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Tutorial: General Horse Care

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Tutorial: General Horse Care

Photo – © berc – Fotolia.com

Spending life with an equine friend is a pleasant experience but the joy horses offer their owner also demands much responsibility in exchange. As an owner, you need to take good care of your horse.

We found a very informative article that tackles general horse care. It is essential to know the basic needs of our horse if we want him / her to be healthy and physically fit. The overall physical condition of your horse will of course have a direct bearing not only on quality of life, but on performance both in the arena and on the trail.

Pets are also like humans; they have basic needs they need to meet. Like us, they also need to grow healthy and strong. The article we found provides us with 7 guides to general horse care: Nutritional Needs; Vaccination and De-worming; Housing, Rest and Exercise; Extreme Weather Precautions; Hoof Care; Teeth; and Equine Poison Prevention.

The Equine Poison Prevention section has an interesting list of plants that should be avoided. It also mentions Blister Beetles – which are sometimes found in Alfalfa hay in the Midwest and Southwest of the USA. Blister beetles are so called because they contain a poisonous chemical, Cantharidin, that causes blistering of human skin upon contact. So you can imagine the effect it could have on your horse when accidentally eaten! As it turns out, the largest genus of blister beetles (Epicauta) contains many species that are so toxic to horses that a few beetles consumed in a single feeding of alfalfa hay may be lethal.

Ok, is the link to the ASPCA’s great article on General Horse care here: http://www.aspca.org/pet-care/horse-care/general-horse-care