How to Care for a Horse in a Stable

Choosing and maintaining your horse's stall are important parts of providing your horse with proper care. Most important, you have to make sure the horse gets adequate food, water and exercise. Read on to fully understand the needs of a stabled horse.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Things You’ll Need:

• Bitter Apple Sprays
• Fly Mask With Ear Protectors
• Fly Repellent
• Lead Ropes

1. Find a stall of adequate size. A 12-by-12 stall is sufficient for most horses. Larger horses will need more space.
2. If at all possible, give your horse a stall with attached paddock so he can move inside and out.
3. Make sure the horse has plenty of fresh water. There are automatic waterers that keep water in a bowl at a certain level. The downside to an automatic waterer is that you cannot monitor the amount your horse drinks and some horses don't like automatic waterers. If you do use one, be sure to check it regularly to make sure it is working. You can also keep water in a bucket. If you use buckets, try to make sure your horse has at least 10 gallons of water available at a time.
4. Feed grain from a manger or from a bucket or feed pan placed on the ground. When you dump grain on the ground, your horse may ingest sand, and this can cause colic.
5. Decide whether to feed hay from a hay rack or the ground. Some people prefer the hay rack because it keeps the hay out of the bedding. Others prefer to feed hay on the ground because it mimics the horse's natural grazing stance (head down).
6. Understand that stalls made of wood are the most horse-friendly. Stalls made of cement block or concrete walls can damage a horse's foot or leg if kicked. However some horses will chew on wood stalls, so be sure to cover exposed wood with a substance aimed to prevent wood chewing or with metal.
7. Make sure the barn has adequate ventilation. Bacteria breeds in stale areas. Open doors to allow sufficient air circulation.
8. Horses produce up to 40 pounds of manure and urine a day. Keep stall clean and make sure liquids can drain adequately from the stall or are soaked up by bedding.
9. Choose bedding that is comfortable for the horse. There are many types of bedding available including sawdust, shavings, wood pellets, shredded paper and rice hulls. Research what is available in your area .
10. Give your horse as much turn-out as possible. Horses should have a large, open area to run and play in.
11. Turning two horses out at the same time can increase the amount of exercise both horses get, but chose turn-out mates carefully. Horses can be aggressive toward one another.
12. Keep flies under control. Use fly sprays on the horse, taking care to protect the eyes. Consider putting a fly mask on the horse to keep flies out of its eyes.
13. Keep your horse parasite free by using a daily de-wormer, de-worming with a paste de-wormer regularly, or having your veterinarian perform fecal exams and de-worming when indicated.
14. Make sure your horse gets adequate exercise. In addition to turning your horse out for play-time, be sure to ride, longe or otherwise exercise your horse regularly.
15. Give your horse a stall next to other horses where he can see, smell and hear them. Horses are herd animals and do not do well in isolation.
16. Keep your horse vaccinated. Especially in a boarding facilities where horses come and go, your horse can be exposed to all sorts of bacteria and disease. Inoculate regularly.

Tips & Warnings

• Roll on fly sprays that are specially designed for the eye area and face should be used if you don't have a fly mask.
• If your horse is a cribber, you may need a cribbing collar.
• Even if the horse is indoors, consider using a horse blanket in low temperatures.
• Horses kept in stalls for extended periods of time can acquire unpleasant habits such as weaving or cribbing. Horses need to be free to roam outside as often as possible.
• Make sure the stall has no exposed nails or wires that the horse could cut itself on.