Wild Horses

I was just thinking today about all the stuff we do to keep our horses safe and healthy. Vaccinate them, check for soundness, put shoes on their feet, clip their hooves, give them supplements for bad feet and joints, float their teeth, worm them, groom/bathe them, feed and give them water, so on and so forth.

After thinking of all the stuff we do for domestic horses, how do wild horses survive? I know they eat a ton of grass, but how do they get by without all of the stuff I mentioned above? Does anyone have any ideas?

I know their hooves chip off as they grow longer.... and clearly the one with the strongest immune systems survive so they have an immunity to diseases......

Thier hooves wear down on the different surfaces they walk/run on. They are also born with an immunity that is esstentail(sp?)for horses that live in the wild. Since they haven't been introduced to vaccinations, deworming, etc...they can live without cause their bodies can handle it. At least...that's what I'm going with.

Interesting, haha I didn't know that. But how do they 'take care' of their teeth?

They eat a rougher forage than your average domesticated animal. Also, most of the problems we encounter with horses teeth are only problems because we ride with bits.

Oh wow that's interesting. It makes me feel bad about riding now :/

It shouldnt! Wild horses live much shorter, less pampered lives than our pasture pal riding companions. All we ask in return is a nice ride. By taking care of the teeth, your taking care of your horse.

Haha thankyou (: That actually does make sense.

As for keeping their feet trimmed - if you think about it, wild horses are all over many different types of soil including very hard ground all the time. Our horses are worked on a thick layer of nice soft sand/etc, so their feet do not get worn down as much. Hence why we have to trim them.

Vaccinations, supplements, etc are all for us to help prolong our horse's life. In the wild, it's the survival of the fittest and nothing more.

Their life span is probably shorter as well.