The Stabled Horse: Keeping Your Indoor Horse Healthy and Happy

9:37 am

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Keeping Your Indoor Horse Healthy and Happy

Mention the word “stable” and most people will conjure up images of green pastures surrounding a serene barn where horses lean over their dutch doors, taking in the fresh air and peaceful surroundings. And while that’s certainly a lovely goal, the truth is, plenty of our horses will live much of their lives lives in more suburban, if not completely urban, environments. Does your horse live in a barn where turn-out time is limited, or non-existent? Or does your horse stay inside for health and safety reasons? If […]

Thwart Horse Theft: Three Ways to Identify Your Horses

3:59 am

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Equine Care, Products

3 Effective Ways to ID and Thwart Horse Theft

Horse theft seems to be as popular these days as it was back in the Wild West. We may not call them rustlers any more, but we still have to be on high alert to protect our horses from thieves who might appear on foot or with a trailer, ready to open our gates, break into our barns, and take our horses from us. In a recent article, we talked about simple strategies to improve security around the barn. Now, let’s look at a few simple ways to […]

Hay, Vitamins, and Winter Needs for Horses

3:46 am

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Equine Care

Essential Winter Care: Hay, Vitamins & More for Your Horse

Feeding horses in the winter: it can be a joyless activity for the humans in the barn, depending on where those humans live! Rising before the sun to tramp through the snow, wrestle open the barn doors, and coax water through the pipes is hardly anyone’s idea of fun, but we do it year after year, because we love our horses.
Horses are generally happy to eat no matter what the season, although their menus may change quite a bit between July and January. Even if work […]

Home Hoofcare Essentials

3:43 am

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Equine Care, Products

Home Hoofcare Essentials for Your Horse’s Health

No hoof, no horse. We all know the saying, and we all know how maddeningly true it is. You walk into the barn, midway through a great training week, and your horse greets you with a naked hoof where there ought to be a shoe. Or worse, a half-naked hoof, with a shoe hanging on by a few loose nails.

Every equestrian needs a home hoofcare kit, something that can help you sort out minor hoof problems until your farrier can visit your farm. Whether it’s pulling off […]

Destress with Grooming

7:54 am

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Equine Care

Destress with Grooming: A Bonding Experience for Horses

To continue from my last post on grooming, www.equinefacilitydesign.com/equine-care/tips-winter-horse-grooming, are you looking for a way to de-stress in 2016? Go to the barn and get out your grooming kit.

Scientific studies have shown that humans enjoy reduced levels of cortisol — that’s the stress hormone — after spending time working with horses. Of course, if horses become your job, or your horse has done something to cause you stress (injury, breaking fences, destroying expensive blankets in the dead of winter), you’re […]

Three New Time-Saving Barn Tips

6:46 am

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Equine Care

Three New Time-Saving Tips for Your Barn Routine

Looking for a few ways to save time on barn chores and grooming? With the myriad of daily tasks barn life requires, every second counts. We’ve showcased a few tips before, and here are three new time-saving barn tips to streamline your equestrian life.

Cross-picking: Picking hooves daily is a must-do chore. Shave some time off your grooming by cross-picking. Usually any racehorses or ex-police horses in your barn will already know this trick. Just try picking up all four hooves […]

Choosing Saddle Pads

8:03 am

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Equine Care, Products

Choosing the Perfect Saddle Pads for Comfort and Support

In an ideal world, the only thing between your horse and your saddle would be a simple cotton cloth — the better to keep your saddle from getting too sweaty and dirty.
In the real world, no horse is built the same, and no saddle can fit every horse, which makes the vast universe of gel pads, half pads, therapeutic pads, keyhole pads, and every other sort of saddle pad imaginable such a profitable enterprise. It’s a rare tack room that isn’t stocked with at least a dozen […]

Stable Relationships: Dogs and Horses

8:58 pm

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Equine Care, Misc.

Building Stable Relationships: Dogs and Horses

Dogs and horses just go together — at least, it seems like they should. Art over the centuries has certainly romanticized the dog/horse/human companionship as the epitome of the sporting or outdoor life. But do dogs really belong in the barn (or in the pastures, or on the trails, or in your arena?)

The answer depends, of course, on the dog and on the horse. If you’re considering introducing your dog to your horse, here are a few steps to help ensure the meeting goes well.

Obedience: Before […]