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Spring
Care for Horses
 Spring is the time to gear up for the outdoor
riding season. The horses are shedding those big winter coats, everything
is covered in hair and a horse groomer's best friend is a shedding blade.
It's spring tune up time for horses. (Think of it as getting the oil
changed
on your car before the motor seizes up except more important because a car
has no interest in its own well-being.)
Get the vet out to give your horse a checkup and vaccinations before the
mosquitoes hit. Except for tetanus, most diseases we commonly inoculate against are carried by biting insects.
Because of the way horses chew, their molars wear unevenly and can develop
points that cut the inside of the cheek. An annual checkup catches
potential problems before they affect your horse's comfort and health, and possibly
your safety. If necessary, your veterinarian will float the teeth to
smooth sharp edges. Why wait until your horse is dropping his feed or tossing his
head while ridden?
Depending on your horse's feet and the kind of riding you plan to do, you
might want to talk to your farrier about shoes. "Au naturel" is
best for a lightly ridden horse with good feet, but when hooves wear excessively or
split, or your horse moves gingerly on anything but soft ground, shoes are
a necessary evil. In any case, proper farrier work is essential to your horse's comfort and soundness. Avoid problems with a regular six to
eight-week trimming schedule whether the hooves look as if they need
it or not. (Do you let your fingernails get long and ragged before you file
them? Probably not and your fingernails don't support one thousand plus pounds
of horse.)
With nice weather, we want to spring into riding and summer pleasures, but
if we overdo it in the first flush of spring, we may not have such a good
summer.
Unless you've been riding all winter, you and your horse will both need to
get back in condition. And if you have used an indoor arena all
winter, be
prepared for some high spirits the first ride or two outside. Start slowly
with lots of walking. Build up muscle and wind gradually over a couple of
months before you head out to the mountains. Consider also that your
horse's skin will need to become re-accustomed to saddle and girth. Watch for
signs that the girth is rubbing before a sore develops.
Spring is also the season to guard against laminitis. Introduce your horse
gradually to pasture. During the transition to rich spring grass, continue
feeding hay and limit the amount of grazing. It's a great temptation to
simply turn the horses out on grass as soon as possible, but if your horse
does founder, he'll be compromised for the rest of his life.
© 2000 Elizabeth Gredley
All rights reserved. May not be reproduced in any form without written
permission of the author. Please feel free to link to this page.
MORE
ON HORSE CARE
Where
to Keep Your Horse
Feeding
Shelter and Fencing
Spring Care
Winter Care
Doing What's Best
Care of Older Horses
Hoof Care
Parasite Control
Euthanasia: A Horse's Final Rest
Checklists and
charts to download
How to Find the Perfect Place for Your
Pony
Books on horse care
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