Horse Care

Feeding, hooves, blankets and the daily routine.

23 articles

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Fireworks and Horses: How to Keep Your Horse Safe on Bonfire Night and New Year's

Bonfire Night is Thursday and UK charities are pushing for quieter skies. Here's the plan that keeps your horse safe this week and every fireworks night after it.

Updated Nov 3, 20266 min read

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Daylight Saving Time and Horses: Adjust Barn Feeding and Lessons
Clocks go back Sunday, Nov. 1, in most of the US and eastern Canada, and evenings go dark an hour sooner. Here's a day-by-day feeding plan, a lights check and a safe-light rule you can reuse every fall and spring.
Oct 30, 20267 min read
How to Quarantine a New Horse: Lessons from Washington's Flu Case
A horse bought at auction in Pierce County, Washington tested positive for equine influenza this week. Here's the isolation routine that protects the horses already in your barn.
Oct 23, 20267 min read
Horses and Lightning Safety: When to Stop Riding, Where Not to Tie
Lightning killed four polo mares tied at a post at the Jockey Club in San Isidro, Argentina, on October 21. Here is how lightning reaches horses, when to call off a ride and where tacked-up horses should wait out a storm.
Oct 22, 20267 min read
How to Protect Horses from Hail: Shelter, Turnout and Storm Checks
A 15-minute hailstorm hit rural Caapucú, Paraguay, on October 21. Here is how to decide between barn and paddock, what to secure before the sky turns, and what to check once it clears.
Oct 21, 20267 min read
Horse Trailer Accident: What to Do, Lessons from Diego Ventura's Truck
A truck carrying Diego Ventura's horses (nine or ten, depending on the report) overturned on Spain's A-5 on October 19. Here is what to do in the first minutes after a crash, and how to haul horses more safely.
Oct 19, 20267 min read
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Hoof Abscess in Horses: Signs, Healing and Skippylongstocking
A hind-foot abscess knocked the Pegasus World Cup winner out of the Breeders' Cup Classic. Here's how to spot one in your own horse, why fall weather makes them more common and when to call for help.
Oct 13, 20267 min read
How to Wean a Foal: Why New Research Says Go Slow, Not Abrupt
A 2026 University of Nottingham study says abrupt, isolating weaning harms mares and foals. Here's how to wean gradually and socially this fall.
Oct 11, 20267 min read
How to Buy Hay for Horses: Buy by Weight, Check Quality and Avoid Scams
Winter buying has started. Here is how to compare hay fairly, work out how much you need, judge it by eye and nose, and avoid sellers who take your deposit and send nothing.
Oct 10, 20266 min read
How to Catch a Loose Horse: Lessons from Outlaw the Mustang's 66 Days
A Maryland mustang spent 66 days loose in the woods and was caught with patience, hay and a trap pen, not a chase. Here is what that teaches every horse owner.
Oct 10, 20267 min read
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Hurricane Horse Evacuation Checklist: Evacuate or Stay as Isaias Nears
Hurricane Isaias is bearing down on the northern Gulf Coast. Here is the calm, practical plan for deciding whether your horses leave or stay, and what to do before and after the wind.
Oct 9, 20266 min read
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How to Haul a Horse Long Distance Safely: Rest Stops, Trailer Checks and Mountain Roads
After three horses died on their way to Canada's national dressage championships (West), here is the calm, practical guide to planning a multi-day haul: what to check, when to stop, what to watch for after you arrive.
Oct 8, 20267 min read
Grazing Muzzle for Horses: Do They Lower Insulin? New Study
Nine insulin-dysregulated horses had about half the peak insulin when muzzled. Here is what that means, and what it doesn't.
Oct 6, 20265 min read
Salt Block or Loose Salt for Horses? What a New Study Found
In a 16-horse study, the form of salt made no difference. Individual horses did, and more than half fell short of the NRC figure.
Oct 6, 20264 min read
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Hay Shortage 2026: Why Horse Hay Is So Expensive and What to Feed
Drought cut the crop, winter hay got eaten in summer and hauling hay in got pricier. Here is what a bale really costs, what you can feed instead and how to avoid a bad bargain.
Sep 23, 20267 min read
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How Long Do Horses Live? Senior Care, Feeding and Saying Goodbye
Two much-loved old horses, Big John, a draft horse at a rescue, and Kizen Luck in Japan, died this month at 27 and 31. Here is how long horses really live, how to care for a senior and how to know when it's time to say goodbye.
Sep 23, 20268 min read
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Thrush in Horses: What That Smell Means and Wet-Weather Hoof Care
That rotten smell on your hoof pick has a name. Here is how to recognize thrush, why so many treatments fail, and the picking and bedding habits that keep feet healthy through mud season.
Sep 23, 20268 min read
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When to Blanket a Horse: 2026 Chart for Clipped, Unclipped and Seniors
Winter coats are coming in and blanket questions are everywhere. Here is a simple temperature, rain and wind chart for full-coated, clipped and senior horses, and why many horses need no blanket at all.
Sep 23, 20268 min read
Horse Body Condition Score Chart: Henneke 1-9, Too Thin or Too Fat
BLM gather reports put the Henneke scale in the spotlight this month. Here's how to score your own horse by hand, what a 5 means and when thin or fat becomes a vet call.
Sep 23, 20268 min read
Horse First Aid Kit Checklist and How to Take Vital Signs
Skip the sponsored shopping lists. Here is what actually belongs in a barn kit, the normal numbers for temperature, pulse and respiration, and the signs that mean you call the vet now.
Sep 23, 20267 min read
How Much Hay Does a Horse Eat a Day? Flakes, Free Choice and Alfalfa
Vets are pushing forage first, flakes lie about their weight and alfalfa keeps getting blamed for colic. Here is how much hay your horse really needs, how to measure it and what to feed an old horse that can't chew.
Sep 23, 20268 min read
How Often Does a Horse Need a Farrier? Trim Schedules and 2026 Costs
A shoeing video on X had a non-horse person asking why the farrier comes so often. Here's how fast hooves grow, the normal 4-to-8-week schedule, barefoot vs shoes, and what trims and shoes cost in 2026.
Sep 23, 20267 min read
Signs a Horse Needs Teeth Floated: 7 Clues and How Often to Book
Dropped wads of hay, a horse that fights the bit, a senior who can't hold weight: here's what your horse's mouth is telling you, why its teeth keep erupting, and how often a float is normal.
Sep 23, 20268 min read

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