Horse Care Equipment

Owning a horse can be a rewarding experience. However, many individuals are of the opinion that owning a horse is easy. Of course, there are some owners who are experienced in the field of horse care. But there are also some who are only aware of the basics of caring for a horse. Good horse care involves healthy food and safe shelter. Caring for a horse can be quite a task because of the high maintenance costs in terms of horse care equipment and supplies, and also the amount of time and effort required.  The list of horse care equipment and supplies may seem endless, but horses do require these to stay healthy and comfortable.
It is easy to get confused considering the variety of tack equipment supplies available today. One of the most important items is saddle blankets. These help to keep the horse warm and also offer protection from insects. This promotes good horse health and cleanliness. Horse blankets also promote better circulation of blood in horses. When you are selecting horse blankets, ensure that you opt for those that are water proof and durable. They must be made from high quality materials. An important fact about horses is that they can tolerate even the coldest of temperatures. Hence it is advisable to take into consideration the blanket weight and climatic conditions before you decide to buy it. You will also require horse grooming equipment such as hoof picks, curry combs and body brushes. A hoof pick helps to clean debris from the underside of the horse’s hoof. Using a hoof pick should be a part of daily grooming. You can also carry one with you whenever you are exercising the horse so that any stones or objects can be removed from the horse’s hoof. A curry comb can be used to get rid of mud and remove tangles from the horse’s body.  A mane comb is another important piece of horse care equipment and supplies. For bathing the horse, you may require a sweat scraper and a sponge. A sweat scraper was originally used to remove sweat from horses, but it can also be used to get rid of the excess water from the horse’s coat after a bath.

Safety is also an essential aspect of horse care. There should be good horse fences that can keep out predators from the stable. Fences can be wire mesh, rail horse or electric. You can approach a horse professional to put up these fences in your ranch. Tack trunks are helpful in organizing all your tools. Every stable should have one as it keeps everything handy and also prevents you from misplacing or losing any of the tools.

Calm Spooky Horse

Horses are very beautiful animals and great companions if you can afford to care for one. Sometimes horses get spooky, anxious and hyperactive when they are overfed. Very often even after being trained to be tame they can get nervous about something and get agitated. This can be very dangerous for the rider and any one around the horse, so it is important to calm the horse down quickly. The way a horse reacts depends on its surroundings and the reaction of its human counterpart. Horses are somewhat restless by nature and some are easily startled. So one of the first things you could do when trying to calm spooky horse down is give the horse a nice rub on the neck and its back this will let the horse know that you are there and you will not let anything harm it.

Since a horse’s reaction depends on the reaction of its human counterpart it is important for the person handling the horse to calm down. For calming a spooky horse, the first thing you need to do is separate the horse from the person or situation that is bothering it. If you can’t do that then move to the next step, which is ensuring that the horse does not feel threatened in any way when you approach it. So walk towards it slowly looking at the ground with your hands down by your side. You should avoid any sudden movements as this too can startle the horse. It is also important not to shout and instead try to speak in a soft calm voice. The words you use are not important to the horse as although they may not comprehend your words the horse will react well to the tone you use. Try and get the horse to lower its head by firmly using your hands but not jerking the rein at the same time. Horses relate the head down position with either grazing or lying down to sleep; hence it is easier to calm them down quickly. Continue to pat the horse in a reassuring manner as you notice the stress levels going down. You can gradually release the rein every time the horse does what you want it too. When the horse starts calming down you can reward it by giving it something to eat or its favorite treat.

If you’ve tried all of this but find it very difficult to handle the anxiety you should consider hiring a horse trainer to help you out.

Read on How to Calm Horse Down

My Horse is Sick

Many horse owners have to go through the pain of caring for a sick horse at some time or the other. It is thus important for horse owners to know How to Care for Sick Horse recovering from some injury or sickness. In order to get the right treatment and diagnosis for a sick horse you have to first consult a vet.

Feeding Sick Horse

When caring for a sick horse it is important not to make any drastic changes to its routine, as this helps the horse stay calm and relaxed. If the horse is not very sick then grooming it gently will help. If it is during winter or autumn then don’t forget to have a thick rug to cover the horse in order to keep it warm. It is also important that your horse does not get dehydrated so ensure that it has a fresh supply of clean water everyday. Giving a medicine for horse sickness isn’t an easy task but there are a few tricks you could try, if you have to give the horse a medicine in the powdered form then try and mix the required dose into the feed but ensure the feed is moist and tasty in order to over power the medicine taste. You could also try and sprinkle the required dosage of medicine on a big piece of bread and cover it with some honey. If you have to give your horse a medicine that is in the liquid form then you could either use a syringe and squirt it onto your horses tongue or just mix into the feed. Pills and capsules are the toughest, as your horse will immediately spit them out. You could crush the pills into a powder and then mix it in the feed and cut a slice of an apple and press the capsule into the pulp of the apple and feed it to the horse like a treat.

Horses are generally very active animals, when sick they can be confined to the loose box for weeks and this can make them very restless so it is important for you to ensure that horse doesn’t get bored. In order to do this you can visit your horse as often as possible during the day and fuss with it and give it treats as long as the vet says it’s okay to do so. If you can’t visit the horse very often during the day then leave the radio on near the horses’ loose box or play some music as this helps keep the horse calm.