Pets require care and attention to grow, whether it is a cat, dog or horse. They are all in need of an adequate amount of care to grow into a healthy, happy and pleasant pet. Horses might not be the most common of pets, but they are indeed cherished pets.
Horse owners from every part of world, only wish the best for their equine partners. Caring for a horse may include everything right from feeding, grooming to the bonding you have with your pet. Get detailed information on the horse nutrition, to have your horse at its peak condition. To ensure they are kept in the best of health, follow the following ways that will be of assistance to nurture your horse.
• Tend to the medical needs
For keeping your horse healthy do not miss to schedule the regular veterinary tests. Regular physical and dental exams with your veterinarian area must, as that will ensure that your horse is healthy. Routine check-ups will also take care of all the common vaccinations including tetanus, eastern and western equine encephalomyelitis, equine influenza, rhino and rabies.
Medical needs will also include keeping your horse away from hazardous plants. Since, there are pretty high chances of horses getting poisoned due to consuming plants that are hazardous while grazing. If ever the unfortunate situation takes place, immediately call your veterinarian.
Be aware about the several species of plants that are hazardous. If you are well aware about these plants you can help your horse to avoid eating these poisonous plants. Oak leaves, wilted red maple leaves, black walnut, white snakeroot, richweed, etc. are hazardous to your horse.
Not only plants but you should also keep a check for beetles that can poison your horse if it ingests them. This particular species of beetle is known as blister beetles, which are found in alfalfa hay. This threat looms especially in places such as Midwest and Southwest.
• Follow the horse grooming etiquette
When it comes to maintaining the grooming standard of your horse, start with the basics like regular de-worming. Horse teeth requires care throughout their life, very similar to us humans. Attention must be paid, when chewing hay and grass your horse may ingest a bit of soil as it chews. Since, the grass is filled with silica it wears down the tooth surface. This leads to developing sharp edged teeth that may cut into the horse’s cheek or tongue, causing painful lesions.
Ensure that you are practicing floating, which is nothing but filing off any sharp edges or hooks that may form on the edges of the teeth. Floating must be done at least once in a year. It is advised to have a dentist check-up for any signs of rotting or other dental problems.
Use a rubber curry brush in a circular motion over the body to loosen up the dirt on your horse’s coat. Intend to not use the rubber brush on your horse’s face or legs to avoid inflicting any kind of injury on the delicate skin. To remove the dust from the surface of the horse’s coat, make use of a dandy brush.
It is very important to get the dust off your horse’s coat or it may cause irritation. By moving the brush in rapid strokes, you will get the dirt off of your horse’s coat. Ensure that you are using a body brush to smooth down your horse’s hair and to make it look nice and shiny.
Trimming hair from horse’s body is pretty essential. After all, you do not want your horse to look shabby or worst be uncomfortable due to the excess hair on the coat. Try using cordless horse clippers as they are convenient to use. With a cordless clipper, you are not restricted to use it only in an area where you have an access to power socket.
Charging the wireless clipper and using it at the time of need is a better option any day. In this way you can carry on with clipping without worrying about the necessity of power socket. Keep your horse’s hooves clean and trim them every 3-8 weeks to keep them in good condition.
• Provide nutritious food
Feed your horse well to give your pet a long and healthy life. Start with providing your horse with plenty of water and good quality hay that is free of mole and dust. Good quality hay is equivalent to nutritious food, which must be served. Make sure to serve plenty of hay, as horses should eat about 15-20 pounds of daily.
Feed grains to your horse throughout the day; you can feed up to ½ pound of grain per 100 pound of body weight. Measure the grain before you feed the horse so that you are not overfeeding your horse. In case, the weather is too hot, feed them grains in the cooler hours of the day, precisely later in the evening or early morning hours.
The portion of feeding your horse might change due to their activities or the amount of grass consumed in a day. Always evaluate daily requirements, as that will help you to determine whether to subtract or to add from the irregular feeding amounts. Remember that horses perform better when they have a regular feeding schedule.
• Consider the necessities
Be prepared for extreme weather conditions, as horses need to be warm enough during winter. Heat bothers horses more than cold does, as they cannot get rid of excess heat in their bodies. Sweating is the only way by which they can get rid of the excess heat in their bodies. Therefore, take proper measures in the summer and try not to make your horse do anything strenuous in hot weather.
The stall of your horse is required to be spacious enough for them to lie down comfortably. As you may know, horses can also sleep while standing on their feet but they need to lie down to get proper sleep. Maintain the hygiene level in the stall so that your horse has room to lie down without getting filth on their bodies.
Do not make drastic changes to your horse’s feeding pattern as that can prove fatal leading to equine colic or founder. Equine colic is a condition that may even require surgery as it causes severe abdominal pain. Founder is a condition that causes poor circulation, which may also lead to painful separation of the hoof from the foot. Therefore, it is advised to make gradual changes to avoid the unfortunate fatal conditions.
To keep your pet horse healthy and happy, you must consider the following ways to nurture and care for them in the best manner. The article covers right from the basic necessities to important standard ways of nurturing a horse. A good read for equine lovers and an insight for everyone who is interested in knowing more about horse care.
