Of Dry Lots or Grass
Birthdays….. funny as our outlook on birthdays changes as we age, from excited anticipation to dread, denial then just accepting the inevitable as one has to comes to terms with the ticking clock and the ravages old age can bring, no matter how slow. I can attest to this – I hit a significant birthday last year.
So we make the best of it, taking the best care of ourselves as we can – what else can we do?
And likewise, as our horses age we try to give them the best quality of life. We seek the best veterinary care but sometimes there’s just not much help. Take deteriorating teeth. As teeth wear down and wear out their chewing ability is comprised, often causing older horses to regularly spit out ‘quids’ -wads hay/grass they can’t chew fine enough to swallow, and unlike the ‘doggie dentures’ TV commercial from aways back, there are no ‘horsey dentures.’
It appears to be a sentiment among some horsemen that these horses do not need to be turned out in a grass pasture. “Logical” (business) thinking would seem to say ‘why give an old horse a spot in premium pasture space if they can’t actually eat the grass? Better to put a younger horse there who can benefit more.’
Isn’t it all about Quality of Life?
So the old horse is relegated to a barren ‘dry lot’ with a pile of hay and no opportunity for fresh grass. But something is being overlooked here: as well as the physical needs of an older horse, shouldn’t we provide for his psychological needs? We can supplement their nutritional needs, compensating for un eaten grass/hay, but horses confined to a dry lot are deprived of one of the key elements of being a horse: grazing. Nose down, slowly walking around, sniffing out those sweet stalks of grass. I believe there’s significant emotional satisfaction in smelling, chewing, and tasting the fresh grass, even if it’s not all swallowed.