Let your horse decide
Behavioural scientists use ‘preference tests’ as a means of finding out what horses prefer in different situations. You can quite easily set up your own preference tests for your horse. Here are six examples you can try.
1 Offer your horse different forages such as chopped hay, grasses, alfalfa and herbs and place them in different buckets so he can choose which one he prefers.
2 Split his feed up into individual ingredients – chaff in one bucket, nuts in another. You may find that he really dislikes one ingredient, which may mean you have to change his diet a little to find something he likes.
3 Present your horse’s feed in different buckets, bowls and nets at different heights around his field and stable.
4 Some horses will guard water, especially in the summer, which can mean others are reluctant to go and drink. It’s always best to provide multiple water sources, and also consider using difffferent buckets and troughs, too. 5 Take you horse for a walk to browse the hedgerows on a loose leadrope. Or give him a loose rein and let him decide where he wants to go for a hack, or if he wants to go at all!
6 If your horse is turned out alone, take him to visit other horses so he can socialise and mutual groom if he wants.
Is he happy in his home?
There are other things you can do that take a little more effort. For example, fencing off an area outside your horse’s stable so he can go in and out as he pleases. Put hay and water in both areas so you can see where he prefers to spend his time. Making sure your horse has somewhere to get out of the sun, wind or rain – this could be trees, bushes or a field shelter. Also, he should have enough space to move away from other horses if he’d rather be alone, and whether he has a preference for male or female company. It may be difficult to test these things at many livery yards, but if you’re keen to give your horse more choice you may have to consider moving somewhere new.