Do people often think about how many needs they have in life? Usually one thinks about it when he or she is denied something vital. That’s when a person actively demands and resents. The horse also has its own needs! Except that they are infringed much more often, and they are not able to make a clear statement about it …
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We can put together a list of the basic necessities a horse needs in order to function properly:
Clean air, food, water, and the ability to urinate.
Prolonged leisurely movement.
Communication with one’s own kind.
A feeling of safety.
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If you look closely, you can see how horses are often restricted. Walking only a couple of hours in a small levada alone, giving a minimum of hay a couple of times a day with huge breaks, standing for 20+ hours in a stuffy stable with poor ventilation, and so on… Of course, there are exceptions – horses that are not social, don’t like company, are restricted due to their health to eat or move, including after injuries and surgery, etc. But if you take the average, most animals, are often restricted in what they need vitally.
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There are examples of many animals who have lived this long life without pronounced problems. But many health and mental difficulties are born from improper housing. Gastritis from nerves and starvation half the day, harmful stall vices from boredom and standing in the stable, torn backs and legs when an animal goes into the levada for an hour after standing for an hour and goes into full breakdown.
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Aggressive and nervous behavior doesn’t just happen because of poor parenting either. It is not human to demand obedience from a hungry horse, especially when hay or grass is around! When associating your life with horses and breeding your own pet, remember: the owner’s job is to ensure that the horse lives up to its natural needs.