Grazing is a fundamental behavioral need for horses, yet access is often restricted due to metabolic concerns. Balancing natural grazing behavior with health management is a key welfare challenge.
Horse grazing welfare involves navigating genuine tensions between behavioral needs and metabolic health risks. Horses evolved to graze continuously, and restricting this behavior causes measurable welfare harms including stress, stereotypies, and gastrointestinal problems from inconsistent gut fill. However, modern high-sugar pastures and sedentary lifestyles create metabolic risks that make unrestricted grazing problematic for many horses. The most welfare-positive approaches find creative solutions - track systems, grazing muzzles, strip grazing - that allow movement and social access while managing sugar intake, rather than simply eliminating pasture access.