Horse Care
Fencing for your pasture-land is important to both keep your horse in and keep other creatures out. Fences could be made out of wood posts and crosses, PVC, or wire stretched tight. A “hot” wire – hot because it is electrified – can be used with any type of fence. Do not, however, use barbed wire on any of the fences keeping your horses in as this is just asking your horse to hurt him or herself on the wire. Check your fencing regularly for gaps or parts where your horse might get hurt. Try not to tether or tie up your horse. Horses are prone to becoming scared and run away, and a tethered horse might hurt him or herself.
Obviously not every horse can live in ideal conditions and not every horse owner can afford such amenities. Thus, it is sometimes necessary to board your horse at a horse stable. If you aren’t going to be able to spend enough time taking care of your horse, this is the compassionate option for you – that way your horse will get fed at better times and get enough exercise even if you can’t stop by to see him or her everyday. Some people choose to board their horse during the winter and keep their horse at home during the summer when they are able to get out and ride more often.
Unless taking care of horses is your job, it is easy to get tired of taking care of your horse, and if he or she is at home, you cannot simply quit taking care of him or her. It makes it very difficult to do anything spontaneously because you have to consider who will care for your horse (I suppose it seems similar to taking care of a baby). There are good horse barns and horse farms in almost every area of the country and sometimes having your horse at a barn will make you more intentional in how you take care of your horse because you only have so much time with him or her. Certainly boarding is recommended for when you first start taking care of your horse so that you can learn how to take care of him or her from people more expert than yourself.
