Horses and Summer Skin Problems

5:10 am

0 Comments

Summer often brings a host of skin problems for horses. Hot weather, summer storms, and swarms of insects can make misery for the most resilient of horses. What are some common summer skin problems for horses, and what can we do about them?

Bug bites: Hives, wheals, and itching can be a sign of insect allergies. Reactions to no-see-ums is often called sweet itch, but any biting insect can cause itching and discomfort. This can lead to hypersensitivity and everything that comes with an itchy horse: skin damage, hair loss, infections, all caused by a horse […]

The Benefits of Equine-Assisted Therapy

5:00 am

1 Comment

Equine Care, Guest Author

The following post has been provided by one of our guest authors, Daniel Matthews.

You may know someone who has a therapeutic animal. In my experience as a Community-Based Rehabilitation Specialist, I’ve seen dogs, birds, and even hamsters fulfill the ‘therapeutic animal’ role. The animal serves as a companion allowing the individual to take her or his mind off of real, or perceived, problems. The animal helps teach care and empathy for another being. By helping ease and stabilize the mind, caring for the animal becomes a form of self-care for the individual.

Now, horses are emerging […]

Riding Arena Construction

7:43 am

8 Comments

Facility Planning & Design, Guest Author

Choosing the Site

Choosing a suitable site for your Riding Arena is often dictated by the amount of land available to you. If you are short of land you won’t have much choice as to where the arena is built. If you are lucky enough to have a choice there are a variety of factors that should be considered. Some obvious, some not!

1. Access – The majority of people fail to consider the implications of poor access on arena construction. Poor access means suppliers cannot use large delivery vehicles thus dramatically increasing haulage costs as more trips […]

Equestrian Scholarships

2:58 am

0 Comments

Equine Events, Misc.

Is your child a horseback rider? Horses and kids are an amazing match, with studies showing that children learn to take responsibility and initiative through horse-care and riding. Equestrian kids tend to have better grades and higher graduation rates than other students. And there are great organizations to support children who ride horseback throughout their school-age and college years, making the journey easier for parents and even providing valuable educational assistance and scholarships.

The Interscholastic Equestrian Federation is one such organization. The Interscholastic Equestrian Federation allows students in grades 6-12 the opportunity to field teams in either […]

Best Companion Animals for Horses

2:45 am

0 Comments

Misc.

Companion Animals for Horses

Horses are herd animals, and they are naturally suited to life with at least one companion. Sometimes, though, it just isn’t possible to have another horse for a companion. Pasture space may be at a premium, or you may be dealing with a stallion or otherwise aggressive horse who is nonetheless lonesome for a pal. So what kind of animals can you use as a companion for your horse?

Ponies and Miniature Horses can make great companions when a horse is too valuable/accident-prone to be turned out with other […]

Stable Tips for a Happy Summer

8:51 am

1 Comment

Equine Care

Everyone’s been waiting for summer, and now that it’s here, there’s a good chance we’ll find something about it that makes us anxious for fall. After all, summer has its own unique challenges for our horses, our farm, our tack, and ourselves. So here are some tips to keep your stable happy this summer.

Happy Tack
Leather does not love humid summer days. If mildew and green mold begin to creep into your tack room, it’s time for some climate control. To start, be sure you wipe your tack dry after cleaning. (We […]

Getting Gray Horses Gray Again

8:13 am

0 Comments

Equine Care, Products

Gray horses do not want to be gray. They make this clear to us every time we turn around, seemingly — gray horses want to be brown, green, or black. They let us know their preference by rolling in whatever camouflage they can find, whether it’s fresh spring grass, an alluring pool of mud, or sadly, manure.

Since spring grass, brown mud, and manure are not accepted colors by any breed organization that I can think of, it falls upon we horse owners to get our horses cleaned up and back to their original colors before anyone else sees them […]

Deterring Tail-Chewing in Horses

12:28 am

3 Comments

Equine Care, Products

One thing most horse-people have in common, whether we rein or race, trail-ride or team pen — our horse’s tails must be long, flowing, and beautiful. We go to a lot of trouble to keep up our horse’s tails. Some people keep them braided and safe inside tail bags. Some people never brush a tail without spraying on detangler. Some people knot a tail up on a rainy day so that it doesn’t get muddy.

Which is what makes tail-chewing such an agonizing problem for the horseman. All of sudden, your horse’s flowing tail […]