Basic horse care

June 7th, 2018

horse-care

Learning basic horse care is the first step you should take before even thinking about bringing your new horse home. There are many important responsibilities associated with owning a horse as they are a long-term commitment that requires a serious amount of time, effort and money.

As an owner, it is your responsibility to provide for your horse. Some of the very basic elements of owning a horse consist of; keep the paddocks clear of holes and possible hazards; a secure fenced off area that they can???t escape from; an unlimited supply of fresh clean water; good quality hay; and a dry clean shelter to keep them out of the weather. Petplan will also take a look at some other ways to care for your horse???

Feed

Your horse should always have an adequate amount of good quality feed (pasture, hay or chaff) to keep them healthy and their body in good condition. Make sure you are not feeding them mouldy hay as this can cause serious health problems.

You may need to get a general guide of how much to feed your horse by asking other owners or your vet, however, this may change depending on how much exercise and work they are doing. The rough guide is 2kg of feed per 100kg. You may also need to supplementary feed your horse if there is not enough pasture.

Water

Unlimited supply of fresh clean water should be available to your horse at all times. A dam or self-filling trough is best however you can use other items such as bathtubs ??? although these much be checked daily and re-filled if necessary. A horse can drink anywhere between 25-45 litres a day so you should always be checking on their water supply and making sure that it is not contaminated with mould, fungi or any other possible problems.

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