Care Of The Grass Kept Horse Or Pony

Care Of The Grass Kept Horse Or Pony

The advantages of keeping a horse or pony at grass is that it is more natural, the horses or ponies can be kept as a group, the risk of behavoural problems or accidents occurring are less than with a stabled horse or pony, less attention is needed and costs are lower. However there are also disadvantages as the grass kept horse or pony may require greater preparation for riding particulary if wet and muddy.

Although less attention is needed for a horse or pony kept at grass, it should be checked daily for health and any signs of injury and care is also needed of the field. The maintenance and management of the field is an important part of the care of the horse or pony kept at grass to ensure safety, high quality grazing and lack of poisonous plants.

Any grass kept horse or pony should have a sheltered area available and this is particularly important over the winter when the horses and ponies wish to shelter from the winds but equally so during the summer as relief from the heat of the sun. Shelters can either be man made or natural shelter can be provided by hedges and trees.

Many horses and ponies kept at grass thrive well during the summer on grass alone but as the grass subsides during the autumn and winter months hay will need to be fed to compensate for the lack of grass available and additional feed may also be required during the colder months. During particularly dry summers the grass available may become sparse and hay may need to be fed early.

Finer horses care and ponies with white legs can be prone to Mud Fever over the winter months.

Water should always be available and checked regularly. During the winter it may be necessary to break any covering ice to allow access to the water and regular refills may be needed during the summer months.

All fencing should be adequate and safe. Walls and Post & Rail Fencing are effective and safe. Thick strong hedges provide suitable containment and also act to provide shelter from the wind but may become damaged by horses care over time rendering them less effective. Electric Fencing can also be used alone or in combination with fencing or hedges to provide more secure fencing. Barbed Wire is not recommended as this can cause minor injuries and scratches and occasionally more serious injuries.

Horse and ponies trample down and destroy much of the grasses in the field and over time areas can become heavily stained with droppings that the grass becomes of little value. Therefore it is wise to manage grazing areas by rotating the use of fields or partitioning a field to allow an area to recover. Daily removal of droppings or periodical harrowing of the field are also effective methods of limiting damage to grass.

Care of the Stabled Horse or Pony

Although it is natural to keep a horse or pony at grass this is not always practical depending on the horse care and its use. A horse or pony may need to be kept stabled due to its inability to maintain condition sufficiently with being kept out all year, due to illness, for convenience or a variety of other reasons.

A stabled horse has the advantage of being readily available for riding and needing minimal grooming but can become bored resulting in it developing annoying habits (stable vices). Therefore it is important to maintain as far as possible a natural environment for the pet. This means that a stabled horse should ideally be stabled near others as they are herd animals and are comforted by the sight and sound of other horses nearby. Their natural feeding habit is to graze throughout the day and therefore the provision of regular forage, eg hay, throughout much of the day will compensate for this.

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