Learning how to feed your horses correctly is one of the most important pieces of knowledge that you can learn as a horse owner. This article provides a brief overview of the nutritional aspects of hay.

The kind of hay that you feed your horse is one of the most important decisions you will make as an owner. Horses that spend six out of seven days in the pasture or paddock with little exercise will require a different kind of hay than more active horses. If you feed hay that is high in alfalfa content, then you will need hay that is high in protein. You can choose a grass hay with about a quarter alfalfa, as this is a good healthy mix.

Horses that are worked more frequently will need a higher alfalfa or protein content. This will help keep your horse’s energy up to perform his best. Here are some things that you should consider when making your hay purchase. First, make sure you understand exactly what you are buying. Here are some things you should watch out for when choosing your hay. First, look out for signs of mold or mildew. Either one of these will make your horse sick if he ingests it. Dust is another thing you should look out for if you are looking for hay. Dusty hay has been known to cause horse heaves. This condition is the human equivalent of emphysema. Dust will often affect your horse negatively, causing him to breathe with difficulty and cough. A horse’s cough may become so bad that it cannot be ridden, as exertion may only exacerbate the problem.

It is important to maintain a good relationship with your hay seller in order to ensure that you continue to get the best hay. Hay for horses-a nutritional aspect helps ensure that you get the most for your dollar. As a general rule, you should feed your horses the best quality hay at least twice a day. The ideal and more acceptable feeding schedule would be four times a day. This is because horses have small stomachs and thus need to graze on a long-period basis. Horses do not eat large meals and then digest, but rather they eat in small amounts, frequently.

Why is good quality hay so important for your horse? It will keep your horse’s digestive system running smoothly. The body works hard to digest the hay, especially the fiber in it. The digestion process will aid in keeping your horse warm. In general, you can feed hay all year around if you choose to supplement your horse with it. This can work as long as you keep your horse on grass pasture at the same time. Hopefully, both are available to you. If your horse doesn’t have access to a grass pasture, it is perfectly acceptable to feed hay each day.

How much hay should you feed to your horses? Some people feed large round bales to their horses. This can help eliminate some of the work associated with feeding several times a day, although it may cause quite a mess. Most horses like the grazing options that open feeding offers. Make certain to feed the same kind of hay for horses-a nutritional aspect on a consistent basis. Many horses have sensitive stomachs and will not take well to sudden changes in their diets.

Colic is one problem that many horse owners must eventually deal with. One way to describe this problem is as a bad stomachache in horses. Colic can be caused by any number of problems. One of the most common factors is a sudden change in the horses diet. Always make sure to make the change gradually if you need to change your horse’s diet. Once a horse has gotten colic, they are more likely to get colic again.

There is still some controversy surrounding the feeding of alfalfa to horses. When considering hay for horses-a nutritional aspect, alfalfa is indeed a very good supplement at any working level. Of course, you don’t want to feed an excess of anything. Feeding free choice hay is not the issue. A horse will not make itself sick on hay. In general, free choice hay feeding is a good option for feeding. However, just because you are feeding your horse on a free basis doesn’t mean you shouldn’t constantly check up on him.

What are the benefits of hay feeding? Grass, alfalfa, clover and timothy are easy to handle and easy to store and transport. The hay you feed your horse is as important as the water you give him. Thus, you will need to analyze your horse’s needs and make a choice as to what kind of hay and combination of grains will work best for your horse. If you have any questions, it’s best to seek the advice of your veterinarian.

Laminitis-what is it and how to treat it-is something that every responsible horse owner should know about. This article will give you a general overview of laminitis and its causes, and what you can do to prevent it in your horse.

Laminitis is essentially a condition characterized by an inflammation of the laminae inside the hoof. These laminae are what attach the coffin bone to the hoof wall. When they become inflamed or swelled, they can become very painful for your horse. Most of the time, the swelling will not be restricted to the interior walls. Inside the hoof, there is no room for swelling. Thus, any swelling will result in one very sore hoof. When laminae inside the hoof swell, pressure is put on the blood vessels inside that hoof. This, in turn, restricts the flow of blood inside the vessels of the hoof or hooves, thus causing in the hoof losing life. The coffin bone rotates and the hoof begins to die. This will cause a great deal of pain for your horse.

The good news is that Laminitis can be easy to detect if you know what you’re looking for. When a horse has sore feet or legs, they will often ‘rest’ the front hoof. Be aware that this is not normal or healthy behavior. If you should see your horse ‘resting’ a front limb, a vet should be consulted immediately. The vet should check the front limb for lameness. If the horse is rocking his weight from his fore limbs to his rear limbs, make sure to describe the horse’s behavior to your vet as soon as possible.

When it comes to laminitis-what is it and how to treat it-make sure you work with a qualified vet who is familiar with this condition. There are many potential causes for laminitis. These may include fever, overfeeding of grains, overeating of grain and too much early exposure to fresh spring grass before the horse’s body can become accustomed to it. Another probable cause is that you may be overfeeding grain to your horse. It’s perfectly acceptable to feed your horse the occasional grain treat, but doing this too often can lead to health problems, including laminitis.

If you suspect your horse suffers from this condition, the first thing you should do contact your vet for an examination. Make certain that the vet you work with has ample experience in treating this difficult condition. You will also want to ask certain questions. Can the vet shoe your horse for laminitis, or does he or she work with a good farrier that they can recommend? Ideally, you want your vet and farrier to have a close working relationship.

When you first visit your vet, he or she should take x-rays of your horse’s hooves to determine the degree of coffin bone rotation in the hoof. This will help determine the appropriate treatment plan. The more that you learn about this difficult condition, the more prepared you will be to treat for your horse.

In order to prevent this condition, it is absolutely essential that you find the right feed/exercise ratio. You should also make sure that the grains you choose are located where a loose horse cannot feast on too much feed.

You will be able to make the best diagnosis and treatment plan for your horse the more you understand about laminitis. In many cases, it will take months of corrective shoeing and vet treatments to help your horse move beyond this condition.

The American Quarter Horse is the first breed of horse native to the United States. The breed evolved when the bloodlines of horses brought to the New World were mixed. Foundation American Quarter Horse stock originated from Arab, Turk and Barb breeds. Selected Stallions and Mares were crossed with horses brought to Colonial America from England and Ireland in the 1600’s. This combination resulted in a compact, heavily muscled horse that evolved to fill the colonists passion for short distance racing.

The amazing power behind a quarter horse enabled this great animal to run short distances over a straightaway faster than any other horse with the fastest being named Celebrated American Running Horse. The names for this breed has changed many times over the years until 1940 when a registry was formed to preserve the breed which officially became the American Quarter Horse Association.

In the year 1674 in Enrico County, Virginia the first American Quarter Horse Race was held. They were one-on-one match races down village streets, county lanes and level pastures. Many disagreements and fights were generated from heavy betting of large purse races by 1690.

The American Quarter Horse, due to their calm disposition and quick response time, the horse became known for its “cow sense”, being able to outmaneuver cattle. During the 1800’s as many pioneer folk moved westward, so did the American Quarter Horse. An abundant amount of cattle ranches stretched across the plains. Making this breed well suited for the cattle ranchers.

In today’s world, the American Quarter Horse still remains a great sprinter known for their heavy muscling, but they have exceeded way past the cattle horse. These amazing horses compete in almost every discipline available, from rodeo events, such as barrel racing and calf roping to English disciplines such as dressage and show jumping. The make a nice little children’s hunter as well, with the ability to jump a wide range of heights. They are one of the most versatile breeds in the world.

Many pleasure riders still look to the American Quarter horse for recreational riding, as they make a nice pleasure horse as well.

Breeders, since the creation of the breed over fifty years ago, have diligently been trying to perfect the bloodlines to produce a high quality versatile animal.. Strict guidelines have been set by the American Quarter Horse Association regarding registration of the American Quarter Horses. Some of these guidelines include:
1. Limited white markings on the face and below the knee
2. Only thirteen accepted colors recognized by the AQHA. These are sorrel (reddish brown), bay, black, brown, buckskin, chestnut, dun, red dun, gray, grullo, palomino, red roan and blue roan. The official gray color is what most people call white, but there are no “white” American Quarter Horses.
3. A quarter horse foal must be the product of a numbered American Quarter Horse dam and a numbered American Quarter Horse sire. There is an appendiz registry for foals with one numbered American Quarter Horse parent and one Throughbred parent registered with The Jockey Club.

Some other notable characteristics of the American Quarter Horse is their speed, versatility, gentle nature, heavy muscling and keen cow sense.

If you own an American Quarter Horse, no matter what discipline you choose to ride, your horse will excel. This breed is one of the most enjoyable horse breeds around today and one of the most popular.

Living Quarters in a Horse Trailer

When you travel a lot with your horse then Living quarters in your horse trailer are a must if you travel long distances or have overnight stops. The size of your living quarters depends if you have bumper hitch or goose neck, the latter being sizeably bigger giving more free space for your comfort.

So what sort of living quarters do you want in your horse trailer? Obviously a bed is a must, you can sleep 2, 3, 4 or even more if desired, again the size of the trailer is the deciding factor. Your trailer can be a real home from home with varying degrees of luxury depending on your budget. After a hard day in the saddle a nice comfy bed in cosy surroundings appeals to most!

Okay so you’ve got your sleeping quarters, a bath/shower room will be an obvious must and space will probably be tight so don’t be alarmed. For me, a functional kitchen equipped with microwave, fridge, stove, storage space and with a seating area would complete the living quarters. The total space you will have will again depend on the size of your horse trailer. Remember there needs to be space for your horse and all his kit so you might find yourself looking at bigger and bigger trailers – try not to get carried away!

There are some pretty cool living quarters in horse trailers on the market and as you would expect they come with a price tag to match. For around $43,000 you can have all the above including an ultra leather lounge, aircon, cherry wood finish and separate shower and toilet.

With all this luxury in the living quarters in your horse trailer you would also expect your horse to travel in the same quality of comfort and I would expect to have feed and hay mangers, rubber matting on floor and plenty of travelling room in slant style stalls. If luxury is what you want then it is definitely out there all you have to do is look!

The American Paint Horse is a breed of horses which are known for having a percentage of white hair over skin combined with another color. This color pattern is one of the most important characteristics of this breed. The American Paint Horse Association is one of the largest breed register centers in the US.

Every American Paint Horse has white hair combined with some other color found in horses. This includes brown, black, tan, or gray. American Paint horses are related to the American Quarter Horse, and share the same ancestors. The markings on these horses can be anywhere on its body. Like the Quarter Horse, American Paint Horses are known for their speed and athletic qualities.

Strict requirements are necessary in order to register these horses. Both the sire and dam have to be registered in the APHA and the club for Thoroughbreds. At least one of the parents of the horse being registered must be an American Paint Horse. It is also important that the horse being registered have white fur over skin which is another color. These horses have an excellent temperament, and make great pets.

The American Paint Horse should have a body shape which is the same as the American Quarter Horse. They should be heavy but not very tall, and their center of gravity should be low. They should also be very muscular with a powerful back legs. They should also be able to run extremely fast and maneuver quickly. The American Paint Horse is one of the most popular breeds of horses in the United States today.

Despite this, these horses are susceptible to getting lethal white syndrome, a genetic disease. Some foals are born with a pure white color and do not have a functioning colon. As of this writing, no effective treatments have been found for this disease, and the foal usually dies within two weeks. The death is a very painful process, and they are typically put down once symptoms have been found. The coat color alone is not an indicator that a horse has this disease.

This disease has become well known among American Paint Horse breeders, and many of them have encountered this disease first hand. While it was thought at one time that overos carried this disease, recent research has shown that not all overos carry this disorder, and tobianos and quarter horses may carry it also. Despite these conditions, American Paint Horses are highly prized.