Your horse moves so smoothly that you always pause, just to watch and admire her – head held high, mane flowing, little puffs of dust from under her feet with every step – she makes you want to be on her back, enjoying the ride. And she makes it look so easy, you rarely think about what’s going on in that beautiful body, moving her 1,000 pounds so effortlessly. This is just a tip of our hat to those moveable parts – especially those feet! They sustain and support all of that half-ton of weight with every step she takes, and they rarely have a complaint – and so we tend to take them for granted. But they are probably the finest shock absorbers your horse’s Maker ever designed. Join me as we consider what makes them tick and what we can do to keep ’em happy on the trail. Continue reading YOUR HORSE’S HOOVES ARE GREAT SHOCK ABSORBERS

Written By Guest Writer – Walt Friedrich

An inappropriate tag for any horse, actually: the words imply a psychological problem, and while every horse can exhibit great caution – even phobia – toward an external circumstance, fear is actually a completely natural and rational response. Practicing that cautious behavior is what’s kept horses prospering on this Earth for countless millenia, despite all the hungry predators along the way. Continue reading SCAREDY-CAT HORSES?

Winter weight loss is a common issue that arises every winter, and to some degree normal and to be expected. But how do you know what is a healthy weight range for your horse to lose and remain healthy? There is not a single weight range that’s ideal for all horses, as it will vary between breed, discipline, and individual, but here are a few guidelines to follow to help monitor your horse’s weight: Continue reading Maintaining Your Horse’s Weight: An On-Going Challenge

A common question that always seems to come up in winter months is why a horse’s urine looks red. People usually notice red, orange or brown spots in the snow where their horses have urinated. Normal horse urine sometimes turns red or brown after standing for a while. This is due to the presence of plant metabolites called pyrocatechines. These oxidizing agents cause the urine to change color when mixed with oxygen. It can happen year round (the same Continue reading Red Snow In Winter

Written by Walt Friedrich

Most of us horse-owners are quite well aware that our horses can pretty much take care of themselves. They may be prey animals, but so are field mice, along with thousands of other species in between, and of them all, horses are probably one of the best equipped for self-protection. Weighing in typically at a thousand-pounds plus or minus a few hundred helps, along with immense strength, and maybe the quickest reflexes in the animal kingdom; he can break your leg or even kill you with a well-placed kick, and he has enough speed to outrun a hungry mountain lion. He tends to keep himself quite well self-protected. Continue reading TOXIC TREES AND THEIR DANGER TO HORSES

Written By Dr. Kate LeVasseur, DVM

The question always arises each winter whether to blanket or to not blanket your horse. As the temperature decreases, the layers of clothing increase. One would only assume this would also hold true for your horse, right? Continue reading Winter Blanketing

written by Walt Friedrich

I always had thought it was my mother who used to tell me, when I was a child, that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. I was almost disappointed when I learned that ’twas Ben Franklin who first uttered those wise words, and not my mother — but as I grew up some I came to understand that it’s the message, not the messenger that really matters. It applies in every aspect of life, doesn’t it, and especially so when it comes to our responsibilities to the animals we are blessed enough to care for. Continue reading PREVENTATIVE HORSE CARE