I have been challenged by Johanna to write about how I look after my horse, in order to win some prizes. Johanna sent me the banner above and I have to include it here in order to take part. Thank you Johanna! Apparently the language doesn't matter, so I am allowed to partake in English... And because I am a sucker for prizes and all things free, here we go...
I am a fairly new horse owner. I have owned Rainbow for nearly 2 years now. It's been a great two years and I now consider Rainbow my family. I see her every day and keep a close eye on her condition. So far, as a fairly hardly 'warmblood x' type horse, she hasn't caused me too many headaches on the health front. I know I have been very lucky so far. *touching wood
Ever since Rainbow came into my life I have researched many things relating to horse keeping and health that have puzzled me along the way... Everything from shoes vs. barefoot, to benefits of micronised linseed vs. chia seeds, natural calmers and equine dentistry! The topics of interest range far and wide.
I have asked questions from people who are more experienced than me and also sometimes sought information from our lovely vet, who has been super-helpful. Google is helpful too, as long as you remember to take horse forums with a pinch of salt. But, aside taking heed from more experienced people and doing as I have been 'told', I have also found myself questioning many things that are taken as the gospel of horse keeping, e.g. shoes or not, sugar or no sugar, bits or no bits...
I have found that equestrian products and marketing are a powerful force and equestrian shops are no longer little dingy places where you felt at the mercy of the single sales person, but almost supermarket-like polished retail outlets. "Anything you want, you can buy... and things you didn't think you wanted/needed, you will buy!"
How does this relate to how I look after Rainbow? My motto is: Keeping it Simple. This applies to everything I do with Rainbow. From feeding to care and tack, as well as riding.
One of the biggest motivations for me in Keeping it Simple has been removing Rainbow's shoes and going 'barefoot'. This was a big personal challenge as I set about doing something as a fairly new horse owner that, at least at the yard we reside in (still another couple of weeks - until we move back to my home country, Finland), is considered a bit 'hippyish', to say the least and the prevailing opinion is that a horse can't be worked barefoot. Period. I have enjoyed proving people wrong - however I have also learned to be quiet and let people think what they think. But for us it has really worked. Rainbow is fine shoeless and although I have to keep a close eye to her overall health, because many other health problems often manifest themselves in the hooves, so I'm always on the lookout for any changes... Hooves are one of the best mirrors of overall health. I have just had to learn to read the signs. As the saying goes: No hoof no horse...
Getting in tune with hooves has taught me a lot of about horse nutrition. The second Keeping it Simple: Being a good-doer Rainbow's main diet is hay/haylage. I fill a hay net that is half hay and half haylage - which is given twice a day, plus any ad-lib hay/grass when she's out grazing.
Once a day, I give Rainbow a bowl of unmolassed 'speedy' sugar beet (approx 100ml dry measure) that is swollen for 10 min. In that I mix Forageplus Summer Balancer, which is basically, currently, the best (and best value) vitamin and mineral mix on the market in my view. It contains all the sufficient amounts of vitamins and minerals to promote overall and hoof health – and helps to counteract any adverse effects of e.g. lush grass. It's been created by people who own and successfully compete barefoot horses in all disciplines.
The third Keeping it Simple is to let Rainbow lead as natural horse life as possible. I want her to be able to get out for long periods of time every day, with friends. I hate seeing her cooped up in the stable.
I don't clip her as she doesn't grow a massive winter coat and I don't seem to be able to ride her to absolute sweat, so I haven't seen the point of doing that... And I doubt I ever will. I groom her a bit every day, but I don't get upset if she has spent the day rolling in mud. I think a muddy horse equals a happy horse. Yes, it takes me a bit to clean her up afterwards, but I have found with mud the best method is to let it dry and brush it off the next day – however awful your horse looks and other people may think you're mad for not doing anything about it then and there!
The same applies to mud fever. I don't wash her legs and brush them when she comes in from the field. Wetness and brushes equals bacteria pushed in the open skin pores from wet, resulting in infection - mud fever. Instead, I give her a deep straw bed so, by the next day, half of the mud has naturally dried and brushed off against the straw. Then I go through the legs with a soft-bristle brush and apply Sudocrem (zinc cream - nappy cream) under the fetlocks if they have signs of reddish skin on them. The first winter I had Rainbow we did have mud fever but I kept it well under control with the methods above and it never got bad. This winter, I started applying Sudocrem before she went out first few times in the late autumn and I managed to keep it at bay the whole season.
Fourth is not over-rugging and being sensible when rugging for different 'purposes'... given that horses have managed quite a few millennia without humans rugging them... In all weathers...
And final requirement for me in horse keeping is regular exercise. Rainbow works 5–7 a week, this keeps her sane and grounded (not that she's a very fizzy type anyway). I try to have one day off completely and one day exercised by lunging, so she needn't carry me on her back every day. Although I like keeping it simple in terms of tack, I believe when it comes to exercise variety is the spice of life. In an ideal week we would do some pole work or jumping, some flatwork and around 2+ hacks. I know it doesn't always work that way, as life has a sneaky way of getting in the way, but I do maintain that we have at least one or two hacking days a week (keeps horse sensible as well, as they get exposed to the world and aren't just cocooned in the stable and paddock environment) and the rest is schooling with or without jumping.
This is how I do it with Rainbow and I feel it's been very good so far.
I would like to pass the challenge onto Liisa and Noora. Ladies - you have been challenged!
http://www.laukonhevoskuntoutus.com/2014/04/pidan-huolta-hevosestani-bloggaa-ja.html
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