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I have been lurking through the discussion about fjords and cold,
but thought I'd describe the situation here.
We have always tried to provide a 3-sided shelter for the mini-herds
(like most people I assume, we keep our animals in different
paddocks/pastures for various management reasons related to
stallions) to get into if they choose.
This year we constructed three very nice board and batten "Horse
Sense" buildings for the areas where no shelter had existed. I have
yet to see one group of four animals even go into their shelter. One
other group of four has hardly used it, preferring to stand under
some trees (not even evergreens) in stead.
Only one group of five, which has two foals in it, seems to use
their shelter much at all, and of those, it's really just the
stallion, and his two young sons (who have always shown a greater
interest in hanging out with Dad rather than Mom, unless it is
feeding time).
I completely agree with the statements that outdoor life (under our
conditions as least), results in healthier animals (no respiratory
problems). Plus, they can benefit from the first rays of the sun when
it shines. Its interesting to see everyone of them standing in the
same orientation, with their flanks facing the sun for maximum heat
gain.
They also like to blast around when the wind blows, and this seems
like a great way both for them to keep warm, and to use up the
surplus energy we have been hearing about.
Plus the dears REALLY like pawing through the snow, even though
there was hardly anything worth eating in the fields before the snow
fell and they have plenty of good hay back in the feeders. Pawing
clearly seems like an innate behavior for them. No surprise that an
animal in confinement might get bored or be difficult to handle at
times.
