Ridecamp: [RC] "too much pent up energy"

"horses misbehave because they are penned up in unnaturally 
small areas, and have too much pent up energy, overfed, etc."

I am very glad you raised this point.  I think people sometimes 
forget that we shut horses up in stalls, and feed them 
concentrated feed, NOT because it si what is healthiest for the 
horse but because it is what is most conventient for the 
humans.  We keep horses in stalls because pasture space is hard 
to come by and expensive, not because horses need shelter if it 
is below 40 degrees.  We feed grain not because it is healthier 
for the horse than hay but because hay takes up space and 
keeping hay in fromt of a horse 24/7 is time consuming.  A 
great many vices such as weaving, cribbing, digging, wall-
kicking etc result from boredom and the inability to graze, 
something horses have an innate drive to do.  Ulcers, cribbing, 
colic and other health issues have been scientifically linked 
to the feeding of grain and few, high-calorie meals instead of 
frequent feedings of lower-cal feed.  I have yet to hear any 
vet say a healthy horse won't be better off field-kept then 
confined to a stall more than 8 hours/day.

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