Horse care and management

Weight

Estimating actual and ideal bodyweight of adult horses

• Determining a horse's bodyweight is important for managing weight, nutrition and health.
• Make use of improved equations that help predict bodyweight accurately.

Guidelines for weight-carrying capacity of horses

• Conformation, fitness, activity level and equipment affect the weight-carrying capacity of horses.

Conformation

Conformation of the horse

• Conformation refers to the shape or structure of a horse, and it can impact a horse's athletic ability.
• A horse can move best with a short back and long neck.
• Correct legs structure can improve desired performance and reduce lameness.

Caring for your horse's hooves

• How often your horse's feet should be trimmed or shod.
• How nutrition impacts hooves.
• Learn about common problems such as cracks.

Selecting a farrier for your horse

• Routine hoof care is essential to your horse’s health. 
• Horses usually need a trim every 6 to 8 weeks.

Learn how to deal with hoof problems, such as an abscess.

Preparing for disaster

• Be prepared. Have a first aid kit, evacuation plan and other essentials ready in the event severe weather, fire or other emergencies.
• Learn ways to prevent barn fires.

Preventing hay fires

• Proper moisture at baling is the single biggest hay fire risk factor.
• Baled hay becomes a potential fire hazard when the temperature inside the bale doesn’t decline.

How to care for your horses during Minnesota’s "stay-at-home" order and COVID-19 restrictions provides timely information on caring for your horses during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Download these forms to help you plan for emergencies

• Operations Contingency Plan for Privately Owned Horse Farms
• Operations Contingency Plan for Horse Boarding or Training Farms
  • Fillable PDFs to outline essential livestock care if you or your managers experience illness, injury, or another emergency when you may need outside people to provide care.
  • These contingency plans cover essential care only. They are not comprehensive care plans.
  • Use the appropriate form to complete your farm’s Operations Contingency Plan.

Constructing and managing a horse carcass compost pile

• When managed properly, composting can be an environmentally friendly and low-cost option for carcass disposal.
• You can use the end product of carcass composting as a soil addition in agricultural fields or flower gardens.

Coping with the loss of a horse

• If you are working through a loss, treat yourself kindly and find others who can do the same.
• If you know of someone who is grieving a horse, reach out, even in small ways, to let them know you are available to listen.

Horse carcass disposal

• Legal options in Minnesota include burial, composting and cremation.

Horse biosecurity tips for peak riding season

• Biosecurity measures are key to keeping your horse healthy while traveling during the show and trail season.
• Vaccinating your horse, keeping equipment and facilities clean and avoiding contact with other horses are all good biosecurity practices.

Managing and composting horse manure

• Good composting locks in the nutrients, speeds up the breakdown, and kills weed seeds and fly larvae.
• Don’t spread manure on pastures with more than one horse per two acres.

Managing mud on horse farms

• Taking preventative measures to manage mud on the farm can save time and keep horses healthy.

Cleaning water and tanks

• Be sure horses have clean water to drink by disinfecting water tanks.
• Learn how often to clean your water tank.

Caring for your horse in winter

• How to prepare your horse and facilities for winter.
• How to adjust feed and water.
• Horse blanketing strategies.

Caring for horses during hot weather

• Tips to keep your horses cool and comfortable.
• How to cool an overheated horse and recognize dehydration or other issues.

Caring for your senior horse

• Many horses and ponies can live into their 20s or 30s with good health care. 
• As horses age, their health needs change. Thus, you should change your care to meet your senior horse’s developing needs.

Common flies around horses and how to control them

• Learn about common flies in Minnesota.
• Learn what works and what doesn't in controlling flies around your horses. 

How effective are fly protectants for horses?

• We reviewed which products best help horses avoid flies including sprays, leggings and leg wraps. 

Fly control basics

More detailed fly control information

• Lifecycle of flies and how to interrupt it

• Fly control options

• Research update

Unwanted behaviors and vices

• Common examples include cribbing, biting and weaving.
• Horses sometimes pick up unwanted behaviors from past events.
• While these behaviors may never stop, we have some tips to manage horses with unwanted behaviors.