Read About Stable Care

Stable care includes housing your horse in a clean environment, meeting all of his shelter, food and water needs. The space and actual accommodations will vary depending on factors like the size of the horse and weather conditions, but many elements of stable care are consistentImage for all horses.

Your horse will require a stall, usually around 12’ x 12’ in size. Larger horses will require more space, but most experts do not recommend much less than this even for smaller horses. In ideal arrangements, the stall will have an adjacent paddock, which will allow the horse to move in and out at will. The best type of door between the stall and paddock is a Dutch-style door, which has top and bottom portions that can be opened and closed separately. This style of door allows you to keep the horse in the stall while still giving him the freedom to look around.

Proper stable care involves having fresh clean bedding and keeping the horse’s stall clean. Since an adult horse can produce as much as 40 pounds of manure and urine each day, be sure his stall has adequate drainage. Keep the stall clean by mucking out the manure and dirty bedding and replacing it. Straw is not always an ideal choice for bedding, since some horses will attempt to eat their bedding, even when it is dirty. A better choice is sand (for drainage) covered by dirt and shavings (for comfort).

Ensure your stable has good ventilation, to minimize the growth of bacteria. Allowing fresh air to circulate, though, often means easy access for flies. Include fly control in your stable care plans. There are many commercially available fly sprays that are safe to use on horses. Be sure to read the package instructions carefully and avoid sprayingImage near the horse’s eyes. Fly strips or other bug elimination system can be used as long as they are kept safely out of the horse’s reach.

Good stable care includes feeding your horse in a manger, not on the floor. When horses eat off the floor, it increases the possibility they will also consume dirt or sand. Sand can cause colic, which can be fatal to horses. Water should be plentiful and fresh. To make stable care easier, consider installing an automatic watering system that keeps fresh water available at all times. A less expensive option is simply filling a large (20 gallon) bucket with water. Remember that this can be quite heavy to carry from the water source to your horse’s stall.

Your horse is not only a major investment financially, but also emotionally. Keeping him healthy and happy is what good stable care is all about. Providing a safe, comfortable environment with healthy food and fresh water makes your stable care pay off with a healthy horse.