Horses are adapted for continuous movement and grazing, spending up to 16 hours daily foraging in the wild. Stabling practices that restrict movement and social contact are associated with stereotypic behaviors and metabolic disease.
Modern horse management frequently conflicts with equine welfare by prioritizing human convenience and property protection over movement, social contact, and forage access. Stabling restricts the near-continuous movement and grazing that horses are physiologically adapted for. The health consequences — gastric ulcers, musculoskeletal problems, metabolic disease — are direct welfare outcomes of inadequate housing. The shift toward track systems, group housing, and adlib forage access represents a positive welfare trend in evidence-based horse management.