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Basic Care

Basic Horse Care

We’ve compiled the following general guidelines for the basic care required to ensure a horse’s health and well-being: 

Feed

  • Provide good quality hay or forage, 2% of body weight per day,
  • Provide 3 – 5 acres of good pasture per horse during summer,
  • Feed grain (oats, barley) or commercial feed if additional energy is required,
  • Provide a salt free choice,
  • If a horse is losing body condition or is less than 2 years old, segregate and feed separately,
  • Feed to maintain a body condition score of 5 on a scale of 1 to 9. Ribs should not be visible but easily felt.

Water

  • Provide access to water on a daily basis. Consideration must be given to the nutrition, age, shelter and body condition of the horses,
  • On average, horses require 5.5 litres (1.5 gallons) of water per 100 kg (220 lbs) of body weight. Individual demands vary depending on feed intake, activity and temperature. This means a 500 kg (1100 lbs) horse needs from 18 litres (4 gal) to more than 36 litres (8 gal) per day.

Care

  • Inspect horses frequently to ensure good physical health and to detect any problems early, including parasite control,
  • Consult a veterinarian to develop a health care program,
  • Maintain a hoof care program,
  • Provide older horses with specialized care and when needed, euthanize in a timely manner.

Shelter, Pasture & Yards

  • Provide natural (trees) or constructed shelter to provide adequate protection from adverse weather,
  • Horse paddocks must be properly fenced to safely keep horses confined,
  • Paddocks must be free of debris that may cause injury to horses.

1-800-455-9003
Animal Protection Line