Hangin' with the boys...

All of these photos were taken with my pocket size Canon PowerShot Elph 300 HS.  For a tiny camera I think it does a pretty good job.  I still prefer my Canon EOS Rebel T2i, but the "Elph" is easy to take on the horseback rides.  But first, I had to get Oberon in the big back pasture where he spent the night with all the geldings for the first time... do you see them back there?

I worried a bit... but I guess everyone learns who to hang with and Oberon wasn't easily frightened - which surprised me as he is the smallest one out there.  He appears relaxed until the last minute and then he puts that QH butt in gear and easily outmaneuvers the bullies.  Actually, these two were pretty friendly - I guess they just had a small "tiff".  But Oberon knows who his buds are...

Buddy (above) and Mystic (below) are his normal "roommates".

He looked up at me and ran away once.  First time he has done that.  So I pretended like I wasn't after him anyway and petted a few of the others and scratched their faces.  I rode Oberon on the trail as it was quite hot today and the shade felt great.  This was only his third time on this trail and he was excellent even though he was by himself - and I rode him with a very loose rein.  I'm really falling in love with this boy.

Pasture Board - for a horses health?

Oberon will be pasture boarded with a nice shed available to get out of wind and bad weather.  I like the fact that each pasture "suite" is partitioned in order to provide the utmost pasture rotation.  I am extremely lucky to have such a nice facility five minutes from my house.

In the afternoon, there is shade available in the grass pasture as well.  I have done a bit of research and I really don't understand why some people keep horses in their stalls for extended periods of time.  From what I have read, horses are animals meant to survive the elements of nature and I don't understand when I hear "it is too hot" for horses to be outside.  A shade tree works.  I guess some people are worried about their horses coat fading, but isn't health far more important?

Many horses end up weaving, cribbing and head bobbing and just plain become stressed out.  Isn't stress one of the leading causes of colic?    (I am truly asking this question, not being a smarty pants.)  Standing in a stall is terrible for a horses circulatory system as the body receives insufficient blood flow and the heart becomes stressed.  Horses are meant to move their feet.

I understand putting a horse in a stall overnight for "protection" depending upon where one lives, but I still think for most horses, pasture boarding (with a shed) is better for their health.  Is it true that horses in  captivity live shorter lives than horses in the wild?   I also read that a fluffy coat in the winter is much healthier than a blanketed horse - that we are actually harming their immune system.

What are your thoughts?