Features of horse care
Caring for a horse involves daily work, without which it is simply impossible to talk about the health of a horse. It will depend on the person what the horse's feeding will be, as well as its appearance and health. Today we will figure out what stages the care of horses consists of, how to care for equids at home on our own.
Care and maintenance of horses at home
Horse nutrition
Even though horses are not used to picking their food while eating, you need to learn how to feed them properly. To do this, it is important to understand: the health of the horse will directly depend on how correctly the diet is selected. Firstly, vitamins and all the necessary minerals must be present in the horse's menu in order to prevent a deficiency of vital trace elements. The horse menu should vary depending on the season, the age of the animal, and the purpose for which it is kept.
The most affordable food for horses is cereals, and their price is quite low. Many breeders make the unacceptable mistake of overfeeding their horses with grain. The fact is that this can provoke serious problems in the digestive system up to a rupture of the stomach from overfilling. Death in this case occurs in 99% of cases, and it will be terrible and painful.
Horses are representatives of herbivores, therefore, their diet should consist exclusively of plant foods. It is strictly forbidden to "pamper" the pet with confectionery, chocolates and so on, minute weakness can cost several days of treatment and putting the gastrointestinal tract in order. The most successful components of the horse menu are hay or grass, depending on the season, vegetables and barley with oats. Here is an approximate daily menu for an average horse:
- first grade hay - about 5 kg;
- oats or muesli mixture - about 4-5 kg;
- bran - normally about 1 kg;
- vegetables (beet or carrots) - 1.5-3 kg.
The importance of drinking
The importance of water in the life of a horse should be discussed in a separate section. It is strictly necessary to provide two watering places a day, and the water temperature should be about 18-20 ° C.
Happy owners of a sports filly or foal should remember that they should never be watered immediately after the end of the training; they need to wait for a pause of about 1-1.5 hours.
It so happens that the horse cannot calm his thirst in any way. In this case, you can calm the animal in a cunning way: distract it from the water with food. Usually a handful of hay or grass is poured into a container with liquid, which switches the horse to food.
Horses, and especially foals, should have a place to hide from the cold wind, rain or snow while keeping horses in winter. This can be a special room: a stable (stall) or an ordinary shed with a roof, where drinkers with clean running water should also be located.
We clean horses
Horses are clean animals, they will be grateful for careful, attentive care and compliance with sanitary standards during breeding.Let's figure out how to properly care for a horse and keep the equids, what should be the care of a foal and an adult? Many people, answering these questions, underestimate the complexity of the task, thinking that an ordinary shower and the subsequent combing of the mane is all that is required for the existence of animals, but this is not so. Experienced horse breeders argue that caring for a horse at home is an art that is not available to everyone. For example, grooms on elite farms claim that it is important to change your hand when combing your mane. So, for the left side of the hair, a left hand is required, and for the right, a right hand, although this can be called more fiction than true. In any case, the horse must be tied so that it does not kick during the procedure, because not every horse likes such actions.
It is better to carry out all manipulations on the street, and not in the house: this way the animal will be calmer. Keeping a horse at home assumes that each pet must have individual grooming equipment: a comb, scraper and brush. Let's describe the whole procedure in stages:
- They always start cleansing from the left side of the top: from the head to the limbs, then go to the right side.
- When cleaning the head, it is important to stand so that the animal can see the person. It is best to start cleansing with an anti-grain treatment and then change direction.
- At the end of the mechanical cleaning, the horse's fur must be wiped with a damp cloth: this removes the remaining dirt and hairs.
- Then comes the turn of wiping: it is advisable to dry the horse as much as possible.
- Finally, the mane remains, it is combed first with a thin comb, then with a more frequent one. Movements must be started strictly from top to bottom.
While caring for a horse, there is a wonderful opportunity to look at its body in more detail. Perhaps, at close range, some wounds or injuries will become visible that require treatment.
We bathe the horse
Regardless of what horse keeping systems are used in the village, it should be noted right away that horses are bathed only in summer, when the temperature outside is high. Moreover, forcibly forcing a horse or a foal is also not worth it, it is recommended to take into account the mood of the horse. For example, if a horse has a strong fear of water, it is not necessary at all costs to force him to swim in the river, there will be no sense from this. Such a horse is bathed only at home, on a farm, using water from a hose. You need to start with a low pressure, so that the animal gets used to the procedure and understands that nothing threatens him.
It is important to use special horse cosmetics when bathing. There are tons of detergents, shampoos and conditioners on the market today that make grooming your horse even more enjoyable and easy.
Hoof care
How to properly care for horses without hoof care? It is a well-known fact that horse hooves need special care, and the owner is obliged to provide it. To begin with, in the process of moving into the microcracks on the hooves, stones or chips can get stuck, which the horse cannot remove on its own. If you do not help the pet in time, then this can threaten the development of inflammation and further problems arising from this. Usually, a hoof horn occurs at the site of the lesion, which can also be caused by namin or stabbing. Self-medication can only lead to a worsening of the condition, so it is better to seek help from a specialist: you may even need surgery.
As for forging, this is not a mandatory procedure, as is commonly believed. It is shown only to horses that are used to perform heavy labor, or those that walk on a hard surface for a long time. You can only entrust the forging of a horse to a professional who is 100% sure of what he is doing.The foreman must first thoroughly clean the hoof and then sharpen it to the correct shape. A horseshoe is stuffed only on a properly prepared hoof, which must be changed at least once every 2-4 years.
How to monitor your horse's health
It is worth saying that there are a huge number of equine diseases, some of them are less dangerous, some more. It is important to recognize the main symptoms of the disease in time and carry out the correct treatment. A sick horse can be recognized by the following signs:
- loss of appetite;
- weakness and lethargy;
- low mobility;
- uneven shallow breathing;
- temperature increase.
The most common illnesses are pneumonia, rabies, tetanus, equine flu, eczema, lichen, and so on.
Usually the disease concerns the digestive system: for example, a horse can suffer from painful colic. The reasons for their appearance may lie in feeding errors, as well as in an incorrectly installed girth. In any case, a veterinarian should supervise the horse's treatment.
Filly and even young foals often receive a variety of injuries, which usually go away without human intervention, but it also happens that help is still needed. For example, if you can see that the site of the injury is swollen, you should attach an ice bag to it: it will relieve pain and reduce swelling.
Being on free grazing in the summer (this is the way of keeping horses most acceptable in the summer), the horse risks getting sunstroke, even losing consciousness. In this case, you need to transfer the mare to a cooler place, give her water and apply a cooling compress to her head.
In terms of vaccinations, ask your veterinarian what vaccinations are currently required for horses and then proceed according to the vaccination schedule. Despite the fact that a lot of money is spent on vaccinations (the cost of a vaccine starts from 100 rubles per dose, and there may be several of them per month), this is the only way to be sure that the maximum has been done to preserve the horse's health.
Rules for handling horses
When talking about the care and maintenance of horses, we must not forget that a horse is a large animal that can injure a person, intentionally or not. There is a generally accepted list of recommendations and rules that each breeder must follow:
- During communication and care, you need to maintain goodwill towards the animal.
- You cannot approach the horse quietly, you must first call her so that she does not get scared.
- You can only work on a well-fed horse, it is recommended to pause for about 1 hour after feeding. This is one of the main rules for keeping working horses.
- Before putting a saddle on a horse, be sure to clean its hooves.
- When taking a mare out of the room, it is imperative to go ahead and open the shutters completely.
- Leading the horse is necessary only on the reins, and the person always goes to the left. When turning, do not jerk the animal too sharply, as such maneuvers can provoke the development of shoulder injuries.
- In no case should the horse be taken out of the stall, sitting astride it in the saddle, the same applies to the return. It is customary to saddle a horse only when there is confidence that there are no irritants or hindrances nearby.
- You should be careful about horse shoes: they should be comfortable and completely fit in the stirrup.
- You should never leave a horse unattended, especially if it is being used for horse racing.
- Be sure to communicate with horses, they feel it. They are intelligent animals that understand what kind of person is next to them and sense his intentions.
- After the horse has worked, you need to encourage it with hay or slightly dried herbs. As for drinking, then, as already mentioned, it is not worth giving water right away, it is better to take an hour's break after work.
- You should never feed horses with grain on an empty stomach: this can provoke the development of intestinal problems and provoke colic. Before switching to oats and grain, you need to give your horse regular hay.
- Before you take your horse to work, whether it's hauling or jogging, you need to tidy up its appearance, paying attention to the hair, tail and mane. After the time for rest comes, you need to thoroughly grind the horse with a rolled bundle of hay or straw. Then, when the sweat dries out, the horse should be traditionally scrubbed with a fine-toothed brush called a scrubber.
In conclusion, we will say that all the rules and recommendations on how to care for a horse are mandatory, and all these manipulations must be performed every day, regardless of the weather, season, mood, or how many horses are in the farm. Material costs and work will not go unnoticed, the horse will respond with an excellent appearance, excellent mood, absence of diseases, as well as a long and loyal friendship.