Horse Care 101

Before you bring your new equine companion home, you'll want to learn about the basics of good horse care. Learn how to feed, house, and care for your horse or pony. Discover how pony care differs from horse care, what good health looks like and when to call the vet.

At the very least a horse needs:

Pasture free from hazards such as holes, rusty farm machinery and loose wire fences.Safe fencing such as wooden, plastic, or vinyl rails, or mesh wire fencing.Grass for grazing or equivalent amount of good quality hay.Unlimited supply of fresh clean water, heated if necessary in sub-freezing temperatures.Access to salt.Shelter from wet or wintry weather and shade in summer.A dry clean area to lie down.Daily monitoring for injury or illness.Companionship, either with another horse, donkey, mule or pony or another animal such as a sheep or goat.

Learn to groom, care for your stable, and care for your horse or pony safely with these tips and articles

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The Essentials of Horse Care

When you bring home your first horse, there are a few essential things you'll need to know in order to care for it properly right away. Learn the basics of feeding, tying and basic care for your first horse.

Horse Care Essentials:

Basic Horse Care: Here is the very basic information you will need to care for your horse properly.Horse and Pony Care By the Day, Week, Month and Year: Have you thought about the time required for properly caring for a horse? I've broken down what you need to do to care for your horse by the day, week month and year.How to Tie Safely: Probably the first thing you'll need to do when you get your first horse is tie it in a stable or trailer.

Feeding Your Horse

Good horse care includes quality roughage. While grass is a horse's natural food, it's not always available, and may not be adequate in some situations.

Horse Feeding Basics:

 Hay FAQs: There's good hay, and there's hay that can damage your horse's lungs and cause other health problems. These FAQs will help you choose the right hay.Water for Your Horse: Find out why freshwater is essential.Plants Toxic to Horses: Not all that grows in pastures is good for your horse. Learn to identify plants toxic to horses.

Shelter Your Horse

 Here is how to tie your horse safely.

Most horses spend some of their time indoors in a stall. For good horse care and safety, barns, sheds and stalls need to be properly designed. Learn how to design and maintain your barns and run-ins.

Learn About Sheltering Your Horse:

Designing a Run-in Shelter: If you don't have a barn, or even if you do, a run-in gives your horse a place to get out of the wind and wet.Stable Design: It's exciting building or modifying a building for horses. Find out the ideal size for stalls, flooring options and ceiling height.Pros and Cons of Stables and Run-in Sheds: Should a horse live in a stable or spend 24/7 outdoors? There are arguments for both sides. Choose what's right for your situation.

Horse Health Essentials

It's an unfortunate fact that horses can get sick and injured. The key to good horse care is being able to identify health problems and treat them promptly