Guest blog Miranda Hoogenberg from HOPE for Horses: Mental well-being of horses

Not a small topic, but often overlooked! The number of times I see a horse looking unhappy is too many to count. It can be quite difficult for an owner to spot. Your horse eats, drinks, poops, and pees. Done.... right? Or is it?

There are so many factors that play a role in the mental health of your horse. At least 85% of all health issues in horses stem from mental well-being, or rather, the absence of a happy and stable horse.

Stress from a young age

Last summer, we expanded our herd with two young boys, one a Groninger and the other a very well-bred (on paper at least) KWPN. One just turned five and the other just turned four.

I heard about the history of the Groninger. Castrated at one year old, put into a group for raising but unable to thrive in the group. He was kicked out by the group and brought back home, setting the tone for this horse! Being rejected by a group is a big deal for a herd animal! The group is supposed to be his safety or security.
When he was back home, they raised him with a mare who eventually passed away. There's nothing you can do about that, we don't have control over those things, but it's a huge mental burden on the horse when a herd mate dies. You can't do much to prevent something like that. The only thing we as humans can do for our horse at that moment is show understanding and let them know we are there.

This horse had more happen to him, very early on (right after castration) he developed sweet itch. Sweet itch usually doesn't come out of nowhere. It's a build-up of different factors. Sweet itch is a huge mental burden. Imagine itching all day to the point of scratching yourself until you bleed.

Let's not underestimate the impact castration has on a horse! And not just physically, but mentally as well! Physically, many changes occur, but mentally you are changed overnight! And while some horses may handle it better than others, we shouldn't underestimate it! It brings so much change mentally, one day you're all \"man\" and the next moment you're different. This is significant and deserves more attention in my opinion.

The intention with which you say something matters a lot!

Because he developed sweet itch, he was allowed to move to the coast. So, off he went to the coast where he would be trained for the cart. As planned. Horse for the cart, but by this point, he had become so disordered that he couldn't handle it all, literally! He just couldn't do it! An investigation was launched to figure out why and the X-rays all came back fine. The vet suggested doing an internal examination because he suspected something in his pelvis was hindering him.

It was decided to bring this horse to slaughter because they had lost faith in him. Imagine the horse! He had to go through all these tests, kept having to be sedated while he was already feeling unwell! And the conversations had during such an examination! Nowadays, there are nice videos on Facebook showing children lovingly talking to an apple and scolding and saying mean things to another apple. The apple with the loving words remains in good condition for a long time, the other apple rots within a day. Imagine what it does to an animal or person when spoken of negatively!!

The owners wanted better for the horse

The owner at the time didn't want to put any more effort into this horse and wanted to send him to slaughter. My client (and the person he had lived with from his first until he was sold) immediately jumped into the car to pick him up! She couldn't let this happen! Just barely five years old and already headed to the slaughter! The horse was a mess when she picked him up.....

When he was at her place, I visited him for the first time! He felt incredibly awful! He could hardly put one foot in front of the other and kept collapsing on his hind legs. He looked truly miserable! Misunderstood, sad, overworked. All his mane and tail were completely rubbed off..... so the sweet itch had not improved at the coast!

In short, mentally he was really at the end of his rope. Since she had a young child, taking care of him was a bit much, and she asked if I was interested in him. My heart completely opened and that's how Troy came to us!

Physical and mental health are connected

His mental health was severely lacking. After he was treated by our therapist, he improved physically. Mentally, he had more difficulty opening up. He had been through a lot and seemed a bit distrustful.

Until at one point he started playing with my other gelding, his eyes opened wider and he started looking at the world more openly. He's not there yet, but it's a start! A stable group where he can be himself. An individual within a group.

Physically, he had been neglected a lot, which in turn contributes to more mental stress. Don't forget, a horse is a herd animal and likes to have good health to not be the slowest. When a horse feels it doesn't have the right means to keep its body in optimal condition, that will also bring about stress. Incorrect herd composition, for example, is a major cause of mental stress.

Too little personal space, no dry place to sleep, too little exercise, too much exercise with too few proper nutrients. And the list goes on and on!
The beauty of the time we live in now is that it is increasingly being talked about, and more attention is being paid to the desire or maybe the necessary well-being of the horse. In my opinion, there is no one-size-fits-all truth. It is also individual for a horse. One horse loves the herd and easily fits in, while the next horse chooses to be more independent, and the next horse prefers to jump the highest achievable obstacles and is very happy about it. It's not straightforward.

What is straightforward for me is that a horse can often show as if it feels completely fine while on a deeper level, things are really starting to go wrong!

Watching your horse closely may seem easy, but how well are you really looking? And how much are you willing to change when you know deep down that it's not the most ideal situation for your horse?