06/25/2024
So true!
So what do horses need?
They need to be horses…
With proper room to be a horse…room to kick up their heels and get a spontaneous gallop in…. Horses were meant to move…there should be grass to nibble on and a dirt patch to lay in….a friend or two to mutually groom and swat flies off of. Horses are herd animals and friends are necessary.
They need access to clean and fresh water 24/7. … this means YOU are a water guru… make it clean, make it fresh and keep it that way. Lack of water kills…. Your horse must find the water to be palatable … no mosquitoes..no green slime… no black slime… clear water that is cool…no gross standing ponds without a fresh water inlet and outlet…it’s true that your horse may drink out of a mud puddle in the middle of a trail ride… but don’t get any ideas…there has to be a trough in the field, or a good year round spring (stream)… horses should drink a lot on a regular basis.
We haven’t talked about hay. Expensive … what is the right type for your horse? Alfalfa? Timothy? Teff? You will need storage to keep it clean and dry.. so not just a stall but a feed room… you just invited mice to your place… so now you need a barn cat or two… the barn cat has needs too…add a barn cat bed…and barn cat food..and he/she needs vaccines and spayed /neutered.
They need good and safe fencing, a shelter from the elements (heat, cold, rain, wind)…proper nutrition (grazing, hay, supplements and perhaps grain)…yearly medical exams to check teeth… and regular farrier work on the average of every six weeks. A horse needs regular deworming based on f***l evaluations. They need grooming …they get tangled manes and tails, their feet need cleaned out…. They get cannon bone scurf… it must be cleaned.
What about mud? You live in the NW and horses give you a free ticket to Mudville….What about flies?… you sign up for horses … you get flies…. Free flies… a ton of them. You become a fly spray specialist.
They need observation … Say WHAT?
Yes.. observation ….like did they eat? Did they p**p? Is the p**p dry? Is it loose? Did they drink? Are they lethargic? Are they sweaty? Are they walking ok? Is their skin scabby or patchy ? If they are lethargic, do they have a temperature?
Are they chewing ok? Any cuts or scrapes?
Horses are large, sensitive and sometimes fragile beings. There is always something to see if you are looking… so you have to look.
You’re reading this and saying that all that sounds like a lot of work..
It is.
Continuous work.
You’re taking on a life… with responsibilities.
If you can’t do this or pay for this.. don’t do it.
