Feeding Tips for Horses

Last week, wife and I helped some neighbors out when one of their horses, a 3 year old gelding, was   seemingly was in the middle of a colic. Two of the hands were there but neither gent spoke more than a few words of English so my wife and I had a hard time with our limited Spanish explaining that muscle tremors, drum tight flanks, sweating, rapid and shallow breathing, and no gut sounds in any of the four quadrants spelled colic.  We advised them to get a Vet out pronto and tried to call one of our Spanish speaking vets to talk to them over the phone, but on a Sunday night it's hard to get ahold of people.   

On our north fenceline, these neighbors are in the process of building their horse facility.  I think one of the issues with this gelding may have been that after they finished the stall gates on the still to be finished barn, they were locking the horses in for the night and feeding alfalfa and grain - they are feeding these horses once day.  The horses had to wait to be turned out in the morning to have access to water.      

How did that little gelding fare?  Well, I wish I would have had the article below in Spanish, for these guys that night. But their horse came out his distress after 8 cc's of Banamine, a dose of Pro-Bios probiotic and some thin bran mash with mineral oil.  I haven't checked back yet, but hopefully they took the advice to feed twice a day and make sure the horses have access to water 24/7. 

This article came from the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA). While I think it's a pretty good baseline article for the care and feeding of horses, I have added some comments in italics.

Top 10 Nutritional Tips for Horses

Remember that old nursery rhyme that begins, “Hay is for horses…”? As it turns out, that’s sound advice for feeding companion equines—as are the following tips from our experts at the ASPCA Pet Nutrition and Science Advisory Service.

1. Base Your Horse’s Diet on Grass and Hay.

A horse’s digestive system is made to process large quantities of grass, which is high in fiber and water. The basic diet for most horses should consist of grass and good-quality hay that’s free of dust and mold. As a general rule, companion horses should be able to graze or eat hay whenever they want to.

Forage (grass and alfalfa) first. That's the motto of ADM feeds and something that guides my feeding program. It would be nice to have horses on pasture but there is very little of it in West Texas. I like to differentiate between alfalfa hay and grass hay. In my way of thinking a straight alfalfa diet is too rich in protein for most horses. I'm usually feed a 60-40 mix alfalfa and grass, sometimes more grass depending upon the cut of the alfalfa. Plus it helps balance the calcium- phosphorous ratio.

2. Feed Several Small Meals a Day.

Because horses’ stomachs were developed for grazing, horses function better with a feeding plan based on “little and often.” ASPCA experts recommend that horses should eat several small meals—at least two, preferably three or more—in the course of a day. When feeding hay, give half the hay allowance at night, when horses have more time to eat and digest.

I used to feed four times a day and did so for several years before I went back to three feedings day. I would think that two feedings day would be minimum.

3. No Grain, No Gain.

Most horses, even fairly active ones, don’t need the extra calories found in grains. Excess grains can lead to muscle, bone and joint problems in young and adult horses. Unless directed otherwise by your veterinarian or other equine professional, it’s best to feed low-energy diets high in grass and hay.

Good point that most horses don't need grain. I don't feed grain but I do feed a processed feed from ADM called Patriot, which is a 14% protein feed. My horses do well on this. They get about 3.5 lbs of this divided up into two of their three feedings daily. I feed this primarily for two reasons: to provide for vitamins and minerals they don't get in their grass or alfalfa, and to get their systems used to this processed feed to I can feed more to make up forage shortages when away from my barn.

4. Be Aware of Individual Needs.

Feed according to the individuality of the horse, including condition and activity level. Some horses have difficulty keeping on weight, and need more feed per unit of body weight. However, most horses should eat between 2 percent to 4 percent of their body weight daily in pounds of hay or other feeds. Your veterinarian can help you decide how and what to feed your horse.

Two percent is a good baseline number. For the average 1,100 Quarterhorse this would be 22 lbs of hay a day. Four percent is really quite a bit of feed. If a horse worked all day long, he would require additional feed to replace calories burned, but again 4 percent is a lot of feed even for hard keepers.

5. Water Works.

Plenty of fresh, clean, unfrozen water should be available most times, even if the horse only drinks once or twice a day. Contrary to instinct, horses who are hot from strenuous exercise should not have free access to water. Rather, they should be allowed only a few sips every three to five minutes until they have adequately cooled down.

Ensuring that horses have fresh, clean water is often over looked. Many places I visit have really dirty stock tanks and this does not facilitate the horses wanting to drink. Automatic waters are great keeping a supply of fresh water available. However, they still need to be checked every day for function. I have also seen issues with automatic waters if they are not maintained. I use old fashioned stock tanks. They allow me to see how much water my horses are drinking. I have to dump them once or twice a week to scrub them and re-fill which I don't mind,......ask me again when I'm 80 years old. The wet sand I create when I dump my stock tanks allows my horses' hooves to soak up some moisture which is good for the horses and easier on my Horseshoer.

6. Provide a Supplementary Salt Block.

Because most diets do not contain mineral levels high enough for optimal health and performance, horses should have free access to a trace mineral and salt block. This will provide your horse with adequate levels of salt to stabilize pH and electrolyte levels, as well as adequate levels of trace minerals. As long as plenty of fresh water is available, you needn’t be concerned about overconsumption of salt.

It's been my experience that while most horses will lick a salt block, many horses don't like the conventional mineral blocks. There are different mineral solutions from powdered minerals that can be top dressed on your horses grain/processed feed, to newer type mineral blocks such as the ADM GroStrong Mineral Quad Block. I provide a white salt block for my horses and I break up a GroStrong mineral block and keep a piece in each horse feeder.

7. Take it Slow.

Any changes in the diet should be made gradually to avoid colic (abdominal pain usually associated with intestinal disease) and laminitis (painful inflammation in the hoof associated with separation of the hoof bone from the hoof wall), either of which can be catastrophic. Horses are physically unable to vomit or belch. Overfeeding and rapid rates of intake are potential problems. Consequently, a horse or pony who breaks into the grain bin, or is allowed to gorge on green pasture for the first time since autumn, can be headed for a health disaster.

I change out from one cut of alfalfa to the next through a five to seven day period. Some recommend a more gradual change through a longer period. Either way, different feeds and different sources of the same feed should be introduced slowly. I would describe Colic and Laminitis a little differently, Colic is distress of the intestines which can be caused by several issues, one of the worst being a blockage (called an impaction) of the intestines, and colic symptoms are almost always a medical emergency for that horse. Founder (Laminitis) is actually the separation of the hoof bone (the coffin bone) from the laminae which can cause the coffin bone to rotate in the hoof capsule and in the worst case (usually requiring euthanasia) causes the coffin bone drop and even penetrate the bottom of the sole.

8. Dental Care and Your Horse’s Diet: Chew On This.

Horses need their teeth to grind grass and hay, so it is important to keep teeth in good condition. At the age of five years, horses should begin annual dental checkups by a veterinarian to see if their teeth need floating (filing). Tooth quality has to be considered when deciding whether or not to feed processed grains (grains that are no longer whole, such as cracked corn and rolled oats). Horses with poor dental soundness—a particular problem in older horses—tend to benefit more from processed feed than do younger horses, who have sounder mouths and teeth.

This is probably the most often over looked routine health care need for horses. Some advocate a dental checkup once a year. I average about every 16 months. A checkup usually results in some dental work as the Vet has to sedate the horses anyway in order to do the checkup, so may as well get some work done. Some horses will require shorter intervals between floating. Having a competent Vet do your floating, keeping good records on how much sedation each horse needs, is a blessing and helps keep your horses healthy.

9. Exercise Caution.

Stabled horses need exercise. Horses will eat better, digest food better and be less likely to colic if they get proper exercise. Horses should finish eating at least an hour before hard work. Do not feed grain to tired or hot horses until they are cooled and rested, preferably one or two hours after activity. You can feed them hay instead. To prevent hot horses from cooling down too quickly, keep them out of drafts or warm in blankets.

I think one of the worst things people do to horses is to keep them penned up too much. Regular turnout and exercise is not only good for the horse's digestive system, but develops a more mentally sound horse. It breaks my heart to see horses confined to small stalls, week in and week out - it's basically mental torture. When I ran a large barn years ago, I had a boarder keep her horses in their stalls, day in and day out for three, maybe even fours years. The stalls were better than most being a 10x10 inside covered portion with a 20x20 adjacent outside turnout. One day, I almost fell over when this women pulled one of her horses to lead it to one of the available quarter acre turnouts. She had the lead rope wrapped around her arm (lucky she was a very large woman with Popeye sized forearms) and as she was taking off the halter, the horse bolted thinking he was free. Once that lead line became taunt it pulled both the horse and woman off their respective feet. The horse was no worse for wear, but the woman had a rope burn and dirt grinded into her face,.....and she thought the horse was at fault. She didn't consider what it was like for that horse to have been penned up for 3 maybe 4 years.

10. Don’t Leave Home Without It.

Because abrupt dietary change can have devastating results on a horse’s sensitive system, you should always bring your horse’s food with you when you travel. Additionally, some horses will refuse to drink unfamiliar water, so you may also want to bring along a supply of the water your horse regularly drinks.

I've experienced horses not drinking strange water so this is absolutely true. You can try wetting your hay in a bucket with the strange water - this has worked for me, but the best case if having some of the water the horse is used to. I carry water in several 5 gallon plastic military style water jugs for this purpose.

My Horse Needs to Lose Weight

Barbara wrote to ask about getting her horse to drop weight..."I spent about two months recovering from a broken ankle so I enlisted some friends to feed my horse. I left some detailed instructions and consistently talked to the two ladies who fed for me. Imagine my suprise whern I finally made it out to the barn and discovered my mare looking nine months pregnant! I usually feed alfalfa, smaller amounts of grass and one large coffee can of sweat feed which is about three pounds, but only in the evenings. Can you give me what your ideas would be on how to get my horse to safely drop weight? Thank you, Barbara."

Hey Barbara, I hope you are not writing me thinking I am an expert on horse feeds, because I am  not. I have just experienced many people impacting horses, usually in a bad way, by following feed routines and not knowing either why they are doing or what issues their feed practices can cause.  And many horse issues can feed issues.   

I don't feed sweet feed, primarily because of the high sugar content and chance of the feed to go rancid or mold, and I think my horses' nutritional needs are being met without it. I am not saying that Sweet Feed is dangerous for horses, I just don't use it, and think most horse's don't need it. I do use a pelleted feed from ADM called Patriot.



I'd make sure your horse is over weight, sometimes their looks will just fool you. If your horse can stand to drop some weight, there will normally be fat deposits on the neck and in the shoulder -above the shoulder area.

Other areas to look at would be the ribs - you should feel them with your hand and/or see them when the horse moves - if not your horse is probably over weight. Also the spine area where the fat may be higher than the spine, and the butt-tail head area where fat also usually deposits. The horse in the picture can stand dropping some weight. This mare, in the pictures and bottom right), falls between the fleshy and fat category and needs to lose some weight.    

To your question about getting your horse to drop weight,......safe weight loss is more about activity or exercise than feeds. The more exercise they get, the more calories they burn and given the same amount of feed they will lose weight. A moderate amount of daily exercise, riding, lunging or even turnout can be effective without changing your feed amounts, at least changing them too much.

Changing feeds and/or your fed routine is a gradual process. If you are planning on reducing your horse's feed, without increasing exercise, to get her to drop weight then I would suggest a very gradual reduction in her feed. I had a horse that was a little too heavy that I couldn't get to for a month or so, so I reduced his hay by about 1 to 2 lbs day and within a few weeks, maybe four weeks, I could tell he lost some weight and did so safely.

If you do decide to lower the feed amount, then gradually is the key. 

According to Equine Clinical Nutrition, by Lon Lewis, an average 1,100 lb horse needs 16.4 mega-calories (Mcal) of digestible energy per day just for maintenance. When light work is added that 16.4 Mcal can be multiplied by 1.25 and hard work can increase that factor to 2.0. That doesn't mean after a long hard ride that you need to give your horse twice as much feed, but I'm quoting Lon Lewis to pain the picture that added exercise will often solve the problem.

One more thing,...a good feed resource is a book called The Horse Nutrition Handbook, by Melyni Worth,...might help you pass the time as your ankle fully heals. Good luck Barbara.

Question on Handling Hooves and Horse Nutrition

KB wrote me with the following questions: "I have a 9 year old quarter horse mare that cow kicks every time you try to pick up her hind feet. And also we just got a 1 1/2 yr old gelding who doesn't want you to touch his legs at all and I really need to get this problem fixed so that I can safely clean their hoofs and have them trimmed. So any help would be greatly appreciated. And since I was told I shouldn't ever tie the younger horse the first time he is introduced to something new and I don't have anyone else to help me I not sure where to start.

And also I have read so much about horse nutrition that now I feel completely and uterly lost on what they each should have and have had no luck finding a equine nutritionist in this area (Ft. Worth, TX) to try and ask any questions of. And yes, I read in one of your articles earlier that everyone I ask has a different answer, which just makes it that much more difficult to try and figure out the best thing to do. And all I am really wanting to do it provide all the nutrients, vitimins, minerals, etc. that the horses need and do my best to make them safe for myself and the farrier so that we can move on to all the other (fun stuff) that comes along with having horses. And thank you again for any help you may have to offer."

On Horse Nutrition,...first of all I am not a equine nutritionist, I just have some opinions based on my experience and it seems like you have figured out everyone else has opinions as well! I think that educating yourself on nutrition is a process, probably a never ending process, that combines experience and learning from multiple sources (experience, talking with knowledgeable people, reading books, and researching the internet). I think horses do well on their own, but we create a lot of problems when we put them in pens, and because of convenience, throw dry, compressed feed to them a couple times a day. Then we add grains, processed feeds and supplements to solve problems that sometimes we create, and sometimes creating more problems.

One good source of nutritional information is ADM Alliance Nutrition. ADM advocates a "Forage First" approach, which I wholeheartedly believe in. They also offer television based interviews on nutrition, through RFD-TV, with Dr. Judy Reynolds, as well as a nutrition hot line phone number.

Generally, most horses can do well on forage (hay), a salt block and fresh water. I feed both grass and alfalfa hay,....I reckon most people just feed alfalfa.

On the issue of you not being able to handle your horse's feet: Horses weren't born giving to their feet. And if you think about it, with a horse's well defined sense of survival, allowing us to pick a foot off the ground, taking away their ability to flee, is a compromise all of it's own.

It is the responsibility of the horse owner to make his/her horse safe to trim/shoe. Most of us do not pay our farriers enough to train our horses for us. In fact, the easiest way to lose a good farrier is to have him trim/shoe a ill mannered horse.

Your horse probably has some other problems areas as well and the origin of these problems are most likely based out of a lack of respect from the horse to you.  If I am picking up the feet on a horse I am evaluating for the first time, I make sure the horse is comfortable with me at all places around it's body and with my hands rubbing on that horse all over.  When I have a real green horse, I may try using the lead rope or a lariat to pickup their feet with for the first few times.  What I am looking for is a give by the horse then I'll release the pressure. That first time may be two seconds, then I build on that.  You are looking for the slightest try then rewarding the horse with the release.

Most likely you are going to have problems with bad manners, and horses being recalcitrant about letting you pickup their feet is a classic bad habit, unless you get the horse's respect and I think you do that by moving his feet, backing him up, getting that horse to join up with you,....getting that horse to see you as the leader.   Again, work on accepting and rewarding a small try and build on that.  Let me know how you are doing KB.  Safe Journey. 



   

Straight Alfalfa Diet Okay?

Daniel62 wrote about feeding horse, ”I saw your videos on feeding horses, and am still confused. Is it okay to feed only alfalfa to my horse? Will I need to use other supplements?”

Alfalfa is common and available, and most people in non-pasture situations feed it for the convenience. Some people who have their horses on pasture, which is usually grass or grass mixes providing 10 to 14% protein, will also supplement with alfalfa, usually around 18 to 22% protein, so the horses will get a higher concentration of protein and calcium in their daily diet. Most horses don't need such a high level of protein and can do well on a grass hay only diet. However, if you are working your horse quite a bit, then I think added protein to the diet would probably be a good idea.

There are many people feeding a straight alfalfa diet to their horses. I choose to feed a 50-50 mix of alfalfa and grass hay and sometimes that ratio goes to 60-40 alfalfa-grass hay. Some feed a combination of alfalfa and grass, like I do, to better balance the calcium-phosphorous ratio. My priority in feeding alfalfa-grass mix is to reduce the amount of protein the horse is getting and also what I think is, reducing associated gut problems. I think horses on a straight alfalfa diet are more prone to gut problems and colic. I don't think it's a greatly increased chance, but a increased chance nonetheless. Having said that I know many horses on a straight alfalfa diet that do okay, and rarely will you need to supplement with the exception of maybe a salt block.

I just think the more natural you keep your horses, the better they will do. I also feed a small amount of Patriot 14, a 14% pelleted feed from ADM, to my horses but in small amounts. I do this for two reasons,    1 – as a means to introduce supplements, and 2 – to keep them and their guts used to this pelleted feed so when I need to give them more of it, extended rides, packing trips or whatever, I can do so more safely.

I do use supplements. Currently I use hoof supplement on one horse, a joint supplement on another and a periodic Sand Clear supplement regimen on all my horses. Basically, I think the more natural you can keep your horse, the better off he is going to be. And I think that changes in their diet should be made gradually over time in order for the horse and his digestive system to get used to it. You should be monitoring your horse's body condition, performance and tolerance to the feeds and make adjustments slowly.  Good luck and safe journey.

  

Horses Eating Mesquite

I received a comment from Anonymous regarding a previous post on knowing the plant life in your area and effects on horses eating it. "We live near Phoenix, Arizona and have three mesquite trees in our horse pasture. Our horses LOVE the mesquite pods. They taste sweet. (FH note: see picture left). Some horses have become impacted from mesquite pods, but our horses have been fine eating the pods that drop from our trees in addition to their regular diet of bermuda grass and bermuda hay."

Thanks for your comment. If it wasn't for Mesquite beans a lot of cattle in West Texas would go hungry in this current drought we're in. Can't say as I remember any of my horses eating Mesquite beans, which are plentiful where I live. My horses have ate dried Desert Marigold plants, Chamisa (which is another cow staple), dried Yucca bulbs all without ill effects, however they eat very little of it at any given time....and it's not a feed I routinely let them have.

Several of my horses got out of the corral the other night and ate a row of corn that was about two feet tall and all that was left the next day was nubbins. I also noticed a number Cucumber plants conspicuously missing. I watched the horses pretty close for the next day or two and noticed no bad effects.

I think the key for horses eating any new feed intentional or not, especially in any quantity, is the gradual introduction of it. As you know changes in feed can cause a horse to colic and this goes for processed and natural grain, new cuts of alfalfa or grass as well.

Glad you are feeding Bermuda grass. I know what a pain it is to get sometimes, but I think horses are better off with a grass diet or a mixed grass diet. Again, thanks for the comment. Safe Journey.

Reader Question on Feeding Alfalfa Pellets

I received this question via e-mail from Savony. ”Functional Horseman, I've watched your videos on feeding horses. Thanks you very much. (My question is) Sometimes I have a hard time buying hay. Sometimes the feed store is even out of the hay. One of my friends told me to feed alfalfa pellets and to replace the hay pound for pound with the alfalfa pellets. What do you think?”

Savony, this is a timely e-mail question. I recently responded to friends of mine who ran out of hay was feeding solely alfalfa pellets and their horse started exhibiting signs of colic or gut distress.  He was feeding his horse alfalfa pellets dry (without soaking them in water) and made his change overnight, without a gradual introduction to the change.     

You can certainly augment your horses daily feed with a ration of alfalfa pellets or cubes. I would do several things to reduce associated problems.

One – integrate the new feed gradual like. If you feed 20 lbs of hay one day, then on the next, you substitute the hay with 20 lbs of pellets you’ll probably have problems. I would start with one half pound per day and build up from here, however my bias is to not feed more than a few pounds, maybe 3 or 4 pounds maximum, of pelleted/cubed feed at any one time. Although, most of the pelleted feed manufacturers will have their  feeding directions on the bags and these will generally advise to feed 1.5 to 2 lbs of pellets or cubes per 100 lbs of body weight or 20 lbs a day divided up into 10 lb feedings, given twice a day. I would not do this. If I had to feed pelleted feed alone, then I would feed smaller amounts more often through the day.

Two – I would soak the alfalfa pellets in water prior to feeding. Put Alfalfa pellets in a bucket, pour water to cover, let stand a few minutes, drain excess water then feed. It’ll probably look like mush but this will help the horse chew it and reduce chances of choke where larger pellet pieces get stuck in the esophagus. If your horse gets choke, and you’ll know it, remove all feed, call your vet, keep the horse’s head down to drain mucous from the nose and if you see a lump in the esophagus when you may be able to massage it down the throat.

Three – feed a pelleted feed with a small percentage of protein. Alfalfa hay is around 18 – 22 % protein. Horses don’t need that much protein. That's why I feed both Alfalfa Hay and Grass Hay (10% protein).  I also feed a pelleted feed, with 12% protein, and only feed a small amount to supplement their hay. A horse really needs long stem hay for their fiber needs. Another problem with feeding pelleted feeds is that, if soaked and it should be soaked, the horse easily crushes the wet cubes and this may not satisfy the horses chewing needs. You may see more cribbing.

So in summary Savony, you sure could substitute the pelleted feed for hay, but do it gradually; be sure to soak it prior to feeding; give a smaller amounts more often; watch your horses for changes in their body condition and any sign of problems. You are not the only one having problem finding hay. A lot of people are either/or having a harder time getting hay or paying through the nose for it and have decided to reduce hay usage through the feeding of pelleted feeds. Safe Journey.

Reader Reply on Horse Feed

I received a youtube message from DaddyLJ1 who commented on Basic Horse Nutrition_Hay_v3.wmv, click here to see this article,……..."His Comment...This is a very good video- I learned more I this one than in 10 different videos by other so called pro’s”.

My reply to DaddyLJ1: Thanks for your kind words, but in defense of most of the pro trainers out, they concentrate on training horses and/or riders. My intent is to help the majority of horse owners out there, who are one, two or three horse owning recreational riders and who have never been exposed the wealth of information created by others. I didn’t invent anything, someone taught me as well.

I never gave much thought to feeds until about 10-12 years ago, when I started to educate myself in feeds, nutritional values and how they affect horses. Two of my primary references were and continue to be: Clinical Equine Nutrition, by Lon Lewis, and, Feed to Win, which is a compilation of wisdom from a wide range of trainers. Feed to Win is a much easier to read book, but Clinical Equine Nutrition is much, much more than a feed book.

Horses are meant to graze all day long or 16-20 hours or so anyway; eating small amounts of grass all day long. We create potential problems when we put them in stalls or pens and feed them concentrated dry hay, pelleted feed or grains.

There are a wide range of problems, such as founder and colic that are almost always associated with feed problems. I actually knew a old boy who had grain trucked in and dumped in a pile on the ground (outside) and would shovel grain in a wheel barrel then feed this horses out of the wheel barrel. This is a recipe for disaster as the grain can mold quickly and birds poop was all over that grain.

I recently was asked to look at a stud horse and give the owner an opinion on where that horse was at training wise. Needless to say, the little stud horse was a grade and only green broke ,..."I was told not to take his halter off" type of thing. They owner was feeding him from loose alfalfa on the ground, out in the open, that he had to scoop up with a shovel. Unbelievable. We have got to do better as horse owners.

Horse Health Care - Check Your Feed

Months ago I wrote a post on Horse Feed, you can review it by clicking here. I talked about the importance of checking your alfalfa or grass hay to ensure mold and contaminants are not present.

Over the years I have found a dead turtle, dead rabbits, dead lizards, one tennis shoe, crush soda and beer cans, plastic bags, etc. I can deal with that crap, but what I am checking for are mold, toxic plants and blister beetles.

One my last hay load, I found not a little but alot of snake weed in a few bales of alfalfa. Snake weed is also referred to as Loco Weed. This is not good for your horses to eat to say the least.

Be familiar with what it looks like. I also did a post on toxic plants and you can see snake weed growing by clicking here.

So, just a reminder to check your feed. If it is suspect, then don't feed it. It's much cheaper checking, not feeding it, and throwing it away (or feeding to the goats) then calling a Vet at midnight or even burying a horse. Safe Journey.

Purpose

The idea behind Functional Horsemanship, Helping horses by Helping People is to provide a forum for information relating to Care for the Horse not limited to but initially covering such topics as Hoof Care, Horse Supplements, Horse Feed, Training Methods and other information specifically for horse owners who do not have the ability or financial means to get information or education in any other manner, or, simply for people who wish to view information from all sources then decide on what information they may want to put in their saddlebag of knowledge.

This idea started years ago as I ran a 52 horse capacity private Horse Stables with a wide (and I mean wide!) range of knowledge or lack of knowledge demonstrated on a near hourly basis by the people boarding horses there. I served as an Army Range Rider and Law Enforcement Conservation Officer riding 1.2 million acres of mountainous and desert country bordered by cattle ranches and small horse operations. Having been called by people to look at or work with horses with problems, most of the problems I have seen are people problems resulting from their lack of knowledge and unfortunately sometimes a lack of caring.

I am also continually asked questions almost on a daily basis, from inexperienced and experienced horses owners alike, on issues such as horse health and hoof care, horse behavior problems, training, nutrition, horse feed, and trailer training to name a few. That taught me several things among them is that there are a heck of a lot of horse owners who just don’t know much about horses and are failing to educate themselves for some reason or another. But it also gave me hope that if people know better they will do better and that better is giving a horse a fair life.

There are many people, perhaps thousands, that are much more qualified to talk about Horse Training, Horse Nutrition, Hoof Care and especially Veterinarian subjects such as Diseases, Vaccines, Horse Dentistry, etc.,…… however many of these experts are outside the reach of the common horse owner. There are many owners of one and two horse operations that may have inherited horses, or whose family who has always had horses, or who are getting into horses for the first time as a hobby or sport, and a lot of these people just don’t know what they don’t know. My intent is to reach those people with the result being a safer and better relationship between the owners and their horses, and ultimately a better life for horses.

Working and riding horses is an inherently dangerous activity. We highly advise horse owners to seek hands on instruction and advice from professional trainers as well as seek a Veterinarian’s counsel on horse health issues.