There are many important things you can do to properly care for you horse, from grooming, to exercising to a good diet, and yet more areas to look at with a racehorse. It is essential to keep your horse healthy and happy, and here are a few tips to help you do just that.
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Top Ways to Care for your Racehorse
Grooming
Horse grooming is a key component of caring for your racehorse, whether you groom your horse yourself or hire a competent stable hand. There are so many different parts to taking care of your horse and a good stable hand can take care of many of these. Grooming is essential to avoiding infection and keeping your horse looking great and feeling great! Make sure you know what you are doing, using the correct brushes for each stage and on the right parts of the body, cleaning out the horses’ hooves and not over-brushing the mane and tail as it can cause thinness or clipping the fur in the ears that is key to keeping out unwanted dust and pests. You should also have your horse’s hooves clipped regularly and carefully, while it is up to you to get your horse reshod or not in a timely manner.
Check ups
It is also important to have your horse properly checked out by a professional equine vet regularly, to catch any problems early and make sure your horse is as healthy as can be. A specialist is key as they have the requisite knowledge of what to look for, not only when your horse is already sick but to prevent it from getting to that stage. They may suggest special vitamins or regimens to ensure your horse is healthy every day and that it stays that way. It is also important that you know the signs of a healthy horse, what to look for each day that will tell you if your horse is healthy or otherwise. Bright eyes, a sleek and shiny coat and a good appetite are all signs of health, while dullness, a silent stomach and lack of appetite point to the opposite, so get your vet to have a look!
A good diet
As stated, it is important that your horse should have a good appetite, and that you should feed your horse well. Ideally you shouldn’t feed them in the hottest parts of the day, and you should alter the amounts of food your horse eats depending on the need. If it has been a day of grazing in a field, your horse won’t need as much hay, while if they have been at Eagle Farm races today they will need to have plenty of food to replenish their energy. You should also plan your feedings around your exercise plans, as running too soon after food can mess with the digestion which is bad for your horse.
Regular turnout
Racehorses can easily get bored and stressed out, so it is important to turn them out regularly while also giving them plenty of rest and protecting them from the harsh weather. It is important to let them out and avoid the feeling of being too penned in, but while they are in the stables you should also give them the best bedding for them, like rubber matting which is easy to keep clean and is very comfortable for the horse.
All in all, it is important to take care of your horse, and watch it go from strength to strength!