The Elements of Horse Spirit by Debra DeAngelo

Author:Debra DeAngelo
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: animals;animal healing;healing with animals;pets;healing pets;healing with pets;horses;bond with horses;the bond with horses;debra deangelo;deborah deangelo
Publisher: Llewellyn Worldwide, LTD.
Published: 2020-04-16T16:31:12+00:00

Other Expenses

Here are some “must haves” that you’ll need to factor into your budget. For each of the following needs, do some research online and visit local feed stores to see what options are available and what they cost.

Besides the items in your horse chest, you’ll need a halter, feed bucket, and a blanket for very cold weather, and a saddle, saddle pad, and bridle if you intend to ride. If you take care of these things, they’ll last a long time and won’t be ongoing expenses. You can often find these things used. You’ll also have a few other minor ongoing expenses, like saddle soap, sponges, horse shampoo, fly spray, hoof dressing, a salt lick, and ointment for cuts and scrapes.

Feed and Supplements

Don’t think of high-quality feed and supplements as expenses. Think of them as preventative measures against racking up huge veterinary bills. Feed is cheaper than a vet visit. And, it’s actually pretty interesting to research equine nutrition, apply it, and watch it slowly create positive, healthy change in your horse. However, it takes time and patience to see the results, in particular, when using supplements. If you’re supplementing for a shiny coat or strong hooves, you’ll have to wait for all the new growth to see the results.

Hay is a horse’s most basic need because they evolved having free access to endless amounts of forage. Grazing all day is what their stomachs have evolved to do. When a horse is only fed once or twice a day without access to pasture, its stomach still produces enough acid to digest grass all day long. Without a constant flow of roughage through its system, a horse can get ulcers or colic. A great way to mitigate this is to get a slow-feeder hay net. Your horse can only pull a few straws at a time though the small holes, which cuts down on stomach distress, and alleviates boredom.

Unless your horse is working hard—galloping and sweating on a regular basis—it doesn’t really need grain. A diet that’s too rich is actually not desirable, and creates health problems of its own. Barring special dietary needs, like pregnancy, underweight, age, or certain health issues, more hay is probably a better option than adding grain. Consult your vet to see what your horse needs.

As for supplements, you can spend a small fortune on prepackaged or premixed supplements. You can do some research and find out what the key ingredients are, buy them individually, and just feed those—usually much more cheaply than buying the prepackaged option. That’s my approach. Penn gets a whole cocktail of supplements for his various “old man” issues. I get his supplements online in bulk, and discovered that supplements for horses are sometimes way more expensive than the same product packaged for people, and that the people products work just fine. Just check the label carefully to make sure it’s the same thing. You don’t always have to go straight for the expensive, long-term medication. With some research, trial and

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