Horse Care For Beginners

Is equine influenza likely to affect my horse?
This is a question I cannot answer, but I should state that equine influenza ( often known as EI) is not the most common disease that may affect your horse, but it is essential that horse owners remain vigilant to any of the disease symptoms which I’ll cover in this post. Should you suspect that your horse may have contracted the disease it is vital that you immediately report this to your vet.

In it’s simplest terms it refers to pain originating in the abdomen. So, if there is any disturbance of gut function your horse will tend to show signs of pain. The two usual causes of colic are either impaction or a build-up of gas in the large intestine. In the case of a minor form of either of these forms of colic and the pain it causes may, with appropriate care, pass quite quickly. Should it be severe your horse will need to have immediate veterinary treatment.

Horses that are not worked regularly on hard ground may not need shoes. In fact, here in Australia there’s quite a move away from shoeing. But bear in mind that horse’s hooves cannot take wear and tear which is why iron shoes are used to protect them. Should you be considering working your horse barefooted, talk to your farrier and get expert advice. I’ll mention here that with my horse, a percheron/thoroughbred cross with large and near perfect foot structure, I rarely resorted to shoeing over many years.

“If you can’t BREATHE … nothing else matters!” That’s a very true saying from The Australian Lung Foundation. A rather similar well-known saying in the horse fraternity is “no foot … no horse”. It’s a fact that most of the horse lameness problems have the origin in their feet. So it’s important for you to regularly check your horse’s feet, if not daily, then very frequently. This brings us to a problem that many people who are new to owning a horse have, and that’s lifting a horse’s foot.

Should you reef really hard on the girth to tighten the saddle down to the last notch so the saddle doesn’t slip? The answer to this is NO! Horses girthed too tightly will get cinchy and develop a dislike to being saddled which is a problem you’ll find hard to cure. Instead, right from the start, do things correctly, like correctly positioning the saddle. If you make the girth too tight, chances are that your horse will either reach around and bite you, blow or go down on its knees. So, a good snug girth isw what you should try to achieve, just about right in your horse’s book anyhow.

But very quickly my local Saddle Club made me aware of the many problems that could happen with a horse without the proper care, and that I’d need to find a vet for help if ever the need arose. So I did some research and learned of the many health problems that could occur without the proper care.

Today, the equestrian helmet is not yet required for riders. However, their use is becoming common practice. In fact, riding instructors today are required by insurance companies to make their students wear riding helmets in order to get an insurance policy. Even although some people may feel that equestrian helmets are uncomfortable and hot, you should always remember that the real purpose of wearing a helmet is to help keep you safe.