Horse Insights

Horse barn maintenance is as important as the grooming of any horse. These are some tips that can help you maintain your horse barns on a regular basis.

Who can forget ‘Seabiscuit’ where a gifted race horse along where three men restore hope amongst people with some thrilling antics. ‘Seabiscuit’ is a very moving story that can truly be a source of inspiration. This is also one of the most popular films amongst most horse lovers. Well, not everybody is lucky enough to own horse stables and live the dream of riding horses and caring and loving for them at your own farmhouse. For those fortunate enough, the experience of owning horses and personally witnessing the beauty of the majestic animals is something that cannot be described.

Horse stables form an important part when it comes to caring and tending for your horses. The beautiful and majestic animals need to be groomed well. The horse barns where the horses are kept need to be cleaned and maintained well! Horse barns need to be maintained for the hygiene, which is necessary for you and the animal as well. There are basic guidelines for horse barn maintenance. This would help you to clean it with more ease on a regular basis so that the horse barns become more inhabitable for the horses.

Horse Barn Maintenance Tips:

• Ensure to check the drainage system of the horse barns. This would help you prevent any flooding or clogging of the horse barn. Choose a nice and bright sunny day to clean the barn floor so that the natural sunlight enters the barn and helps it to dry easily. You must also consult a professional if any drainage problem persists.
• Apart from the dirt, the manure, dust and the chaff also tend to hold a lot of moisture and this can really turn dirty during the wet weather. Therefore, horse barns that have dirt floors need to have the top layer removed. You may need to add new soil to this. If maintained properly, it will keep the area clean and free from dirt and stench.

• Ensure when you clean out all the feedbags and the other materials, use a handcart to carry out the dirt so that it does not dirty the floor. This will save you mopping the floor yet another time!
• Get some rubber mats from the market, as these will prove to be a wise buy when it comes to the horse barn maintenance. Rubber mats are easy to clean and maintain and can be used as a base for the horses to stand upon while you go about cleaning the ground of the horse barn.
• Try to keep the horse barns maintained on a regular basis with the help of a power blower. A power blower can work with the help of electricity and can you clean up the place more efficiently.
• Ensure you pick the right tools that are required for horse barn maintenance. Try to invest in lightweight wheelbarrows and other such tools that will help you finish your tasks with great ease.
• Check out the various types of feed tubs and pick those feed tubs that are detachable and very easy to clean. This will reduce the process of cleaning of the tubs and the mess that may be created by certain horses whilst they eat from the feed tubs.
• Add some panels in easy to reach areas whilst you are cleaning the entire place. These panels on the walls can help you hang the required materials which may assist you in the cleaning process and save frequent trips to the other side of the horse barn.
• Maintain one cleaning routine for the horse barn. Start from a specific area to maintain uniformity in the maintenances process. Try to maintain a particular pattern that will help you simplify the way you manage the waste removal process. With this method, you can decide how you can place the tools needed for the maintenance of the horse barn.
• Ensure you clean the loft on a regular basis. This will help you keep the area clean without all the odors.
• Keep a regular check on the horse stables walls, windows etc for any need of replacement or repair. This would save you a lot of time when it comes to maintenance.

By Kashmira Lad

Reduce Feed Costs, Increase Horse Health Horses with enough forage are less likely to chew fences

A horse trainer can help horse owners to train their horses to carry out different tasks.
Horses aren’t considered domestic animals, but they are capable assistants that could help owners perform different and complex activities. Therefore we need a horse trainer to train them.

Due to the fact that horses are not domestic animals, they are not ready to perform new activities immediately after being in the wild for some time. A horse trainer is needed here because untamed horses are truly uncontrollable and will not be useful to the owners at this stage.

The different tasks which the horses have been trained are for transport, for farm works, for sports and even for warfare. Only with proper training sessions that provide basic skills and tricks, the horses will be able to carry out the tasks meant for them.

Employing a horse trainer

To turn a horse into a useful assistant and as an alternative to machines, a horse trainer is useful in helping to unlock the full potentials of the horse. He knows how to condition the mindset of the horse so it could be prepared for training sessions and could be open to learning tricks.

Seeking for recommendations from peers and other horse owner should be your top priority when you decide to employ a well trained horse trainer. Go to the local veterinarian if your peers can’t give you the recommendation you need. The vet will be able not only to suggest a good horse trainer in your community but he will also know if the horse trainer is capable and trustworthy to do the work.

The good news is that there are some vets who also offer horse training services. However only a handful of them are doing it due to the effort and patience involved in the training. Another option which will be useful for you is to look for links and contacts which can be obtained from the online Craig’s list or from the traditional and online classified, if you want to look for a horse trainer.

The potential new horse trainer when being interviewed must give his personal and work history data to you. This is to ensure your horse is getting the best services. Horse training bodies and industry groups are also being given the responsibility to certify a horse trainer’s capabilities. The horse trainer who holds the certificate would be the right candidate.

What Horse trainer  should you choose?

When it comes to choosing the best horse trainer, it is a relative and case to case basis. What is good enough for the standard of one horse owner may not be good enough for you. Horse owners’ preferences and standards vary.

That is the reason you can’t rely on the experiences of other horse owners on horse trainers. Though, recommendations would be favorable, it isn’t desirable that you entrust the overall welfare of your horses wholly to the horse trainer. Be caution based on your personal discretion and insights.

During the interview process, you can get an idea of the overall disposition of the applicants. This will enable you to hire a reliable horse trainer, but don’t be too confident that the overall care for the horse is guaranteed.

Choosing a Horse Trainer by fatimah edris

Parelli horse trainer The Parelli magic The problem is that you should to be actively training not only for a physical response but

Pick the Perfect Horse Trainer Though the horse training profession is largely unregulated, research the trainer

Horse Training Techniques As he worked with his horse, he discovered ways to get a horse to do what he wanted

Finding the right medication for horses is a tricky business, taking into consideration the possible side effects and for racehorses, making sure that the drugs taken would not affect the horse’s performance in the race. However, the challenge definitely does not end there. Getting the drugs into the horse’s mouth (and making it stay in) is a different matter altogether.

Besides having to maneuver the 1,000-pound body to get a pill inside the horse’s throat, you’ll have to deal with the possibility of having that same pill spewed back at you in a less distinguishable (and practically unusable) form. Of course, the chances of this happening depend on expertise at handling horses and in experience at giving medication.

Seasoned ‘horsekeepers’ have come up with all sorts of ways on administering medicine to their horses. These different methods are ‘tested and tried’ but not foolproof. Giving medicine to a horse is much like coaxing a child (only, a much stronger one with a longer mouth). Thus, the approach that works best for one horse may not be effective at all for another or merely to a certain extent, like only during the first try.

One of the easiest (but most likely to fail) approach would be to mix the medication with the horse’s usual food. If this works for your horse, then you’re pretty fortunate. But if mixing the pills with grain, applesauce or molasses does not do the job, one might revert to the age-old syringe. Truly reminiscent of dealing with an unruly preschooler, pumping the fluid medicine into the horse’s mouth and holding it shut until the medicine is swallowed is not a comfortable task. It requires strength and patience as the horse will not make it easy.

An alternative to the syringe is something more friendly looking a plastic mustard dispenser. It won’t guarantee that all of the liquid medication would stay inside that equine mouth but it would get it all in, after all a condiment bottle is more appealing rather than threatening.

Some horse owners also testify that pills dissolved in strawberry Kool-Aid juice or vanilla yogurt make irresistible concoctions. It appears that just like us, these medicine-repellent creatures have certain indulgences. Once we discover what makes them forget their repulsion to medicine, it’s an easy ride from there.

It is not only the horse’s health that should be considered when giving it medication. One should be careful in handling drugs that may have adverse effects when ingested by humans. Another technique in horse medication is to crush the pill into powder and placing it directly on the horse’s tongue. Airborne particles that might be inhaled while preparing the powder may be harmful. But (phenylbutazone, equivalent to aspirin), in particular, causes aplastic anemia in humans.

Ultimately, horse medication also involves training and discipline. No matter how stubborn the horse is, it can eventually be trained to receive medication with little fuss. Making the drugs look and taste good requires more time and effort but is fulfilling too!

Pet meds for your horse to learn more about the different types of horse medicines

AAEP offers veterinary guidelines for horse racing Veterinary recommendations for the safety and welfare of the horse

Dangers of wire fragments Owners that notice their horse has a swollen mouth may attempt to administer pain medications

Horse Colic - Help Protect Your Horse This is one of the milder forms of colic with mild signs and symptoms exhibited by the horse

This article describes some items you may want to keep in your horse’s first aid kit and how to consider the weather’s impact on first aid.

In the dead of winter, Kristi’s horse injured herself in the paddock. With blood all over the horse’s leg and face, Kristi had to find a way to clean the horse up in 17 degree temperatures and see just how bad the injury was. The horse’s leg was swollen, but the water pipes were frozen, so she couldn’t cold hose the leg.

The horse had not had an injury since the summer, so Kristi had not checked her first aid kit since more temperate weather. What she found was that antiseptic ointments had frozen in their tubes and they wouldn’t work out at all. Luckily for Kristi, fellow horsemen at the barn had several items for her to use.

For winter first aid, you need to ensure that your kit is well stocked with items that will work in the winter season.

Gauze

Vetwrap

Epsom salt

Wound dressing powder

Drawing salves like icthamol (in the tub, not the tube)

Hydrogen peroxide

Alcohol
Poultice which may freeze may need to be warmed on a portable heater or in a bucket of warm water.

Animalintex poultice pads, which can be used warm to draw out infections or cold as a poultice.

Betadine to treat skin infections or wounds.

Antibiotic ointment that will not freeze or that is easily removed from its container. (Have several types available in case one freezes. Such as bacitracin, nolvasan.)

Ice boot to cold treat swellings. A useful ice boot is the one that has crystals that get cold when wet. Unfortunately, they typically do not last longer than a year, so you will likely have to replace them. In addition, you can buy any human first aid disposable cold compress treatment bags from most pharmacies. The ice boot is better because it wraps and stays put on the leg. Ice boots are a necessity in the winter when pipes can be frozen.

Easy boot for hoof injuries or hoof abscesses

Brown poultice wrap

Standing wraps or poultice-all-in-one bandages.

Disposable diapersabsorbant bandages or useful for hoof abscesses

Bucket water heater to warm water for cleaning wounds.

Scissors

Rectal thermometer (digital) and alcohol pads or bottle to sterilize thermometer

Petroleum jelly

Saline solution

Eye wash

Tourniquet

Syringes

Stethoscope

Self-sticking (sticky back) tape

Clean bucket strictly for injuries

Clean towels

Tupper ware or other large coverable plastic container to keep most items in

Medications to consider adding: phenylbutazone, acepromazine, banamine (from veterinarian); might consider Rescue Remedy, homeopathic remedy for stress and anxiety; electrolytes if horse is dehydrated (diarrhea)

Wire cutters

Hoof pick

Tweezers

Twitch

Surgical gloves

A card with phone numbers for your veterinarian and farrier

Vital signs card noting normal temperature, pulse, respiration

For summer: swat and fly spray; epinephrine (if horse is allergic to bee stings), zinc oxide for sunburn

Check your kit at the start of each season at the very least. Replace anything you have used immediately or you may forget. If you have a well-stocked kit, you’ll be better able to help your horse during an emergency.

Fantastic Equine Forum Looking for more great advice? Wondering what to do with that stubborn horse?

Equine First Aid Kit Complete, convenient set for immediate treatment of injuries and accidents for the horse

Competition is stiff for unique horse names which can be used to register and ultimately market show horses and race horses. This article describes  ways to modify a popular name to make it your own.

Horse names, specifically registered show horse names or race horse names can be more difficult to come up with than one might think. Pegasus or In the Money might come easily to mind, but registered names have to be unique, in addition to conforming to each registry’s individual requirements such as the number of characters allowed, use of punctuation and numerals, etc.

The American Quarter Horse Association (AQHA), the largest equine breed registry in the world, has recently recorded its five millionth quarter horse. The number of U.S. thoroughbred horse registrations is approaching two million, and registered Arabians and qualifying Arab crosses are just over 1 million. With so much competition for the perfect horse name it might feel like all the good ones are already taken. There’s a good chance they are, after all nothing’s new under the sun, but here are a few tips for personalizing that great horse name that someone else has already snagged so it can be registered as a unique name, and where to look for good horse names no one has yet recorded.

1. Use the possessive. If you want to use a name like Magic you could try registering My Magic or Christine’s Magic. Using a last name or a stable name in the possessive almost assures uniqueness, such as Eastwood’s Magic.

2. Use pronouns and the name as an attribute. He’s Magic or He’s a Magician might do the trick. Some quarter horse lines have changed the spelling and used this device as sort of a stable trademark such as Heeza Magician.

3. Change the spelling. Majick would sound the same and might be available when Magic was already taken.

4. Eliminate the spaces (or change punctuation if possible). In some registries In The Money and Inthemoney are considered two different names. Check the rules to be sure for your breed.

5. Add a title. The Duchess of Magic or Captain Magic is another way to change a popular name. Use color as an attribute. Sometimes incorporating color (often of the particular horse) will work, such as Black Magic or Golden Magic.

6. Use other adjectives. Lofty terms can serve to elevate a very popular name to a new level. How about Glorious Magic or something not quite as lofty, but perhaps better known Big Brown?

7. Mine popular culture. If none of these devices suits you and you really want a name no one else has ever used popular culture is where to look.

It’s possible to walk through history just by following race horse names which have recorded snippets of popular culture. Here are some examples from The Jockey Club’s thoroughbred registry. Prohibition, Flapper, Model Z Ford, Television, Enola’s Little Boy, Sock Hop, Doubleoseven, Teleprompter, Hula Hoop, Beatles Rhythm, Woodstock, Monster Mash, Sky Jack, Star Wars, Bug Zapper, Laptop Computer, Matrix Reloaded, Beautox, Brangelina, and President Hillary.There is a gold mine of new horse names floating around in our everyday language, and although there are already a slew of Dot Com’s and one Dot Calm in the thoroughbred registry (see suggestions above) there are many other possibilities. How about Prosh Pony, Fuzzy Logic, Blogger, Computer Geek, Ric Rolled, Outsourced Horse, or Nibbler? All are taken from current events and culture, and none are registered with The Jockey Club at the time of this writing.

For further help fueling your creative fires come to horse-report.com for great free horse names and horse pictures. Jean Nehls lives and rides in the Los Angeles area, and is the founder of horse-report.com.

Indian horse names make beautiful names for your horse. Find great Indian horse names for your horse.

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Fun Horse Names - Start Thinking of What You’re Going to Name Your …Think how great it would be if you could enter a horse’s name somewhere and