Things are so different here then in California. For example, turn out. It’s not something that’s done in the heart of Los Angeles. There its pretty much stall boarding only. I did for some time have my previous mare in an “in and out”. A stall with a little extra out door area attached but that’s as close to turn out as it got. Here in Maryland turnout is the norm. Horses spend half to more then half of their time out in a filed with other horses. In the winter then come in at night, in the summer when its hot they come in during the day and when the weather permits ( spring and fall) they are out 24/7 at least that’s how its done at the farm I chose though there is varying degrees of this at other places I looked into.
Jezebel really wanted to be out with the other horses, at first she was introduced to the herd via a small adjoining filed. That’s where she met Katie (a stocky and lovely quarter horse mare also new to the farm) soon to be her best friend. Katie was nursing some sore feet and her and Jezebel spent some time together in the small turn out together until Jezebel came up lame with the aforementioned abscess. Then Jezebel was put on stall rest which she detested. I would come every day to change her hoof wrap and walk her around the farm letting her graze and introducing her to the herd over the fence. She begged me to let her go out with the other horses, but had to refuse her until her hoof was healed.
Jezebel would often nuzzle Katie over the fence. Katie had since been let out with the herd but hadn’t ventured out to the back field and was spending all her time at the gate even when the rest of the herd was all in the back filed grazing and playing halter tag. Eventually Jezebel’s hoof was well enough to return her to the turn out. A decision was made just to put her out with the herd and see how it went because she so badly wanted to be with them. I opened the gate and put her in the filed with Katie the gate lurker. The two horses were happy to be together, it didn’t take but 5 minutes before Jezebel was wondering towards the back field. To get there they have to go though the chute, a small easement behind a large house on the farm. I was told it takes some horses a week or more to even find the chute. Not Jezebel with Katie in tow, the two went straight for the chute and quickly went out of sight behind the house.
When I next saw them they were galloping from behind the house in the back filed though patches of grazing horses who payed little attention to them. On the way they picked up one more horse in their galloping adventure and the three of them weaved in and out of the other horses. It warmed my heart to see her so happy with the herd and it solidified her bond with Katie her new BFF