Impact of our performance-based society on the horse world

Was is still natural in the horse world?

The horse, as a part of nature, is also influenced by the performance pressure of today's society. 

Even in breeding, we are far removed from the natural process. Natural selection is replaced by frozen sperm. Foals are often separated from their mothers before mare and foal are properly prepared, simply so that they can go to the foal pasture, sometimes as early as 3 months of age. Little thought is given to the psychological scars that result on both the foal and its mother. In addition, a pasture full of foals is like a kindergarten without a teacher. In nature, foals grow up in large families and also learn from the older horses.

After the foal pasture, it's time for training. Horses are broken in and trained according to the human schedule. If you know that a horse's body is not fully grown until it is 6-8 years old, you have to be careful with it until then. At the same time, training must be based on the individual's mental and emotional readiness. If a horse is not trained holistically, this will leave its mark on every level.

Stallions usually live a solitary life, focused on performance in sport or as breeding stallions. They never get to know their offspring and are not involved in their upbringing. Even broodmares do always get the opportunity to grow up with their offspring.

After training, horses are integrated into their owner's life and are dependent on this person's willingness to respond to the horse's needs. How free is the horse really, how much is determined by the human and where is the horse allowed to decide, e.g. can it eat when it is hungry? 

Fortunately, there has been a significant increase in the number of open stables and yet around 50% of Swiss horses still live in individual stalls. Although there are still indoor stalls, with the current state of knowledge they should not be expected of any horse.

For me, the treatment of horses and other living creatures is a reflection of our performance-oriented society and consumer behavior, which has led us to where the world is today. Everyone knows that this is not a good situation and that we urgently need to rethink. Our performance culture is artificial and man-made, nature doesn't work like that. It is based on mutual help and cooperation and serves the good of the whole.

A lot has changed positively for the good of the horse, but there is still a long way to go. How can you contribute to this change?