When you’re caring for a horse, you’d understand that there’s a special bond between you and your mare. Essentially, it’s like a parent-child relationship wherein you’ll want to give the only best to your child at all times. A horse is a magnificent creature, and when you give them proper care and love, they’ll give you their unquestioned loyalty and commitment in return.
Even when your horses are stabled, there are essential care tips you must remember for your horses to remain happy and healthy. That way, you can improve their quality of life and perhaps make them even live longer.
Read on to know more about some of the best ways to keep your horses in their best shape while they’re stabled.
- Minimize Stress
Yes, horses are also susceptible to stress. They’re very observant creatures, and some of them are believed to be more prone to stress than others.
Unfortunately, it’s believed that your horse may suffer from a host of health problems such as depression, diarrhea, and ulcers when they’re exposed to a lot of stress. Their temperament and behavior can also change. This can pose a serious concern if you need your horse for help in different farm work or you’re grooming them to compete in different athletic contests. When you keep your horse happy, you’ll notice a difference in their performance and stamina right away.
To help you out, here are some pointers to ensure that your horse’s stress levels are kept to a minimum:
- If you’re going to prepare your horse for new experiences, be sure that you introduce them to the activity gradually. Too much exposure can overstimulate or shock them.
- Don’t keep your horses alone in the stable. If you don’t have another horse that you own, you may want to consider arranging a shared stable set up with another friend nearby who has one. Horses are believed to be social creatures and can’t be in isolation for long. Prolonged periods of seclusion can lead them to succumb to loneliness and depression.
- Give your horse some time to just be themselves. This means making that time and commitment to allow your horse to just roll over, have fun, and gallop out in the open fields under your watch.
- Give Your Horse Quality Food
Don’t skimp on your horse’s food. A part of owning one is ensuring that they’re well-fed and nourished. When you feed your horse well, then they’re also going to be healthier.
Typically, horses feed on hay or pasture, usually known as roughage, so they can be on top of their health. Do make sure that you resist the temptation of buying cheap hay or low-end grain. Additionally, it’s said that giving your horse food supplements can help with their appetite. There are quality options out there from known companies like Pilot Equine and the like that you can explore and try out to help in your pet horse’s diet.
- Schedule A Yearly Health Exam
If your horse is well and healthy, this doesn’t mean that you should forego taking them to the vet. It’s still important to submit your horse to a thorough veterinary exam annually.
Just like how humans need to have that yearly executive medical check conducted by physicians, horses also need to see their trusted veterinarian. In doing so, you can keep yourself in the loop and updated with their health condition. It gives you more insight into what you should do to be proactive about their health. Most importantly, it can also help you diagnose any ailments your horse may have at its early stages and act in a timely manner.
Along with a regular check, your horse will also need to be vaccinated to ensure that they’re protected from different viruses that can cause serious diseases.
- Give It Daily Exercise
Owning a horse requires time and commitment. Just like with any other pet animals, it’s also important for you to give your horse their daily dose of exercise which it needs. Otherwise, your horse’s health may deteriorate and can cause issues to its overall wellbeing.
To ensure that you’re giving your horse the proper time and kind of exercise, ask your resident animal doctor for tips. That way, you can also keep them healthy and in optimum shape.
- Always Check Your Horse’s Temperature After Work Or Exercise
After you’ve exposed your horse to a series of serious strenuous activities, it’s very important for you to check its temperature. Especially if these activities are done in the summer months, your horse can easily overheat. Unfortunately, this could be dangerous.
Your horse’s temperature can give you so many insight into what you can do after, to give it the proper cool-down exercises.
Conclusion
Now that you’ve got these tips on how to care for a horse, you can go ahead on that pursuit of getting one for yourself. Or, if you have one already, then you can also heighten the way you care for them. Whatever purpose the horse serves for you, it’s worth noting that they’ll always be there with you through it all. But, this means that you’ve also got the responsibility to provide them with the best care and love they deserve. The tips above can enable you to do just that.