privilege and not a right. We love to be able to provide horses with an opportunity to profit from the benefits of several acres of lush grass pasture. However, those privileges have a few rules that the horses need to follow. There are some rules we can teach them to respect and some we can't. Here is a reminder of the rules your horse must follow in order to have the privilege of pasture time.
• Herd and pasture time is more dangerous than being in an individual paddocks. If you are not willing to take any of the risk involved with herd and pasture time, please notify us that your horse needs to be on the 'no turn out time' list.
• Horses must be nice. Play happens, as does pecking order. Pecking order has its limits though. If a horse continues to chase another horse and will not stop, the chasing horse does not go out. If a horse will not stop fighting when another horse has ran off or stopped, the horse that insists on continuing the fight does not get to go out on pasture. Play is also something that is watched but a natural part of herd time. Some horses insist on playing while others will say 'leave me along'. If your horse will not stop pestering another horse and is causing an aggressive environment because of their playing, the pestering horse will not go out. Most of the time, horses that insist of playing learn to stop bugging those that don't like them.
• Horses are turned out by gender... boys with boys and girls with girls. There are some boys that act like girls and girls that act like boys. So long as I don't see any problem with the mix, it is allowed. Most often you will see me allow an older seasoned gelding that could care less about a mare be allowed with the mares turnout. Or you might see a mare in with the geldings because the mare has no heats and has a tendency to a act too pushy around the mares but plays well with boys.
• Horses are not turned out if the day is going to be too wet or too hot. I make the call on these days. If you don't like my choices, you are more than welcome to put your horse on 'no turn out time' during certain times of year. For the most part, I am much more cautious that most.
• Horses must come out of the field when it is time. We are understanding that sometime horses feel like they are being cut short if they have only been out for an hour. I don't hold that against them. But if they have had plenty of time and still refuse, then they lose pasture privileges until they learn. I do give them chances. Many times I will skip them during turn out time. It bothers them so much that they learn their lesson. Sometimes they will be stuck out overnight and this alone will make them regret their chance to come in. If you don't like this policy, please let me know and your horse can be put on the 'no turn out time' list.
• If you get your horse from the pasture after 1:00 in the afternoon, do not put them back in the pasture. Horses seem to forget that they had the morning out and when it is time to bring them in, they refuse because they feel they have been cut short on their pasture time.
• Do not put your horse out to pasture even if you think it is supposed to be their day out. If they are in, it is for a reason. If you wonder, feel free to ask but do not assume.
• Certain times of the year the pasture is shut down and not to be used. This is to protect the pasture from being over grazed or destroyed. Again, the individual paddocks of all horses is more than enough to provide a healthy living environment.
• Horses are given time to adjust back to having pasture time after they have been off for a while or in the spring. Horses do get grass intake in their individual paddocks so it is not as if they have been cold turkey. However, we do still want turnout to start with just an hour or two in the beginning and then increase the time.
• In the spring we keep horses off the pasture until the grass has come in and matured OR until after we cut the field and get new growth.
• It is hard to make daily changes to your horses turnout because of your schedule. If you don't want them out because of a planned ride or appointment, let me know and I will do my best! Sometimes people let me know the day of and it is either too late or I forget. Sorry, we're human. Routines are a big part of making sure things happen correctly so when a change is made last minute, there is a chance for error.
|
