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Taking Care of Horses on a Busy Schedule
Every horse owner knows that having a horse – and owning a horse responsibly – is more than a fun hobby; it’s a big commitment and an everyday job. When you have a full-time job, family, and other responsibilities in life on top of owning a horse, these daily chores can start to feel overwhelming. To ensure your horse’s needs always fit into your schedule and theirs, consider the following horse care tips.
5 Tips for Daily Horse Care and Your Busy Schedule
(What's Flexible and What's Not)
1. Feeding
Horses prefer to be fed at the same time each day. However, feeding a horse an hour late or early should be tolerable. Feeding a horse three to four hours off of schedule won’t be as easily tolerated – especially if your horses do not have hay available to them between meals.
2. Turnout Time
For their mental and physical health, you should always strive to allow your horses as much turnout time as you possibly can. However, on days when you’re particularly short on time, it is okay to shorten your horse’s daily turnout to a quick exploration of the area and social check-in with other nearby horses.
3. Stall Cleaning
A horse’s stall should be cleaned every day with no exception. It’s okay to remove only the obvious liquid and solid waste one day, but the next day, your horse’s stall will need a thorough and complete mucking out. Often it’s simpler and requires less time altogether if you don’t skip any days.
4. Water Supply
You absolutely must check your horse’s water supply every single day to make sure there’s an adequate, clean supply at an optimal temperature (50°F to 65°F). Check-in on troughs and ensure that all automatic water supplies are functioning properly.
5. Inspection
Each day, you should check in on your horse, assessing feces and urine and the amount of water and food consumed.
Minimize Your Horse's Needs With Comprehensive Wellness and Preventative Equine Care in Fishkill, NY
Minimize your horse’s ongoing care needs by providing them with comprehensive wellness and preventative care with an equine veterinarian.
At Advanced Equine of the Hudson Valley, our veterinarians specialize in everything equine, and we can help you ensure your horse has all the necessary care to prevent diseases, minimize parasites, and ensure early diagnosis and management of chronic conditions, as they arise.
To learn more about our equine veterinary services or to schedule an exam for your horses, we welcome you to contact Advanced Equine of the Hudson Valley today.
