Ideally, each cell should contain enough forage to sustain the grazing horses for 4 to 7 days. Grazing for longer than 7 days may increase damage due to hoof tread, particularly near water and salt sources. Should I hand graze my horse? In the spring, in-hand grazing can get your Read more…
Osteoarthritis/synovitis or degenerative joint disease is very common in working horses and can cause a performance limiting lameness. Joint injections are sometimes done to help decrease the pain and inflammation of joint disease and return horses to sound work. What do injections do for horses? AN OWNER’S GUIDE TO JOINT Read more…
Should your horse drag you, do your best to stop and assume one position. Then swing his head around in a way that makes him turn to face you. Maybe you can back him up a few steps after he stops and looks at you. Maybe you ask him to Read more…
Ground training is when you teach your horse while you are on the ground, not riding. For example, the basic groundwork exercises teach your horse to lead, stand still, work on a lung line, and respond to pressure and release. How long should you do ground work with a horse? Read more…
If you feed your horse grain, give it in multiple smaller meals rather than one large one. Most horses are given grain twice a day for the convenience of their human caretakers. If for some reason you must give your horse a large quantity of grain, consider an additional lunchtime Read more…
Alfalfa is a good source of nutrients for sport horses, but owners might want to avoid offering it when horses are working hard in hot weather, says Duren. Protein metabolism creates more heat than fat or carbohydrate metabolism. This added heat can impair the horse’s ability to dissipate heat. Can Read more…
Conclusions and clinical relevance: Results suggest that congestive heart failure is rare in horses. A loud heart murmur accompanied by either jugular distention or pulsation, tachycardia, respiratory abnormalities (crackles, cough, tachypnea), and ventral edema were the most common clinical signs. What are the signs of congestive heart failure in horses? Read more…
Alfalfa As A Source Of Protein For Horses Along with soya, which is also a legume, alfalfa is one of the most commonly used sources of protein in horse feeds. The key features of the protein in alfalfa are: Most of the protein in alfalfa is found in the leaf. Read more…
A typical form of laminitis caused by inflammatory disease is grain overload – horses usually have to eat at least 4 kg of straight starch-rich grain in one go, with the amount required to cause disease lower in horses that are not accustomed to eating a lot of grain. What Read more…
Riding Downhill An excellent way to strengthen your horse’s front end is to ride downhill. If your horse is recovering from an injury or is otherwise not very strong, begin with a gradual downhill slope with firm footing. How can I strengthen my horses front legs? Horse stretching exercises Pick Read more…