Basic Horse Care for Beginners

Horse ownership is really a rewarding hobby. There are plenty of good and fun activities you could do with your horse. You could take care of it as a pet, take it out for leisure riding, or enter horse competitions if you like.

Apart from all the fun experience you could have with your horse comes a great responsibility as well in taking care of it. Horses require much time and effort from their owner to keep them healthy and happy. When you own a horse, you must be committed in taking care of it for long term.

If you’re new to ownership, here are some of the basic steps on how to care for a horse.

Feeding

Grass is a horse’s natural food. However, there are times that it is not readily available for your horse. Good quality hay is the best alternative for this. It needs an average of 1 to 2 kg of feed per 100 kg bodyweight. It may need more feed if it is worked regularly and need more energy. Don’t forget to place a mineral block or salt lick in it’s shelter.

Water

Your horse should always have access to clean drinking water all day. Since it needs to drink 25 to 45 litters per day, you need to always check the container and see to it that it never runs out of water. To make it more convenient, you could use a self-filling dam or trough instead. Be sure to check it daily to see if it’s clean and working properly.

Shelter

Your horse needs good shelter to protect it against the sun heat, rain, wind, and other elements. Be sure that it has a shelter that is easily accessible when it needs some sheltering from nature’s elements. It could be a tree, a stable, or even a walk-in shed. Depending on the temperatures, you could also use rugs and an extra protection for your horse against the cold or hot temperatures. Be sure that the rug fits perfectly to avoid injuries on the skin.

General Health Care

Aside from those 3 basic needs, your horse needs some general health care treatment too to maintain its good health. Since it hooves grow out through time, it needs to be trimmed regularly about 6 to 8 weeks. Long hooves can be uncomfortable and even painful for the horse so you need to check it regularly.

A horse also needs yearly dental check-up by an equine dental vet since its teeth can grow sharp and cause pain while chewing. It also needs to be dewormed every 6 to 8 weeks to get rid of intestinal parasites and prevent nutritional deficiencies. Lastly, your horse also needs the basic vaccinations to protect it from common deadly diseases.

With these basic care guide, taking care of a horse won’t be that daunting even if it’s still your first time. Be sure to follow all those steps to keep your horse health and happy all the time.