When it comes to severe weather, horse owners have an extra worry: ensuring their animals are safe from tornados. In this article, you’ll learn about my experience caring for horses when the F5 tornado leveled much of nearby Joplin, Missouri as well as general advice for preparing your horse & farm for tornado season. Tornadoes …
Horsekeeping
Owning a horse is a significant investment, and horse insurance can be a way to protect that investment. In this post, you’ll learn from me (a regular rider, coach, and horse owner, not someone pushing a policy or referral link) the truth about which horses should be insured and how much it actually costs. Because …
Deciding whether you should keep your horse at home or board it at a stable is a big decision. Thankfully, it’s easy to weigh the pros and cons of home-horse keeping vs using a boarding stable- and if you try boarding and it’s not a great fit- you can always change your mind and get …
A horse can stay in a stall for about 24 hours at a time, but it’s not ideal. In this article, you’ll learn: Too much time in a stall is difficult for horses, here’s why: Horses can live in stalls 24 hours a day but probably shouldn’t. It’s best to get your horse at least …
It doesn’t happen very often, but horses can freeze to death. Horses are well suited to keep themselves warm, but hypothermia can happen. Old horses, very young horses, and sick horses are most likely to become hypothermic, and when they do, hypothermia for horses is usually fatal. What is Hypothermia for horses? Hypothermia happens when …
Starting a business exercising horses is a great way to get started in the equine industry or grow your skills as a professional horseback rider. Exercising horses can be a full-time job, a way to earn a little extra cash, or a way to help afford a horse in college. In this post, I explain …
Mud fever is the name given to skin conditions found on horses’ legs. Mud fever includes a number of different types of skin conditions and is usually caused by bacteria found in muddy, wet conditions. Mud fever can lay dormant on your horses’ skin for an extended period of time and becomes active when it …
Horse Boarding Stables are a type of horse business that work kind of like a full-service hotel for horses. Each horse “boarded” at the farm is provided with food, a stall to sleep in, and pasture space to run around. Many boarding stables also offer riding arenas, jumps courses, and riding lessons. A horse boarding …
The day you realize that your old horse needs to be retired can be heartbreaking. But it doesn’t have to be. Even if it’s time to transition your old horse from your everyday riding pal to a retiree doesn’t mean that your journey together is over, it just means that it’s changing. Horses are retired …
Many people go through a “horse crazy” phase as kids or teens, but what about those of us whose affection for horses turns out to be anything but a phase? Not all of us can grow up to be professional riders, there are lots of other jobs working with horses, including working as a veterinarian, …