One of the most important aspects of caring for your horse is proper feeding and nutrition. If you are buying the horse from another owner, you may already know its diet. If not, you need to take a crash course in nutrition.
Many feed stores can give you advice and there are independent feed specialists available. In addition, most major manufacturers have advisors who will work with you to design a good program for your horse.
Here’s a link for the basics: https://bit.ly/3IfTK0a
This is very comprehensive, but has great information: https://bit.ly/3wbTptf
This is from the American Association of Equine Practitioners: https://bit.ly/3MTG2ns
Monitoring your horse’s health is critical to providing the best care.
Taking a horse’s vital signs from The Horse.com: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ziP_uCt_OA
This is from the University of Minnesota Equine Extension Service: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=utDa_QLiJrE
Here’s another, from the Certified Horsemanship Association: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=59RXeIbwwMs
Record this information on these charts from Farnam:
Farnam downloadable Equine Health Record Chart: https://www.farnam.com/stable-talk/equine-health-record-keeper
Farnam downloadable Equine Vital Signs Chart: https://www.farnam.com/stable-talk/vitals-guide
If you have a question and can’t reach your veterinarian, try the FB group: Horse Vet Corner. Anyone can post a question, but only Veterinarians are allowed to post answers. If you are in an unfamiliar area and need to find a veterinarian, the American Association of Equine Practitioners has an online directory: https://aaep.org/horse-owners/get-dvm
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