OPENING A CAN OF WORMS HERE – GOING OUT ON A LIMB! IS KEEPING A HORSE STALLED 24/7 OTHER THAN FOR HEALTH REASONS FOR MOST OF THEIR LIFE ANY DIFFERENT THAN KEEPING A DOG CRATED 24/7 WHICH PEOPLE WOULD BE ALL UP IN ARMS ABOUT?

mss2u ♦ May 30, 2019

Photo by Tatiana on Pexels.com

It has been on my heart now for quite some time that I’m not sure it’s any different with horses then it would be for any animals who is confined almost all their lives.  So race horses for example can sometimes have only a few moments a day if that to leave their stalls to go on a walker after a bath or for a brief period of exercise. Other than that at most race tracks or racing barns they live in stalls almost 24/7. 

Show horses, especially if in the care of a trainer or boarding facility responsible for their well-being and safety will sometimes never leave their stall for fear of injury in a pasture or arena.  In so many of the show barns I have been in they literally clean the stall with the horse in it because the horse does not go outside.  Even if they get really lucky and go to a barn where they can get some outside time it is very limited – sometimes only an hour a day.  I am in no way saying this is the norm or a way of life for show horses or training barns everywhere but it’s happening much more than you could ever know.

And get this, you have no idea how many “professionals” and experts are completely fine with this.  They see absolutely no reason why this hugh animal should need to leave a tiny stall, run, get fresh air and be a living soul.  This is a part of Animal Communication that totally blows my mind.  Because I have to tell you these people for the most part are very educated (i.e. doctors, lawyers, CPAs, scientists, you name it).  

So, I began to think.  Because I know how horrible it is to see on TV or hear of an animal who has been left in a crate their whole lives.  Even though they have food and water and are cared for they never really leave that crate and I know that most of America and worldwide would be appalled at that and want justice for that animal!  At the very least their hearts would break for them never feeling the air on their face or the wind in their face.

A great many horses simply shut down with this type of lifestyle.  Yes they perform and do their jobs but are totally detached from humans and sometimes other horses.  People will oftentimes say the horse is aloof, but more times than not they are just shut down.

I can only imagine that if the people who believe in this type of lifestyle for these beautifully large animals could only for a moment put themselves in their hoofs maybe they would understand never feeling fresh air or running free in a pasture for awhile, feeling the breeze or the grass under their feet and realize truth.  That truth is that the horse’s soul and their souls have the exact same needs! One soul is in a horse and one soul is in a human, but both souls have the same needs.  There is no difference! 

The appalling feeling our society has (especially animal lovers and rescue groups) around finding animals in situations where they have never left a crate but lived their entire lives in confinement should relate to all animals and I feel especially horses because of their sheer size and need to be who they were born to be.  Yet it is the norm in many competitive barns and other barns around our country that horses live the majority of their days in stalls with humans cleaning around them.  This is not to say they don’t get exercise because they certainly leave the barn to show and also lesson with their people but it’s the confinement that gets to me when this is not happening.

I’m basically saying here that maybe there can come a time when this is looked at the same way it would be looked at for any animal for which we would seek justice for being confined the majority of their lives. 

Don’t get me wrong, in most of these facilities these horses are treated like royalty and I’m going to acknowledge this right here.  They have the most beautiful stalls, the best vet care, chiropractic, accupunture, training, food and love and warmth in the winter and cool in the heat.  The best of the best!  This is because these horses are loved and respected for what they do.  Pampered beyond belief in some cases.  But why with all of this is it not understood that confinement is really tough on their souls as it would be to any human as well?  There’s no difference.

This has been on my heart and now maybe it will be on yours especially to those who work with or own these amazing beings!  I was told once that in order to be a true communicator I would need to become the crow.  I thought that very strange, but then I was told it meant going inside and looking through the eyes of the crow to see and experience it’s life and existence.  It was merely an example but I never forgot it.  So I would ask each person in the care of a horse who has to for whatever reason face confinement for most of their existence to “become the crow” go inside and see the world through their eyes and experience life from their perspective.  I guess what I’m really asking is that people will look at them as equals with the same basic needs as them and maybe just for a moment see the world through their eyes and LET THEM RUN!