Common Sense Horse Keeping

07/12/2025

I am excited to announce that I will be a guest speaker at Equine Affaire in November! This year I will be giving 2 talks, one on Disaster Planning and one on How To Be A Better Boarder! Both will be presented on Friday and this year, I will be speaking in one of the arenas!

07/12/2025

The American Horse Council (AHC) has completed two important pilot projects aimed at addressing critical issues within the horse industry: the accessibility and cost of euthanasia and disposal services for horses, and the assessment of welfare initiatives within breed and discipline associations.

07/11/2025

How are you dealing with the summer heat?

07/10/2025

This is something that I talk about in my book Common Sense Horse Keeping. Keep hay in front of horses! Mine really don’t go through any more hay than when I boarded and they were tossed flakes throughout the day. When hay is readily available, horses won’t be starved and feel compelled to wolf it down. I top off my hay bags around 9:30 at night and always have at least 1/4 full bag at breakfast.

“Horses don’t have a gallbladder. Because of this, horses’ livers only secrete bile acids, salts, and buffers when stimulated by consumption of food. Horses with an empty stomach for a prolonged period of time are more prone to ulcers because the stomach continually releases stomach acid, regardless of whether or not food is consumed. The buffering agents which neutralize this acid are only released when food is consumed. Do not let your horse go more than 6 hours without eating. Do not exercise or transport your horse on an empty stomach.” - Podcast Ep. 48 | Gastro pHix - Foregut Health

Listen to the entire episode wherever you consume your podcasts!

bluebonnetfeeds.com

07/09/2025

Journals are now available at the website, www.commonsensehorsekeeping.com/shop
Barn Book, Health Records and Pasture Management journals! All barns should have their information written down, so in case of an emergency, anyone can take over and keep the barn routine flowing!

06/27/2025

Part 2, toxic plants and flowers:

Toxic Plants, Shrubs and Trees, pasture management, horse care, stable management, common sense horse keeping, toxic plants to horses, toxic weeds to horses, horse pasture, horse book author, horse blog

06/24/2025

Eye injuries are always an emergency! I felt bad texting this photo to my vet just now, at 6:30 PM, but I wanted him to be aware of what was going on, and to let him know he may need to come tomorrow.
Thankfully, my vet was out this morning to pull coggins and to drop off sedatives for the 4th, Bute and Banamine. I rarely use them, so the Bute and Banamine that I had were expired ( I guess that’s a good problem to have!)
I was grocery shopping this afternoon and my husband called me and said that Gabe kept whinnying. There’s only 2 reasons he whinnies…he can’t see his buddies or he’s not feeling well… he’s a big wimp. I told him to let everybody out of their stalls and when I got home, I noticed that Gabe’s fly mask was off, he was distancing himself from everyone and he was pacing. Ugh!
Eyes are always an emergency…they can go south very quickly.

06/22/2025