Horse care

  Many people ask about whether they should shoe their horses or leave them barefoot.  The answer will be different for each horse.  When considering shoeing or leaving your horse barefoot, consider the following questions: 1.  Will my horse need added protection if the wear of the hoof exceeds growth?  The genetics of the horse, the strucure of the hoof, the surface on which the horse is worked and the purpose to which the horse…

Only tie your horse to objects the horse cannot move.   Tie your horse to something it cannot break.  If tying it to a fence make sure it's to the fence post not to a rail that it could pull off.   Do not tie with the bridle or bridle reins. Use a good halter and lead rope Tie your horse using a quick release knot.   Tie your horse long enough that it can…

The Basics of Feeding your horse 1.  Provide plenty of roughage.  A horse should eat 1-2% of their body weight in roughage.  A bulk of a horses calories should come from roughage.  Horses naturally are meant to graze throughout the day.  If a horse is in a stall, try and replicate their natural feeding pattern by keeping hay in front of them at all times so that they are able to graze on it whenever…

It's really important to have good horse bedding in a barn.  Make sure it's nice and deep.  Use good quality wood shavings.  Remove soiled bedding from stalls daily and replace with fresh bedding.  Do not use shavings that come from black cherry or walnut wood.  These shavings can make a horse founder. Bedding should be absorbant, non-toxic, dust-free, comfortable to horses, available and affordable.  It should be stored in a dry place.   Providing your…

  A view of our barn from the deck of our house.  You can barely see the barn roof in this picture but the sunlight coming through the trees was awesome!  Not everyone has a place where they can keep their horse.  Maybe you are one of the lucky ones where you are able to keep your horse at your own place.  If you don't have a place, you want to find a place where both…