Comments on: How to Care for a Horse in a Stable

on 11/12/2007 Extremely thorough - and great comments too! I would also recommend checking on your horse at least twice a day, and remember not to turn out with a halter on!

on 12/27/2006 backing up-pull gentally back on your riens without kicking (because this is a sigh for the horse to go foward) the horse should move away from the presure in his mouth ie go backwards
- neva boot the horse in the rips when trying to do this with some it may take longer because they are tempermental- a tempermental may buck if u just assume kicking him or hitting him will make him understand!!

on 8/8/2006 When working with horses, always remember that they have a different understanding than we do. So if you are pulling on the bit when your horse doesn't have any idea of what you want, they become confused and may pull against the bit. A helpful hint is to only use the amount of pressure it takes. A horse's mouth is not something to play tug-of-war with, nobody in their right minds would say they like their mouths being pulled at, so why should your horse? It doesn't matter if your horse can't understand what you want when you are first starting something new! That's like asking a five year old to do a 80,000 word report! When working with horses you need to take time and work through the problems together.

on 6/30/2006 If you notice your horse is licking his or her lips it could mean several things.
1. Do you greet your horse with food? Well stop! It is OK to give a horse a treat after work, but remember the horse eats all day, so it will not think you are pleased it simply sees your palm as a food bucket. Licking lips or fiddling with the tongue may be a sign of begging. Just ignore him.

2. Float his teeth. Horses teeth over time get pointed, so ask your veterinarian about floating.
3. Pain. Your horse my be experiencing pain in the tongue or gums. It may be a nerve pop, so ask your veterinarian.

on 1/24/2006 I will list some beddings. I personally use shavings, but feel free to read and use your own.

Make sure bedding is:
Comfortable for the horse
Secure footing
Not dusty
Urine proof
Supports the feet
Encouragement for resting

Shavings:
Wood can contain toxic resins that could be harmful to the horse and could cause hives. Do not use shavings with black walnut, it could make a horse founder. Pine shavings are dust free and most absorbent. Smaller flake shavings are better for comfort. Shavings should not be used for foaling because they could stick or cause breathing problems to a newborn. They could also eat the shavings and could cause colic.

Straw:
This is best for foals. Plus it doesn't stick after birth. Straw drains well but is not absorbent. Spiders or insects may find straw to be a home for them. Wheat is the best of the straws because horses will not eat it.

Sawdust:
Sawdust can be very dusty. It is very absorbent, be very careful which dust you use. It may be toxic.

Pelleted wood:
Less dusty and is three times more absorbent than shavings. Acts like cat litter. Do not use hardwood pellets because it may contain glue or dangerous woods. Make sure it is heat treated too.

Peat moss:
Very comfortable and absorbent. Can be used in pastures. Use it along with shavings or straw because it does not supply good foot support. May cause dry hooves. Requires more daily maintenance.

Corrugated cardboard:
This bedding is made of cut up cardboard. Dust free, and more absorbent than straw or shavings. It is not as clean looking as shavings may be though. It is very cheap $5- $8 for 50 pounds.

Shredded paper:
Inexpensive. 6 times more absorbent than sawdust and 10 times more absorbent than straw. The bad part is it is hard to clean. I also could stain a horse's coat.

Grass hay:
Some farms prefer this over straw for foals. It is not very absorbent, high risk of your horse to get hives. Also not good support.

on 11/22/2005 A lot of horses cannot stand being in a stall all day, it's mandatory that they're turned out or ridden Sometimes, this isn't enough for your horse. I love the place my horses are boarded. It's a large, busy barn that allows stall guards, so the horse can stick their head fully out of their stall to see what's going on. Also, with my Warmblood, I have a peppermint scented jolly ball (an empty milk jug will do) that he is in love with. Boredom can cause, weaving, cribbing, etc.

Also, if your horse is rather nippy, or you simply don't want people feeding him treats, then don't be afraid to slap a sign up there requesting not to feed or pet him. My one horse likes to give out little "love nips" or will sometimes get pushy if he thinks you have a treat, so I have a sign up telling people to be careful around his mouth and put treats in his bucket instead of hand-feeding him.

on 11/22/2005 Some times horses hooves get a little sore after trimmings or after having shoes taken off. Or they can have stone bruising. Using turpentine on the sole will help harden them up and not be so sensitive. Use only on the sole once a day, until your horse is no longer sore. No longer than that!
Just pour some turpentine into a cup and use a hoof dressing brush or something like it and brush onto the sole area of the hoof. Not on the frog, heal or outer wall of the hoof. If a little bit of turpentine gets on these areas that's OK, just don't completely cover them like you would the sole. For beginners, you'll probably need to find a diagram of a hoof with the parts pointed out and named, so that you will know what the sole is. Or you can just ask your farrier.

on 11/22/2005 When you first meet a horse you should slowly approach the horse, from one side, not looking the horse in the eyes, stoop forward slightly and lower your nose towards the horse's nose.

on 11/22/2005 Flies are a big problem for most people. What I use is fly predators. It's easy. You order them, they come in the mail, you spread them around the pasture and the flies are almost gone. It's amazing. It takes 2 to 3 days to start working, but it's well worth the wait. Look up fly predators on a Google search for more information.

on 11/22/2005 Cribbing, and other vices, are caused by frustration and used by the horse as stress relief. Using methods to cover the symptoms does not solve the vice and can cause extra stress to the horse. Vices to do with the mouth are usually caused for lack of food to chew. Give the horse different types of hay in different places in the stall. In older horses when the vice is a habit, it may be best just the protect wood and get regular checks on the horses teeth.

on 11/22/2005 Horse's are herd animals and need contact on a daily basis. This creed should be mandatory for every barn that stables herd animals and added to the contract between the establishment and owner. If the owner does not spend a mandatory amount of time designated by the barn with the horse stabled there, then the barn should give notice to the owner that the horse (in it's best interest) has been leased out to someone who will. The owner will incur the charge for said companionship.

on 11/22/2005 Unlike a tip that explained to a rider to pull back hard and kick to make a horse back, the correct way is to stop the horse square (I'm going to explain this for the beginning rider) then with your legs ask the horse to go forward. At the same time your hands do not pull back on the horses mouth, they become a wall that doesn't allow the horse to go forward. The horse realizes he's being asked to move, but when the pressure is in front of him he looks for other ways to move. As he begins to move away from the pressure and back, don't rotate your hands backward and continue the pressure. Only the leg pressure continues through the entire movement. Should he move to the side, slightly soften your hands and apply leg on the side he's moving toward. Should he step forward, apply enough hand that he's discouraged from moving forward again. I'm going to add a caveat here, this all should be done with a low key mind set and the rider should realize that the horse needs a bit of time to actually figure this out. Remember that to a horse pressure is punishment, lack of pressure is his reward (no matter how slight).

on 11/22/2005 Get a special feeding bottle for your pony. Put some honey on the teat of the bottle (or even some in the milk). If your pony won't drink the milk, then try this: Get some spreads and put them on your finger. See which one the pony likes and put that one on to the teat of the bottle.

on 11/22/2005 I have a small ranch in southern Arizona with horses and cattle. Flies are a real problem, especially during monsoon season. I used to put out 10+ fly traps every two weeks, and still had swarms. In desperation, I tried a product called Fly Predators. What a huge difference! Now, I have just one trap to catch the errant stray fly. Check them out, you won't regret it!

on 11/22/2005 When cleaning a stall, you should remove all wet spots and droppings. What I do is take out the wet spots and droppings, empty the wheelbarrow and add back the same amount I took out. I find this keeps my horses bedding a lot newer and cleaner, even already in a deep bedding.