Unpopular Opinion: Enough With The “It’s Not Natural”

They keyboard trolls will always find something to attack, but lately I have seen them in full fury all under the assertion that “anything that isn’t natural for a horse is bad for a horse.”

I guess I can say I understand the general idea, but let’s be honest, absolutely everything horses allow us to do to, or with them, is completely unnatural. We as humans interacting with horses is not natural, but I wholeheartedly disagree with that being a bad thing and I believe it’s our responsibility as horse owners to protect our horses from the things we can, now that they are domesticated animals.

Let’s just talk basics here: wild horses do not interact with humans (unless they have been socialized like those beaches where wild horses have learned they can get many tasty morsels from tourists who wish to channel their Black Beauty fantasies). In the wild, horses are animals of prey; they run away from things they do not know, us as humans being one of those things. In the wild, humans are things to be feared, no different than the mountain lions that wish to make them their next meal.

Wild horses have their own survival to worry about and the internet trolls seem to have capitalized on that as a way to denounce all services provided for domesticated horses.

Here are a few of my biggest pet peeves I’ve seen floating around online lately:

It’s not natural for horses to be shod, therefore all horses should be barefoot. 

This one always gets my panties in a knot because I know all owners with horses who need to be in shoes would prefer to have their horses barefoot. It would honestly cost us a heck of a lot less to just have our horses trimmed every six weeks and not suited up with special aluminum therapeutic shoes, pads, etc. 

The internet trolls are correct, it’s not natural for horses to have specially forged pieces of steel nailed onto their feet; but then again, wild horses are not asked to be ridden/worked/shown on various surfaces where their feet can be worn down too quickly for their natural growth rate. But here’s the other side of that coin, horses in the wild with club feet, low heels, white line disease, hoof cracks, and navicular are not supported. Those wild horses are left to their own devices, forced to survive with pain for the rest of their lives, which will undoubtedly be shorter as predators are sure to capitalize on their weaknesses.

It’s not natural for horses to be fed anything other than grass/forage, therefore horses should never be fed any supplemental grains.

This notion never fails to make my eyes roll. Our horses are burning more calories than their wild counterparts, as they are often performing at shows, endurance events, cattle round ups, and pony camps. They are athletes, not just using their forage to survive, but to thrive and being supported by humans to be in their best physical condition not only for their jobs, but for them to be the healthiest they can be. 

Let’s look at elderly horses in this instance. As a horse gets older, it is harder for them to keep their teeth functional and it is harder for them to maintain weight. Older domesticated horses are catered to by their loving humans. They are fed soupy mashes, supplemental hay extender, and easier to chew forages when their teeth are lacking, or when they choke, or when they need more nutrients than just straight forage can provide. Older wild horses do not have someone watching their weight and providing them with their necessary additional supplemental feeds to survive.

A horse has its own coat, therefore should not be blanketed in any kind of weather.

I do consider myself lucky in regards to this silly statement, as I have some horses who do just fine throughout the winter in cold, upstate Pennsylvania with just their own fuzzy, winter coats to protect them. However, I have some that are old and do not grow the coats that they used to years ago and to shame horse owners for helping their horses to stay comfortable in less than ideal conditions like rain, snow, and wind, is ridiculous.

Horses in the wild don’t have a choice about getting a rug thrown over them. They are forced to rely only on their coats even if it didn’t grow in thick enough for them to survive a harsh winter. They are forced to constantly find some source of food to chew on and shake with enough movement in order to stay warm. Horses in the wild don’t have deep run-in sheds with soft, dry bedding to lay down in away from the elements. Old and young horses in the wild struggle to survive because they can’t regulate their temperatures well.

Seeing the differences between the age expectancy and quality of life between domesticated horses and those in the wild is enough for me to shake my head at the “it’s not natural” argument. I don’t know why some people have made horse ownership into some weird game of Survivor. Those of us who have watched Jeff Probst and any season of Survivor know that there is a reason why they winner gets a million dollars at the end—because it’s a horrible experience! They don’t have shelter, they don’t have enough food, and they are asked to do things that require incredible strength and brain power. The contestants often come home with various illnesses and parasitic infections and I am sure none of them would want to live in that environment. The difference between their experiences and that of wild horses is that they always have a medical team on hand for when things get a little too serious and at the end, they get to go home.

Why would we ask our domesticated horses to live the strenuous aspects of their natural lives that we have the ability to help them avoid? Why would we ever make horses walk around in pain because of genetically bad hoof angles and club feet? Why would we make older horses wither into skinny skeletons when we have the means to help keep them nourished with full bellies despite their lack of teeth?

Enough is enough. Those of us who give so much of our pay checks to the horses we love more than ourselves want them to live as naturally as possible. We aren’t asking them to stay stuck in cages all alone without horse friends. We aren’t asking them to not run around and graze the way they should. Instead, we give them the things they would normally always have to worry about.

We give them reliable sources of water, food, and shelter. And yes, we do ask them to ignore their natural instincts and allow us to groom them, ride them, and nuzzle up to and breathe deep with them when we just need some horse time. In return, it is only fair that we give them the unnatural benefits that domesticated life can provide them. So, I’m sorry internet trolls, I know that loving and caring for my horses is not natural and I’m okay with that.