Horses

Reality check

Beyond money, count hours: feeding, water scrubbing (buckets freeze or grow slime), manure management measured in wheelbarrows per week, turnout, grooming, and farrier-day scheduling. Horses do not take days off, and neither does their care. The first big decision is where they live:

Boarding vs keeping on your own land

Factor	Boarding facility	Your own land
Cash cost	Fixed board fee monthly, typically hundreds to $1,000+ by region	No board, but hay, bedding, fencing, shelter, equipment, and utilities add up fast
Your labor	Drive-to visits; facility handles daily chores	All chores, twice daily minimum, 365 days a year, in all weather
Turnout & facilities	Pastures, arenas, trails usually included	Whatever you build and maintain yourself
Vet & farrier access	Often professionals already on site regularly	You schedule everything and haul in or pay farm-call fees
Best fit	First-time owners, tight schedules, urban fringes	Experienced, time-rich owners who want control and don't mind winter buckets

Most first-time owners should board for at least the first year — near daily exposure to how real horsekeeping works is worth more than any book, including this one.

Basic needs

The non-negotiables, every day

Need	Amount / rhythm	Notes
Water	5–10 gallons daily	Clean and unfrozen; a horse drinking poorly is a colic waiting to happen. Scrub buckets weekly.
Forage	1.5–2% of body weight daily	Mostly hay or pasture, fed little-and-often. A horse's gut expects near-constant grazing; long empty stretches cause ulcers and colic.
Shelter	Run-in shed or stall access	Dry escape from wind, rain, and sun; ventilation beats sealing ever.
Hoof care	Farrier every 6–8 weeks	Trimmed or shod, all horses, forever. Missed cycles cause lameness that outlasts the savings.
Dental care	Floating (filing) yearly	Sharp enamel points stop a horse from chewing hay properly; vets float under sedation.
Salt	Free-choice block or loose salt	Plus minerals per regional soil deficiencies.
Preventive care	Vet-planned vaccines & parasite control	Deworming now follows fecal egg counts, not the calendar — your vet designs it.

Educational only throughout this page: your veterinarian and your local extension agent override anything here, especially on feed math for growing, senior, or working animals.

Ground manners

Ninety percent of horse life happens beside the horse, not on it. Ground manners are safety infrastructure:

1. Leading: walk at the horse's left shoulder, rope slack in one hand never wrapped around any body part. Practice halt ("whoa") and backing until the horse stops when your feet stop — in wind, past gates, around tractors.
2. Tying: tie only to solid objects at wither height with a quick-release knot or breakaway strap, never to fence wire or anything movable. A horse that panics while tied learns whatever it learns in the next ten seconds; teach standing tied calmly in short doses instead.
3. Feet handling: run a hand down each leg daily, squeeze gently above the fetlock, and reward the foot lifting into your hand. Hold each foot ten seconds, pick it out, set it down. A horse that gives all four feet politely to anyone who asks is a farrier's favorite and an owner's blessing.

First rides progression

1. Groundwork first: lunge-line work at walk and trot on voice cues teaches the language every ride depends on — and burns the fresh off any young or idle horse before a human gets aboard.
2. Saddle desensitization: blanket, then pad, then saddle — rubbed over the body first, cinched loosely, tightened gradually while the horse walks. Bucking is usually girth discomfort or surprise, both preventable here.
3. Bit and bridle acceptance, ideally ground-driving so rein cues are understood before feet leave the arena floor.
4. First mount in a round pen or small enclosed area: sit, stand still, dismount after a minute. Repeat across days before asking for a walk. Short, boring, successful — that is the formula.
5. Build duration and scenery slowly: walk-only rides, then a calm companion horse on trail rides, adding trot work last.

Health emergencies

Recognize fast, act right, call the vet

Emergency	Signs	What you do
Colic (abdominal pain)	Pawing, looking or biting at the flank, lying down repeatedly, rolling, not eating, no manure	Remove all feed, hand-walk the horse calmly, and call the vet. Do not medicate — painkillers mask surgical signs. Walk in short sets if the horse rests quietly between.
Lameness	Head-bobbing at the trot, heat or throbbing pulse in a hoof, reluctance to move, standing pointing a leg	Rest in a small pen, note which leg and when it shows, feel for heat, and call the vet if it persists beyond a day or the horse will not bear weight.
Not drinking	Dry tacky gums, pinched skin staying tented on the neck, thick manure, impaction risk rising hourly	Offer fresh and lukewarm water, add salt, monitor intake by marking buckets, and call the vet if intake stays low — dehydration feeds colic.

Keep your vet's number posted at the barn and know your normal: gum color, gut sounds on both flanks, digital pulses, manure output. Baselines you practiced in calm times are what make emergencies readable.

Tack basics glossary

• Halter & lead rope — the head collar and attached rope used for leading and tying; the horse's steering wheel on the ground.
• Saddle pad — the cushion layer between saddle and back; straighten it up into the gullet so it never drags on the spine.
• Girth (English) / cinch (Western) — the wide strap holding the saddle on; tighten gradually and check again five minutes into a ride.
• Snaffle bit — the standard gentle mouthpiece of a direct-rein bridle; reins attach and signal one side at a time.
• Lunge line — a long line for exercising and teaching the horse in circles around you, the groundwork tool behind step one above.
• Hoof pick — the cheap steel hook that clears stones and packed manure from feet daily; the highest return-per-dollar item in the barn.