Horse Management

Horse Management

Some of the basics of caring for horses

By their nature, horses are grazing animals designed for open spaces and the companionship of other horses. Even though they learn to adapt to stables, they need to be exercised.

Keeping a horse is a responsibility, since the horse has both physical and psychological needs. If a horse doesn't get the companionship of other horses and humans, he will become bored and unhappy.

The Pasture

There is no exact acreage required for horses, but as a general rule an acre per horse is enough. The field should be checked for rubbish and holes in the fencing, and anything that might bring harm to the horse.

Water

Be sure to provide your horse with a constant supply of fresh water. Some use a bucket, placed inside a tire to keep it from falling over, and refill it at least twice a day. A trough is good, supplied from a plastic pipe, but in the winter be sure to check it to make sure the pipe hasn't frozen.

Stabled horses

If your horse care is kept in a barn or stable, also called a livery, proper bedding is important. You don't want your horse standing on a hard floor all day, and a horse care will like to lie down to sleep or just to rest.

Straw is a traditional choice because not only is it cheap, but it is warm and comforatable. But it may contain fungal spores. Sometimes the horse will eat the straw.

Stable cleaning

Also known as mucking (muck rhymes with yuck) out, the stable must be cleaned every day, and if the horse is there all day long, 3 times a day. This involves removing the droppings, and leveling the bedding.

Grooming

A stabled horse requires daily grooming to maintain a healthy coat, but don't overgroom a grass-kept horse care. The natural grease in its coat helps the horse to keep warm and dry.

Understanding what horses are saying

Consistency and follow-through are simply a matter of self-discipline on our part, but appropriate response is only possible if we understand what we are responding to. In other words, we have to learn to understand what our horses care are saying. After all, why should a horse trust a person who responds angrily to her fear on the one hand, or sheepishly to her bravado on the other?

Because people are verbal, we tend to dismiss other forms of communication. Horses don't use words. They don't even use sounds to any great extent. But watch horses as they interact with one another and with people. Their ears, eyes, muzzles, tails and body posture are all communicating.

Horses are social animals. As herd members, they interact with other horses continually and use a system of communication to let herd-mates know what they want and don't want. (Animal behaviourists disagree about how much animal communication is under conscious control and how much is automatic reaction to a stimulus, but that argument needn't concern us here.)

More info about horse care, please visit Horses And Horse Information.