Horses | The Mules

Grooming

Grooming is an important part of horse care, and the properly groomed horse not only looks better but feels better, and it is essential for horses used in competitions. The main reason for grooming is to keep the health of the skin and coat at an optimal level, and to give it the luster it naturally has. It can also decrease the risks or thrush, scratches, and other problems, along with the risk of chaffing during exercise or work. It also give the horse groomer a chance to check the health of the horse and see if there are any injuries that would otherwise go un-noticed, and in the behavioral aspect the horse will begin to have a relationship with the person who grooms it, trusting it more and letting itself be handled more.

Hoofs are picked, the coat is brushed with a variety of tools and sometimes the hooves will be painted with a hoof polish that gives it a kind of artistic touch (pretty much like women doing their nails). Usually brushes and combs along with soft brushes are used, the first brush is usually the hard brush, which pulls off all the big dirt and chunks, along with excess hair, followed by the soft brush with gets the finer particles - and if the horse is shedding a shedding blade can be used to help it along. Bathing a horse is usually not required, but some do it once a month to make sure no finer particles may be trapped - also it is usually done after a heavy workout to help it cool down. Horse shampoo and many human shampoos can be used at the most once a week, but even that can be too much.

Care for the mane, tail, and other hair consists of clipping, braiding and otherwise keeping free of burrs and other materials. Although a horse does not usually need much but brushing, some clip the horses mane, hair, and tail for looks alone.

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Environment

Caring for your horse is not as simple as one thing, but rather split into five categories. Environment, feeding, grooming, hoof care, and veterinary care. We will cover the living environments of horses in this part of horse care, and then later cover the rest.

Horses and other equines are usually accustomed to living outdoors in pens with shelter from rain and other elements that would otherwise leave them exposed and susceptible to the dangers of changing weather and conditions. They must have access to fresh water and food, along with room to run and exercise in, or else they can develop habits and problems that make them uneasy and hard to handle. Because many horses have short hair or are clipped for show, they may need a blanket for when it is too cold, and shade for when it is too hot. It is important for a horse to have the room it needs to roam around and be a horse in - land to run and to play in. behaviors of the horse in their environments are usually better if kept near other horses because they are a herd animal and have the mentality of being in a herd much of the time.

An option is to keep a horse in a pasture, where they can roam around and graze as they wish. The amount of land needed for basic care and maintenance caries with the weather climates and such, where an animal will need more land for grazing in a dry climate than in a moist one. Usually two acres is a sufficient amount for one horse, so each additional horse should add two acres, thereby giving you the calculation H x 2 = Acres. They must also still have shelter from the sun and rain, along with wind, and a place to go in the cold. Fencing must be visible, and large enough so that the horse sees it, and cannot be harmed by it.

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Horse Nutrition

Horse Nutrition, or the feeding of horses, is something every caretaker for equines should know. Proper horse nutrition is a necessary aspect of horse ownership, and you need to know what comes from what, and what is best for your horse. The horse has a delicate digestive tract, and what goes into it must be free of all contaminants, like molds and chemicals that could be harmful to your horse. Horses must NEVER be fed any contaminated fermentable, like lawn clippings and pre-fermented meal mixtures. Horses need a constant supply of clean and fresh water at all times, as horses drink almost twelve gallons a day, and even more in hot weather or when eating dry forage like hay - and for a working horse or for a mare that is lactating water may need to be quadrupled in amount to adequately supply what the horse needs for that day, not only does it keep the horse alive it also plays a vital role in digestion of foods like forages and grains, which are eaten, chewed, predigested in the saliva, and then swallowed. Horses produce over ten gallons of saliva a day.

Nutrition that supply energy for horses are fat and carbohydrates - protein is a critical element for muscle formation and upkeep. Horses that are pregnant, hard working, or lactating need higher amounts of feed and of water in their nutrition, in order to function, to remain healthy and to remain fit. The fat that can be found in plant matter is usually in the low levels of the plant, and can be added to increase the available amounts of energy and density to the diet. Carbohydrates are the main source of energy for a horse in its nutrition and are found in forage, such as hay, grasses, and grains - which have soluble carbohydrates that can be easily converted into glucose for energy. It is important you do not shock the horses system with too many sugars or carbohydrates at one, as this can cause problems like colic and laminitis.

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Horse Shoes

Horse Shoes are a U shaped accessory made for horses, and are made from a variety of materials, being steel, aluminum, rubber, plastic, rawhide, or a laminate. Most of them are tacked (nailed) onto the horses hooves, however some have more recently gone to glueing them on - while others have decided on making actual shoes that fit over the entire hoof and do not require nails or glues, while recently titanium horseshoes have hit the markets. The earliest horseshoes were made out of rawhide and designed to protect the animal’s feet from wear and tear - the rawhide would be tied onto the hoof. Later metal developed and was more common, being easier to attach and are nailed to the hoof of the horse or animal.

One of the reasons that horse shoes have become a necessity is the nutrition differences from wild and domesticated horses, where wild horses were able to eat all sorts of grasses and grains and gained valuable minerals from the - domesticated horses eat domestic feeds which lack some of these minerals and vitamins, leading to softer hooves and making it a necessity to have stronger horse hooves or protection for their feet, along with this horses are now in wetter environments than the arid areas they evolved in, which leads to softer hooves as well, and many physical stresses make horse shoes a valuable addition. many horseshoes can be made to custom fit the horse if it has gait problems and correct otherwise detrimental issues, leading to a happier healthier horse - however there are still debates over horse shoes and their actual necessities now.

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Horse Feed

Each horse is different and does different amounts of activities during its days, depending on the age, sex, and size of your horse giving them the proper feed is essential to their health and alos to their survival. A well fed and properly fed horse is a happy and long lived horse - many who can live past the age of 25 years, with it becoming more common that they live to see thirty years. The nutrition of a horse is called “Equine Nutrition”. Horses, by nature, are herbivore, and are a kind of non ruminant - meaning they are most definitely not like cows in their digestive system, and it is in fact similar to humans in that they only have a single stomach. First off, horses are very sensitive in what they eat, so it is important that you get good food, and never give them anything that has been exposed to mold or other toxins. A horse will usually eat solid feeds for part of their daily nutrition that they consume throughout the day - and there are three recognized categories.

Forages make up the first of horse feed, and is the most common seen when a horse eats, this is usually hay and grass, then there are concentrates that have pelleted rations or grains for an additional nutritional boost, supplements to help the horse stay healthy with minerals. Many experts say that horses should have 50% of their food as forages, with the rest being split between the other types. It is important that the horse have access to forages throughout the day, as that is how they would normally feed rather than eating one lump sum three times a day like humans or other carnivores. Horses also like treats, such as carrots, sugar cubes, peppermint candies, apples, or horse cookies, which can be healthy for the horse and good for them, however it can be a risk of colic or choke, and kill the horse. Generally though, carrots and apples are seen as healthy, and not a risk for choking - however human foods should be avoided at all times. Never let your horse be fed bread, meats, processed sugars, chocolate, and most obviously alcohol.

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