>>> Once my horses ate the paddock down, they just stood around. I can only keep them in the big pasture so many hours before I take them off and back in the paddock. I've tried the grazing muzzles but can't see them all the time and Starri already got his off.
You've brought up two different things that I've talked about before. First, your horses have been in NC for what - two months? And they didn't know each other before they came here. You very likely aren't seeing their normal behavior yet - they may be depressed or confused and moving about less than they will, and/or they may have spurts of position-grappling where they play more than they will eventually. I wouldn't judge their behavior after only a few weeks as what it will be like. Most of my horses who came here singly, without a buddy they'd known a while, took a few months to settle in, and I've known several who have taken a year to show their long term "true colors." The ones like Falki and Skjoni who came here with a known friend seemed inevitably to settle in more quickly, almost immediately. And, there's the old psychological-vs-physical trade-offs of watching their weights versus the health of their psyches. I've made conscious decisions, when I HAVE to choose, I put at least as much value on their happiness and their need to roam as I do on their waistlines. I try to find ways to accommodate both physical and mental health, but sometime you inevitably have to pick one or the other. It's a matter of trade-offs, and sometimes we just can't predict which is the lesser of the evils. Karen Thomas, NC -- No virus found in this outgoing message. Checked by AVG Free Edition. Version: 7.5.432 / Virus Database: 268.16.9/622 - Release Date: 1/10/2007 2:52 PM
