Thank you again for your kind comments. Evelyn, yes they do all shed out (when the warm weather eventually arrives LOL!!) although I do pull gently at some and have the odd comb through with the dog's special coat 'scraper' to help others, plus I usually get to work with the scissors on the weanlings/yearlings to help them out of their 'first' winter coats - we dont do clipping here except on anthing heading for a show.
Yes, I think my girls are happy with their lives, they do enjoy living as a large herd and having the space to race around if they feel like it, and they often do, much to our delight, when they are not stuffing their faces LOL!! They are funny, cheeky and loving, they also have their arguements and their pecking order just as a natural herd would do, but they do have a large variety of terrain avaliable to them, which not only helps to keep the fit and healthy, but also gives them the space to get away from each other if they wish. It has been interesting to note that the older mares are often found to be 'surrounded' by their daughters and grand daughters, and if we do separate these 'families' for any reason, then once put back together again there is lots of meetings and greetings as they 'find' each other again bless them.
But all that said, life is not actually that easy for them. They are expected to live out in all weathers - yes they have loads of natural shelter, plus we do give hay during the snow or after several days of freezing rain with strong winds (just to give them a warm up), but they are not groomed, bathed, or lovingly cared for as so many of your lucky horses are. They are wormed and foot trimmed out in their fields - mostly without having to bother with headcollars, and I do trim the bottom of over-long tails, in fact the only ones who get a 'tidy up' are any of the mares when they come in at night before foaling (apart from those going to a show or the babies who get a few weeks of 'fiddling' sometime after weaning time)
So basically all the animals living here are scruffy, dirty, hairy, and often moth eaten looking ............................ until the summer actually comes, when they change to sleek, shiney and sassy looking! LOL!!