It’s all too easy to want to have an unlimited amount of horses, however the number that any one person or place should have differs on an individual basis. There is the obvious factors of how much money one has to pay for the horse’s needs, and of course the amount of space available to meet minimum requirements per horse. What about factors such as time, effort, lifestyle and purpose?
It may seem prominent the amount of time that just one horse needs to be looked after sufficiently, but sometimes by adding more horses to one’s plate, it can be easily underestimated how much time is necessary to care for x amount of horses. The lifestyle of the owner definitely plays a role in determining the amount of time available for horse play. It does not fully determine if horses are possible, because there are strategies that can be used in some lifestyles to manage this, however it can definitely effect what a week may look like from a horse’s perspective with a particular owner.
This is where purpose comes into the mix; each horse has either a discipline or a role that the owner, or perhaps the horse has chosen for itself. Whether this be a competition horse, a broodmare, or even a companion horse; these all require varying amounts of time to be fulfilled justly. If a horse or a few horses are just in paddock condition, these are going to require less time than that of a broodmare or a competition horse. When there is a combination of horses at one place with different purposes, and say the owner lives a very busy lifestyle besides their equine pursuits, there may be very little energy and therefore effort left in the tank once it comes to the care of their horses. Unfortunately this is where weighing up which horse’s purposes are actually possible to fulfill for that owner. It is of course not only important to be true to what you are capable of, but also what is fair to that horse. If there is a young horse that has huge amounts of potential as a competiton horse, but is being left to stand around in it’s paddock all day everyday, then it is best for that horse to go on to another owner/rider who can make competition days and training possible. Golden oldies on the otherhand, if they are being loved with every ounce of effort and care possible, and they have adequate space to live out their days without this being too much to handle for the owner; perfect example of ones to keep.
As much as some of these factors may be obvious to some, it can sometimes get forgotten in the rush of everyday life, or the thrill of taking more horses on, just what is realistic and fair to both the horses and people involved. Just some food for thought if you’ve ever wondered what the perfect number of horses is for you.
– Skye Pickering Dip. Horse Business Management