From the category archives:

Horse Care

Foal Hoof Care

June 3, 2010 0 comments

Assess the foal’s limbs soon after birth. Most mild limb deformities can be helped by stall rest that limits exercise. Many problems are due to lack of cartilage and bone maturity and will improve with time if the affected areas are not stressed. If there is more than a 5- degree deviation in the limb, [...]

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How to Manage Foals for Soundness

May 18, 2010 0 comments

Foal limb soundness begins before a foal is born. It involves considerations of nature (genetic) and nurture (environment). Genetic factors include inherited conformation and behavioral traits from the stallion and mare. Environmental factors include physical space in the mare’s uterus, nutrition, training and disease prevention.
Choosing a mating that has a good chance of producing a [...]

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5 Tips to Select a Sound Horse

December 9, 2009 2 comments

We all value our animals — both in terms of money and our emotional attachment to them. Although there are fewer horses today than a hundred years ago, there are more people who own horses, and individual animals have a much higher value.
Many well-meaning people buy a horse just because they become emotionally attached [...]

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6 Components of Cold Weather Horse Care

November 5, 2009

Cold Weather Horse Care by Doug Butler Phd, CJF, FWCF

Horses have different needs than people do. Here are a few of a horse’s winter needs – from its point of view.

1. Shelter
Horses have a thick skin insulated by fat and thick winter hair. The horse’s integument (its hooves and skin) has an underlying dermis [...]

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