What are some training exercizes to buff up my horse?
Cut her feed. And then work her on a longe line or ride her.
I can't get out to feed my horse twice a day, can I feed him once a day?
Although it's definitely not ideal, it may be possible to make a single daily feeding work. If he is still eating hay well, give him enough hay to last the full day (there should be a little left when you come to feed again). But, as horses age, they don't eat as much hay. They have trouble chewing it and will just spit it out. If you need to feed grain and such to keep his health up, it is really much, much better to feed twice or three times per day. If you feed too much grain in one sitting (over 3lbs usually), then you risk colic and stomach upset. The senior horses at my barn usually get 3lbs grain 2-3x/day. So... here's what I would do: When you go out, give him his grain and supplements. Then, give him 4-8 flakes of the hay you are feeding (they can't really colic off too much hay) so he has something to eat at all times. An empty stomach is dangerous- especially in an older horse. Their digestive systems are designed to digest constantly. If left without food for too long, the acid can cause ulcers and other nasty stuff. If there is no or little food out in pasture you may want to put some hay out there too. Hope that helps :) Also- by grain I mean Purina Senior. It's a complete feed designed for the older horse. I would recommend something like that instead of sweet, cereal grains. ADDED: I would strongly recommend NOT hanging hay nets close to the ground. Horses can step in them and get tangled. We had a horse step in a hay net while on the trailer (it wasn't hanging too low, she just pawed high). When we got to where we were going, her foot was stuck in the net above chest height. Luckily, she's not one to panic. A slow feeder or net is not necessary to keep the horse from eating too much hay. Horses are naturally meant to graze for about 20 hours per day- and eating frequently is good. A horse will not gorge himself on hay like he would with grain. They may eat more at the beginning of having free choice hay, but it will level out. My horse just nibbles on hay all day, then eats her grain meals twice per day.
My Horses Stomach Is Pretty Big?
If they weren't rotating wormers...she could still be infested with worms. Free feeding hay with no work...could cause hay belly. Free feeding hay with no work...and still seeing ribs...could be poor quality hay or worms or something else. Or a combination of all. Have your vet do a fecal to check for worms. Feed her quality hay and see if she improves. Once she's wormed appropriately and the quality of hay is better, and she's still a bit ribby...you need to talk to your vet again...or add a pelleted feed if necessary. **edit...NO...hay belly is not dangerous. Exercise will get rid of it fairly quickly. Just think of it as being 'out of shape' and when you exercise her, it will 'trim and tone' up. **My personal experience is 2 or 3 working rides in the summer. [5 hour rides] Winter??? If you're actually 'working' her with daily rides, about a week. If you're just goofing/riding around for an hour or so...a couple times a week...about 2 weeks maybe. Then again, if you're not riding her that much...it will stay until she 'works' it off. **I've never had any trouble feeding and switching grass hay. Even without 'introducing' it. I just feed it to them.
Is it okay to feed your horse cracked corn every once in awhile?(And Bonus Question)?
I have had horses for close to 50 yrs. so I can attest that some of the things people say on YA don't necessarily apply to your situation as there can be other factors at work. To rid your horse of Bots, worm the horse as you are doing. Then get some liquid fly spray and spray your horse to keep the flies from laying eggs on your horse and to kill the Bot Eggs already on the horse. Spray the stall and manure pile to control flies around the stable. That is all that is necessary. Grain of any kind can actually harm your horse unless you give it to the horse during cold weather or when the horse is working hard day after day and needs the extra protein. Giving a horse too much grain can cause it to founder (hooves separate from the soft center) and ferment in the horses stomach and bloat the horse. An occasional treat for your horse like an apple or carrot is OK. I suggest you squirt the dewormer paste on the back of your horses tongue, and then immediately give the horse 1/4 an apple or bite of carrot so the horse won't spit the wormer out, but chew the apple / carrot and swallow everything.
What human food can horses eat?
Horses have very delicate digestive systems. They are herbivores, trickle feeders, and should be fed little and often. Contrary to belief a horse has a small stomach approx the size of a rugby ball. They also have no gall bladder therefore must constantly produce bile by eating large amounts of fibre i.e. grass, haulage, hay etc most of their feed will be processed in the hind gut consisting of complex carbs. They break down simple carbs in the fore gut i.e. oats. This is why overfeeding oats leads to excess energy. As they cannot be processed in the hind gut the excess starch converts to sugar producing an excess of energy. Human foods they can eat consist of apples , carrots, Swedes, these are know as succulents and are relished. They also love dandelions which are good for them. Things like cereals they can be partial to. My own mares love popcorn as a treat. Horses also love mints especially polos. All these could not form an adequate diet and are purely treats. Quite a lot of plants are toxic to horses. Apple's and carrots can be added to the feed of a fussy eater or to provide something succulent.
How much does it cost to own a horse per month/a year?
Depends on where you live. Hay can run 10.00 a bale to 30.00 a bale . And your horse eats a bale of hay ever 3 days.Then there is grain 1–2 bags a month.12.00–25.00 a bagshoes every 6 weeks , can run 75.00- 300.00 a shoeing.shots every 6 months. Depends on if you give them or the vet. 20.00–150.00.having your horses teeth done once a year. 150–300.00 each timesalt block 5.00 15.00 depending on size. A 50 lb. usually lasts a year. And if your horse gets hurt / sick can cost $150.00– on up $5,000. Or more.then you need a place to ride your horse. Like a arena and or trails.and lessons are a great idea.better to take lessons for a year or more and learn how to take care of your horse properly and maybe lease a horse.
Why is raising a horse so expensive?
As a boarding stable owner, I can break it down for you on a monthly cost basis. Some of these costs will vary, but these are my costs for the stable that I operate:Hay. The average horse needs about 20 pounds of good quality hay (not “cow hay”), and that runs about $8.00 per 40 lb. bale. So 15 bales per month = $120.00Grain. I feed a high quality, pelleted feed that costs $25 per 50-lb. bag. A typical horse (in work) gets an average of 8 lbs. per day. $60.00Bedding. We do not have a good source of sawdust nearby, so we have to use bagged shavings, at $4.00 per bag. Two bags per week (if you pick it out daily) equals $32.00Labor. I pay stable help $10.00 per hour (usually kids working off part of their board bill). It takes about 30 minutes per day per horse — stall cleaning, turn out, blanketing, general grooming, etc. — so my cost is $150.oo.Water. Horses not only drink it, but depending on the season, and whether borders are bathing horses, hosing legs, etc. cost per horse runs about $20.00.Electricity. Lights, hot water, heated tack room, etc. adds another $20.00 per horse.Insurance. Liability and property insurance at $12,500 per year, divided by 20 horses = about $50.00So my costs are now at $452 per month. That figure doesn’t even begin to include amortizing the $500,000 that I spent to buy the land, another $120,000 to build the barn, maintenance, repairs, fencing, a tractor, fuel, bush hogging, etc., or even a single dollar for profit. Now throw in a half dozen “bounced” checks, credit card fees, and the cost of feeding an abandoned horse now and then (when the owner quits paying for care). At a board rate of $600 per month, I am certainly not getting rich doing this. I just do it for the love of horses.Now, even if you’re doing all the work yourself, you’ll still have farrier bills ($80 - 100 every eight weeks), vet bills (Coggins tests, vaccinations, etc), tack, show entry fees, lessons, training, hauling fees, etc. It’s easy to see how it can cost you a small fortune to keep a horse. I always caution people who are thinking about buying a horse to plan on budgeting at least $10,000 per year, and I’m still amazed by the number of people who go out and buy little Suzy a $1,000 horse for Christmas and then learn that they can’t afford to keep it.
If I have the land for it, can I buy a horse as a pet?
A realtor that lives in my area keeps a gelding as a pet. Everyone thinks she is crazy, since she does not ride and all she does with the horse is feed it, pay for its vet bills, pay the farrier, etc. She has the horse on pasture with a local horse rancher so does not have to check him every day and let him out of a stall, but she also has to pay for rent to use his pasture. (I am not sure how much, and since you indicate you own land that may not be a problem for you.) The rancher goes out and looks at the horses every day to make sure things are okay, and if you have horses you need to do this EVERY day too.If the woman had come up to me and asked whether this was a good idea several years ago, I would have told her no. Horses are not pets. She does, however, come to visit the horse almost every weekend and when she calls him up to the barn for feeding and grooming the gelding always seems happy to see her. If you only have enough land for one horse, I would DEFINITELY not recommend this since horses are herd animals and get very lonely if confined alone.If you have the land to support a few horses and the finances to maintain them (farrier, vet bills, extra feed during drought or snow conditions) then I do not see anything wrong with this. I love my horses and will go out to the pasture, call them to me, and just scratch ears and backs even if I do not have time to ride. Horses are not pets in a traditional sense, but they can be.They are my emotional support animals!(I took this photo of Ke$ha and Kachina last month. When horses are kept as pets, and do not have much of a job to do, they have a lot more energy and can get kind of destructive. I was in the back pasture with a neighbor that my mares did not know and they were nervous about his presence.)
Looking for some advice for people who ride navicular horses?
I have a 12-15 year old quarter horse mare who I just purchased about a month ago. The owners did not tell me she was navicular- but it all worked out. She is very gentle and rides quietly on the trail. We have her on daily powdered bute and cosequin supplement daily as well. She is in padded shoes and is doing very well. She mostly only will stumble if she has to do tight circles. I do not ride her when she is limping so I don't need any lectures. Believe me she is very well taken care of. That is part of the problem. She is on free range hay in the pasture and grain twice a day. She already gets 1/2 of what the other horses in the barn get, but she is still overweight. Because of her navicular, I can't really work her into a sweat- also it is winter here and has been between 30-40 degrees with 27mph winds, so not a lot of riding time since I got her. I would like to hear from some people who have experience with navicular or arthritic horses. How do you work them? Since the supplement and Bute she is more than willing to canter with me, but I am afraid of further damaging her leg. They only have a 30-45 foot round pen, so not really enough room in there to lunge. Thanks for your help.
As a horse trainer, owner, boarder, or caretaker, what would you say are the best types of stall bedding to use?
As a stall cleaner, I loved sawdust. It absorbed urine really well, and 'dense' enough that the manure would have a tendency to sit on top of the bedding. Making finding it much easierIt is also much more economical than shavings because the bedding is delivered by the truckload, and not by weight. So a load of shavings might last 3 weeks, while a load of sawdust would last twice as long. The stalls also took about half the time to clean. Forr about a year, I did all 45+- stalls myself, plus tried to ride both of my horses, and still get to my full-time job on time. On the times that sawdust was available, I at least had a shot of getting all that done. I overheard several boarders complain about the sawdust, saying it got into their horse's coat etc, and there were no horses with respiratory problems, heaves, or allergies, not sure what the barn owners would have done about such issues, and this is coming from western Washington where sawdust, or shavings were always available.