Farm Management

Spring Vaccinations and Preventative Health Care - Importance of Timing

Spring Vaccinations and Preventative Health Care - Importance of Timing

With spring approaching in Wisconsin, horse owners are starting to think about immunizations or vaccinations as well as other spring preventative health care for their horses.  Historically, “spring preventative health care” has included vaccinations, dental checkups, fecal parasite evaluations and annual Coggins testing as well as annual wellness checkups.  This can create a sizeable veterinary bill all at once.  Some horse owners wonder if this work can be spread out over more time to lessen this financial blow as well as whether it’s all needed in the spring.  The answer is yes and no.  Read on to find out why.

10 Tips for Weight Reduction in the Overweight Horse

10 Tips for Weight Reduction in the Overweight Horse

As a horse owner, you play an important role in controlling your equine companion’s weight. Sound nutrition management, a regular exercise program and veterinary care are key to keeping your horse fit and healthy. Maintaining the ideal weight is not always easy, however.

10 Tips for Choosing the Best Hay for Your Horse

10 Tips for Choosing the Best Hay for Your Horse

High-quality hay can be an important source of essential nutrients in your horse’s diet. A horse’s protein and energy requirements depend on age, stage of development, metabolism and workload. A mature horse will eat 2 to 2.5 percent of its body weight a day, and for optimum health, nutritionists recommend that at least half of this should be roughage such as hay. For a 1,000-pound horse, that means at least 10 pounds of roughage each day.