How to Care for an Equine

Learning how to take proper care of an equine should be number one priority before one looks at purchasing an equine. Even when you board an equine, it is easy for the other person to care for your equine, but if you don’t know how, why should you have that animal? There is plenty more when it comes to taking care of an equine then just boarding it; nutrition, annual care, mental health (keeping it entertained), emergency plans, and more.

Lets go through some things that you should know while owning or thinking about owning an equine:

• Routine Check-Ups by the Vet and Farrier

  • Finding a good vet and farrier is essential; having them on your team is a top priority. They are going to be able to make sure your equine is healthy, tell you what supplements they are missing to complete their diet, and provide expert advice on the health of your equine so that your animal is in good shape and can have a good quality of life.

• Feed, Hay, and/or Dietary Supplements

  • One needs to know how much to feed their equine, the proper combination of feed and hay to give them daily, and if they need any additional supplements in their diet for the equine to be properly nourished.

• Clean and Refill Water Buckets

  • Equines need to drink about 5 to 10 gallons of water a day. The weather, amount of exercise, and climate they are in are all factors that you need to consider. Equine need to stay hydrated, much like humans, to avoid health complications. Please make sure there is adequate water storage on the property.

• Muck Out Stalls; pick out the manure and urine spots

  • Cleaning out the stall will help keep your equines “home” clean and nice! This will help to make sure they have better hygiene and keeps the facility/boarding area smelling a little better.

• Fresh Bedding

  • This should be in the process of mucking out the stalls. This will get rid of the manure and urine-infested bedding and provide more healthy bedding for the equine to enjoy.

• Check over Equine

  • This is a chance to see if there is anything abnormal on the equine’s body. Knowing how your equine looks from head to tail will help you identify anything that shouldn’t be there. This will allow you to address a health issue quicker and may help to avoid further health complications down the road.

• Having Blankets

  • Identify if you will need Fly Sheets to Winter Blankets, or anything in between for your area. This is a time to prep and bring out the blankets for any repairs or cleaning them when they are not needed.

• Fly Spray

  • If you make your fly spray or buy fly spray, make sure you have enough during the fly season.

• Daily exercise

  • Equine need to get out and stretch their legs everyday, they are a big animal in a small stall so make sure your facility lets them out daily or you can let them out daily . Even if your equine is injured, they still have them stretch, by moving or massaging them.

• Care for Tack

  • If the tack isn't taken care of, it can get hard and not move as well or even get mold on it. This could hurt the equine or make it uncomfortable for both of you.

• Keep the area around your equine clean

  • Make sure your items are picked up so you, your equine, or others aren’t going to fall or get hurt because of those items. This can be trunks, trash, tack, etc.

• Light Fixtures

  • Keep an eye out for when the light bulbs burn out because it is never fun running around with no lights and can cause you or an equine to trip on something they cannot see. Also, while it is being changed out, this is a good chance to dust it and clean the facility.

• Have a Med-Kit handy

  • Just like any living thing, the equine can get hurt, and it is a good idea to be prepared. Having an equine-specific Med-Kit around will allow for proper emergency care of an equine in a pinch. We also recommend having a human Med-Kit close by, as well, but maybe use two different colors.

• Create a Consistent Routine for the equine

  • Having a routine can help keep everything in line and creates less of a chance of forgetting something. This will also allow the equine to get the proper daily attention they need, for the items listed above.

There are many more things to consider and add to this list, but this is a good start for someone who is looking to own an equine. Check out some more of our equine articles, online store, and our equine YouTube videos that go more in-depth on some of these topics.

In Conclusion…

It is imperative to keep learning more about how to care for an equine. There is always more to learn but good to just get out there and start.

Thank you for joining the Equidae Family here at Benner Stride!

In the comments below, what are some items you would add to this list?