Horse care

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

In a narrower sense, horse care refers to the care of the coat and hooves of horses , which usually takes place before and after work, as well as the bringing out (cleaning out) of a horse for a tournament . In a broader sense, this also includes keeping, feeding and taking care of the movement of the animals.

Horse care in the broader sense is the subject of the apprenticeship horse manager with a focus on horse keeping and service . There is also the profession of animal keeper . At major tournaments, riders and drivers are accompanied by professional grooms who take care of the animals and provide the horses and equipment for the start.

Horses groom each other's fur by scratching each other's mane and scratching in inaccessible places. The social grooming is very important for horses and has a relaxing effect. Also, the rolling is the natural grooming.

Reasons for grooming horses

Metal welding knife

Horses, ponies , mules , donkeys and other equines need human care for good health and a long life when the people held are. A stable horse should, if possible, be groomed and groomed daily before and after work. Daily care contributes to the well-being of the horse. When grooming and brushing, the muscles are massaged and thus loosened. A horse that grazes daily needs less grooming.

The main reasons for daily grooming include:

  • Improving skin and coat health
  • lower likelihood of various health problems such as thrush , mildew , sweet itch and inflamed wounds
  • Prevention and removal of chafing points in the saddle position and belt position
  • Checking the health of the horse: Injuries, scabies or warm spots, swelling, lameness, loose or missing horseshoes or changed behavior (fatigue, restlessness) and various other signs of illness can be noticed.
  • Promotion of the relationship between horse and human, building of trust and basic education of foals
  • Bringing out a horse for a tournament, contest, or parade.

Cleaning supplies

A harrow made of iron, rubber or plastic is used to loosen the dirt so that it can then be brushed away with the grooming brush .

The mane brush is a hard root brush and is used for mane and tail care. The mane comb is used to comb the mane.

Sponges are used to clean the eyes, nostrils and genitals.

After work, the sweat is drawn off with the welding knife .

With fly spray or vinegar, annoying insects can be kept away at least temporarily in summer.

Grooming

shorn horses

The fur is groomed with a harrow and grooming brush. This not only removes the dirt, but also massages the muscles and promotes blood circulation. Usually the harrow is circular and the grooming brush is used to clean in the direction of the fur. The legs are cleaned with the brush.

To wash

In summer, wet sweaty horses can be hosed down with a hose and then pulled off with a welding knife. After riding , the sweaty saddle can be wiped away with a sponge and a bucket of water. The legs can also be cooled with the hose or the hooves can be placed in a bucket of water. The cold water promotes blood circulation and helps cool the horse down. In summer it is also possible to hose a horse that is encrusted with mud.

Scissors

In winter, horses grow thick fur that keeps them warm. Many horses are sheared in winter so that they don't sweat so quickly at work. A sweaty horse with thick fur takes a long time (half an hour to a full hour or more) to dry. During this time there is a risk that the horse will catch a cold. Therefore you have to move it during this time ( dry riding ), warm it ( horse solarium ) or cover it with a sweat blanket. However, this must be removed again after drying because sweat rugs are not suitable for being worn in the stable or on the pasture. There are also grazing ceiling with semi-permeable membrane , under which the horse can abschwitzen; however, these are comparatively expensive.

To avoid these problems one can shear the horse. Then it sweats less or not at all and dries accordingly faster. Shorn horses, however, must be protected from the cold and rain with blankets and, depending on the shear, may only be covered at work after they have been ridden off , when they are already warm.

Stress, age, illness or injury can also make a horse blanket necessary.

Hooves

scratched hoof: can be checked for injuries

Hoof care is especially important for the horse. Inadequate hoof care can lead to a number of problems. Hooves must be cut out after four to ten weeks, otherwise they will grow too long and the tendons will be overloaded. A healthy diet and a clean box are very important for the health of the hoof. Too much ammonia from urine in the litter, moisture and dirt often leads to thrush .

Scrape out hooves

A hoof pick is used to clear out the hooves. Earth, stones and manure are removed from the sole of the hoof. Removing manure and sludge will help prevent thrush, which in severe cases can lead to lameness . Stones in the hoof can lead to ulcers or abscesses , which also cause lameness. The hoof scraper can also be used in winter to remove puffed-up snow that prevents the horse from walking. The cleaned hoof can be examined for stab wounds, such as kicked nails, which can cause severe lameness.

Grease hooves

Horses that do not have access to pasture and are mostly ridden on clay courts often have too dry hooves that become brittle. Hoof fat is used to retain moisture in the hoof after the hooves have been washed. This makes the hoof more elastic, which in turn prevents cracks in the horn. There is black and colorless hoof grease, which is usually applied according to the natural hoof color. In the case of thrush, the hoof can also be protected against moisture with the help of hoof tar.

mane

The mane serves as weather protection and to scare away insects. The mane brush or a wide-toothed comb are used to untangle the mane. The mane can be left as it grows naturally. This is particularly common with ponies, Frisians or Arabs . To braid the mane for the tournament, however, it is more practical if the mane is twisted, that is, if the hair that is too long is torn out. Pulling out mane hair is painless for the horse. In some horses, the mane is not only warped, i.e. shortened and thinned, but also shorn so short that the mane stands. Fjord horses often have a standing mane.

tail

  • Tail shortened

  • braided tail

  • Polo pony with a tied-in tail

  • cropped tail

young Arab, eye area oiled
Show Arabs, highlighter all over the head, most of the hair shaved (black spots)

The horse's tail serves to scare away insects and to keep the rear part dry and warm. The tail is hand-picked strand by strand, burrs and straw are removed. It can also be brushed, but mostly hair is pulled out with it. Pulling tail hairs is painful for the horse. The tail is usually shortened so that it ends a hand's breadth above the fetlock joint so that the horse does not step on it. For optical reasons, the tail is clipped sideways for the tournament so that it looks less scruffy. Instead, it can also be woven in. In the past, the tail of draft horses was often docked so that it didn't get caught in the harness , today it is braided. In polo horses , the tail is tied in so that it cannot wrap around the polo bat.

dental care

Some horses have to have their teeth ground smooth once a year. The wild horse eats structure-rich food all day long, which wears down the teeth evenly. The domesticated horse is fed concentrated feed. It wears its teeth less and sometimes less evenly. This can lead to sharp protrusions on the teeth that cause pain for the horse when chewing. In this case, it can no longer grind the roughage well and can even make it thin as a result. Then the teeth have to be ground down accordingly.

show

Horses are usually elaborately prepared for presentation at shows. Among other things, the eye area is often rubbed with oil so that the eyes look more expressive, the awns on the underside of the head ("goatee") and hair that protrude from the ears are cut and, depending on the breed, the faeces are shorn. However, whiskers and eyelashes must not be shortened.

swell