I often hear pasture sound. I am wondering this means to different people?
Thankyou!
one that cant be ridden, but that is happy enough to live outside, not in obvious pain all of the time
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Meaning he is comfortable in the pasture. It also means, he is not sound under saddle. For example, I have a broodmare that is pasture sound. She damaged her hooves when she was a baby. As a result, her hooves will never accomodate a rider on her. Without the demand of riding, she is comfortable and happy.
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To me āpasture soundā is a horse that probably couldnāt or shouldnāt be ridden but that can defend itself against predators, dogs, etc. If the horse canāt trot, then thatās not pasture sound to me. Of course, if you live somewhere where there are no loose dogs, coyotes, big cats, etc, then I guess it doesnāt matter if they can trot or canter.
We have coyotes and the occasional feral dog that strolls through. So, itās imperative that my horses can move and quickly if necessary. We have a lot of trees surrounding the property too. If a tree falls, Iād like for them to be able to get out of the way of the tree.
I have a horse that impaled himself on a T-post earlier this year. I can tell heās not 100%, but he gallops and trots fine. But if you watch his leg really, REALLY closely you can see that it doesnāt fire exactly right. He actually lifts it higher to compensate for the nerves not firing right (severed nerve). To the normal person, he looks 100% sound. To me, I know how he moved before the injury. Because of that, I doubt if heāll ever be ridden, but he could run and get out of the way if he needed too.
Iām not sure being able to trot (soundly) counts. Iād think a horse getting away from a predator would be galloping!!! Maybe Iām misunderstanding here and youāre saying the horse has to be able to move at more than a walk. To that, I agree. But Iāve retired quite a few āpasture soundā horses who looked pretty horrible at a trot but who looked quite happy cantering around when they felt like it!
More specific
Thereās a range. Iāll own my riding horse until he dies, so I think about this.
When is he āonly pasture sound?ā
At the top end: When I canāt find a combination of a reasonable dose of bute or previcoxx and riding that allows me to do that. In other words, when the ride on drugs isnāt fun for him, or he seems too sore (by his standards) afterward.
At the bottom end: Assuming he has a reasonable dose of bute or previcoxx (something Iād be willing to feed in order to keep a good buddy happy toward the end of his life). The end is near when I see him hesitating before doing something basic like lying down or rolling because it will hurt to much to get up. When I see him weight the pros and cons of moving at a trot or gallop to get out of the way of something like a mean horse.
To me, itās about figuring out my horseās own perception of pain and his over all quality of life. I donāt think horses mind low levels of constant pain, or the occasional more serious pain when it gets them something they want. But when they have to start thinking about how to manage that by making trade-offs, itās time to go. JMO.
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For me, pasture sound is a horse who can go out and move around the fields fairly well. They may have a hitch in a leg, be gimpy coming out of the barn, or limp with neck arthritus like the horse I own now. She limps more heavily when it is time to be reshod, hooves have grown out.
Probably none of the above could be ridden, though a small child could sit on them for a picture!
They get around, eat grass, drink and move back out into the field without looking horrible. Action of a damaged limb might be awful looking, but horse doesnāt slow down using it.
Medicating is up to you. Most of the time, I do not give meds for pain. Acting real gimpy, cold and wet out, they probably would be on light dose of bute a few days. Horse on heavy meds all the time, might be time to think of letting him go. Lots of meds are hard on their body in other ways, even if horse moves easier. Also can be very expensive.
I want my unusable horse having a good time out in the field, with only a twinge now and again, not constant pain. Many animals seem to ignore the pain, just keep going. You have to consider them first, look at them hard, see if getting around is really an effort as time goes on, then think of your options for that animal.
So pasture sound, means they can get around the field without much effort, pain, to enjoy grazing and maybe a friend. However, some pasture friends do treat a old/lame/sore horse badly, will even hurt them. So be careful with putting damaged horses in with sound ones.
Considering I have a Pasture Sound horse I put him in that category because:
He can run, spin and buck out in the pasture and he will either come in with a hitch to his step or not ā¦ depends on the day and the torque he put in to his pasture play 
He can rideā¦ with bute. I choose not to ride him because I donāt like to medicate the pasture sound horse. I like to know day by day what heās feeling like by his action. If he has a few bad days then yes, I will bute for a few days.
Goodhors - I donāt think I would consider my pasture sound horse as a ādamagedā horse even if he has limitations.
If someone else had my pony they would bute him daily, supplement him and be jumping him around courses. I chose as his human to classify him as a pasture mate.
JamieBakerā¦ if all my pony could do it trot to get away from a preditor then I would think it would be time to let him go
Sound most of the time without medication when not ridden. Might be a little gimpy for a day or so if heās been out bucking and galloping at liberty around the pasture. But if ridden, will definitely be gimpy either right away or the next day.
Iāve got a pasture sound horse also.
I agree with a lot of what Ozone wrote:
He can run, spin and buck out in the pasture and he will either come in with a hitch to his step or not ā¦ depends on the day and the torque he put in to his pasture play
That above describes Gringo to a āTā. He has an old fractured coffin bone that (as of 20 months ago) still wasnāt healed. Fracture is YEARS old.
Bute/Previcox does not work for him, neither does glucosamine/HA/etc. What works? MSM. 10,000mg daily for three weeks and then one week at 20,000mg - pulse therapy of sorts.
He can run/buck/rear as well as the best of them. And he can definitely escape from the local predators (bear/coyote/dog) if needed.
Heās just off when in work. So, heās a pasture ornament. A half-way decent looking on too, might I add.
To me it means that the horse can live comfortably in a pasture without any additional maintence, but is not riding sound. Iāve got several that are āpastureā sound. 95% of the time they look 100% sound, but due to old injuries, would not hold up to being ridden regularly. None require extra maintence, and are as happy as can be.
I have a pasture sound mare. She was born with a rare birth defect called bi-partite navicular. She can run and play and she looks as sound as the rest of the herd but when you ride her she is uncomfortable although still not lame. She holds her head high trying to get the weight of the rider off her front feet. I wonāt ride her knowing that she is uncomfortable even though she is sound.
I consider a pasture sound horse a horse that is comfortable enough to live a decent quality of life but not comfortable enough to be ridden.
The horse is happy to wander the pasture with almost-no to no discomfort without high doses of daily pain meds. When his buddies wander the pasture, he is able to keep up with them. He can get down and up safely; he doesnāt need excessive human help or tractor to get him back up. Heās got a good quality of lifeā¦ heās just not rideable.
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A horse not sound for riding or driving, possibly but not always sound for breeding. In my book a āpasture soundā horse is one that can live in and keep up with the herd, albiet the last one to make it to the gate, water trough or feed bin. Iāve known plenty of nice pasture sound horses that for a variety of reasons were no longer āusableā, be it old age, injury, blindness or disease. Some hop along with a ālateā leg that drags a bit, some shuffle or take on āamblingā to keep up and still others just plod along slowly. There are those that appear to perfectly normal with no signs of visable ailment or injury but are still unable to carry a rider or pull a cart without complication.
In my eyes when a āpasture soundā horse can no longer keep up in the herd, communicate with the herd or is other wise left behind or ignored that animal is NO LONGER āpasture soundā. An animal that cannot keep up with the herd as they move is left behind to whatever fate, some horses may stick around a bit but after a while the entire herd will on to other grazing. Being left behind is stressful on a sound horse, much worse for a injured, sick, lame or old horse. That means the animal needs be moved to smaller confined area. In close proximity (confined WITH or next to) other confined animals (of its own kind is best though not always a requirement) to create an artificial āherdā. This way the animal will have the mental needs filled, the NEED to be within the security of the herd is paramount for a horse that is lame or ill.
Or the animal needs to be put down. Many old horses get along just fine with a ānon-traditionalā herd often made up of mixed livestock. So long as everyone is āstill talkingā and no one āgets left behindā I donāt think an old injured, blind, lame or sick horse should spend its last days, months, years without that sense of security that only the herd(in pasture or in paddock) can provide. Just my two and a half cents:)
I am currently asking myself the same question. I have a 7 year old who is definitely not rideableā¦ but I donāt know if he is pasture sound either. How gimpy is too gimpy? How many bad days are too many? If I knew he would lead a relatively happy life as a pasture ornament I would gladly support him for the next 20 years, but his spirit just seems to big to be confined by such an uncooperative body. Itās a relly fine line and a difficult one to decipher.
My elderly TB mare is what I consider pasture sound. She hasnāt been considered riding sound for many years. She is stiff in the hind end and has unorthodox movement behind from arthritis, but she can still roll and get up and on brisk days she can still passage, rear and throw the same bucks that got me off her back in 1998.
A horse that canāt take a work load (trot/canter for periods of times, laterial work, jumping) but is fine just doing their own thing.
Goodness, I should have been more clear in my post. TO ME, the horse needs to be able to get into a faster gear than first. If they can trot or canter, then I consider them pasture sound. HOWEVER, if there are predators around, they should be able to canter at least. Iām also talking horses that are out 24/7 such as my own. Not stalled horses or horses brought in at night. If that was the case, then I would consider the ability to trot pasture sound. If they are out 24/7 AND have natural enemies, then yes, they should be able to canter or gallop, however gimpy it might be. Sorry I wasnāt more clear in my initial post.
My qh was diagnosed with ringbone recently, and although I thought we had a good plan in place for him, he does not look great. He LOVES going out to his new pasture, but literally head-bobs as he trots out there. I am struggling with this question. I had thought-lame in pasture=not pasture āsoundā. I guess it is still subjective, huh?:sigh:
[QUOTE=2boys;5833741]
My qh was diagnosed with ringbone recently, and although I thought we had a good plan in place for him, he does not look great. He LOVES going out to his new pasture, but literally head-bobs as he trots out there. I am struggling with this question. I had thought-lame in pasture=not pasture āsoundā. I guess it is still subjective, huh?:sigh:[/QUOTE]
is it high or low ring bone, front or hind? In the pastern sometimes chemical fusion can be a consideration. Have you had a vet specializing in sports medicine evaluate him for options and opinions. I am sorry you are going through this.
