10 Easy Tips to Keep Your Horse Cool in the Summer Heat Consider a shaded trail ride to escape the hot summer sun. Turn your horse out in the early morning or in the afternoon, when shade is more plentiful. Make sure your horse has free access to fresh water Read more…
Epsom salts can be used by soaking or foot poulticing. Soaking is done by placing the hoof in warm water with diluted Epsom salts (with diluted povidone-iodine best) for about 10 to 20 minutes, once or twice daily. A better and more effective use of Epsom salts is to use Read more…
Most poultices used for horses contain some type of clay, but cereals such as bran and herbs can also be used. Poultices can have a cooling effect or a warming effect depending on the ingredients and how they are applied. Poultices have many uses, such as helping with a sore Read more…
Long boots prevent chafing and pinching from the stirrup leathers, as well as offering some protection from a kick or in a fall. Why do people wear boots when riding horses? A horse boot is a protective boot or wrap designed to prevent a horse’s lower leg or hoof from Read more…
Tendon boots protect the horse’s front legs from strikes from the hind hooves which can occur when landing a jump. In comparison, fetlock boots are used on the horse’s hind legs and just protect the fetlock from brushing injuries. Are horse boots necessary? The short answer is yes. Your horse Read more…
Pain relief Most of the pain from a hoof abscess comes from the pressure on the sensitive tissue of the foot, so relieving that pressure is essential. A component of the pain is due to inflammation, however, so administering bute also greatly improves comfort once the abscess has been opened. Read more…
Corrective Trimming In most cases, your farrier will need to shorten the toe of the hoof and add height to the heel. It will take an extended period of time to correct the shape of your horse’s hoof enough to eliminate the appearance of having a flat foot. Can you Read more…
When the horse is lame in the forequarters, you can determine which leg is lame by carefully noticing when the head goes up, and which leg has hit the ground at that moment. The horse will dip its head downward, as the sound leg hits the ground, and lift the Read more…
A horse can weigh more than 500kg so their legs need a rest! Even though they can sleep standing up, scientists think horses still need to lie down and sleep each day. How can you tell if a horse is tired? How do we recognise the signs? Slowing of pace. Read more…
It takes a bit of work for horses to get up, which makes them vulnerable to attacks by predators. To protect themselves, horses instead doze while standing. They’re able to do this through the stay apparatus, a special system of tendons and ligaments that enables a horse to lock the Read more…