Horse Care For Beginners

The Delicate Subject of Euthanasia and Your Horse. But having recently experienced this situation, with the resultant demise of my true friend and companion, my Percheron Thorobred cross, Midnight (Middie), I felt it should be talked about.

When it comes to keeping your horse healthy, cleanliness is vital. Many illnesses and infirmities can be avoided simply by maintaining a clean equine environment. As a horse owner, it is your responsibility to provide proper care to your pet, which includes keeping the horse and its environment clean and healthy.

As a horse owner, it’s important that you have a basic understanding of horse anatomy. Providing the best possible care for you horse requires that you learn as much as you can about their physical needs. Having knowledge of how your horse’s body works not only helps you care for your horse better, it helps you recognize when there’s a problem that may need a veterinarian’s attention.

There’s been a lot written on the subject, but I have never before stopped to really think about just how extensive the list is, and just how dangerous some plants can be to horses. Obviously the list of plants will vary according to a number of factors such as which country or territory you’re in, the climatic conditions including the temperature range and rainfall, and the condition of your pasture. I’ll not try to cover them all (Wikipedia lists over 80 species) but just those that probably the most significant.

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.

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.

  You can probably feel it in your blood. Why? Because the warmer weather is coming. Spring is in the air. As you wander around out of doors you notice that, at last, the grass is starting to grow and the paddocks are recovering their lush, green look. At this time you can vividly imagine [...]