Non-Negotiable Horse Things
There are some things that are non-negotiable when it comes to horse care. And sometimes it feels like not everyone agrees on these things. There are things like basic horse care and then specific things depending on the job the horse is doing.
For basic horse care, having fresh clean water at all times in a must. If you're hauling stopping to offer them water every 3-4 hours is a must. After that the three F's are a good thing to follow. They are friends, forage, and freedom.
Friends. Horses are herd animals and do best when they are not isolated. Of course there are times we have to isolate them for their own good like stall rest or quarantine, but for the most part we should make sure they have friends.
Forage. Horses are grazing animals, and their digestive system is meant to process small amounts of continuous forage. We accomplish this with things like slow feed hay nets or large bales or frequent feedings. At our house horses go no longer than six hours between feedings. We put out super slow feed hay nets in the evening which keeps forage in front of them for hours until they are fed again in the morning.
Freedom. Horses need to move. Keeping them stalled constantly hinders their physical and mental health. Of course there are times when this is necessary, but whenever possible horses should be turned out. The majority of our horses are in a pasture, with a few in smaller pens because they require special care. And even the ones in smaller pens are turned out for several hours per day.
Hoof care is also essential. This is essential regardless of the job of the horse. We've all heard the saying "no hoof, no horse" which is so true. We should be cleaning feet daily and having regular farrier care.
Now forage is great, but a horse cannot have a balanced diet on forage alone. I suggest using an equine nutritionist to make sure your horse's diet is balanced. If this is out of reach for you, then at least use a ration balancer with your forage to ensure that your horse is getting the nutrients it needs. In my personal horses, several are on alfalfa/bermuda only as well as a ration balancer to ensure that they get what they need. Since none of my horse's eat the full serving of whatever additional feed they get, I feed them all the ration balancer. We like to keep horse's diets as simple as possible while making sure they get what they need.
Dental! This is an often overlooked aspect of horse care that can affect their ability to do their jobs or even live their lives pain free. At least once a year the horse's teeth should be checked and any sharp edges removed. Check with your state licensing to see who is a licensed dental provider or use your veterinarian.
If your horse has a job, there are other things that they may require. For instance, I believe that if you have lesson horses or a lot of beginner riders that are unbalanced body work is needed more frequently. Unbalanced riders are hard on a horse, and those horses will require extra body work to maintain them. The same for horses that are doing performance jobs. We need to treat them like the athletes that they are.
Tack fit is HUGE. Imagine being forced to run in shoes that are two sizes too small. Being forced to work in tack that doesn't fit is the same for the horse. Would you like to run with a thorn in your shorts? Make sure your tack doesn't have sharp edges or parts that can injure the horse.
I wish anyone involved in the horse world, especially those teaching beginners would teach these basic things at the very least. There is so much more that comes to horse care, but at least teaching beginners the basics then letting them learn about how much more there is involved in the care of these animals is a good start.
