Maintaining horses is not an easy job. Every horse owner is familiar with the sensitivities that may make their horses sick and frustrated therefore, they try their best to avoid them. When you have a stable full of horses, you need to be very efficient and proactive in your work to maintain a healthy lifestyle for your horses.
Maintaining a stable can be challenging especially if you are doing it for the first time and you have many horses to care for. If you want to know how to maintain a stable of horses, here are some helpful tips that you should follow.
1. Clean The Stables Regularly
Animals hate dirt and smell as much as we humans do. Do not test the patience of your horses by keeping them in smelly stables. Make sure that you clean the stables regularly to avoid spreading infectious diseases or making your horses furious.
This means that you should consider removing wet and soiled mud and diet from the floor every day. Never leave a stable dirty for days. You should also clean the stalls by removing the manure regularly.
2. Keep Water Tanks Clean
Horses are prone to waterborne diseases. If you are providing dirty drinking water to your horses, they all might fall sick at the same time, therefore making things difficult for you to manage. Always make sure that you are providing clean drinking water to your animals, especially horses.
You should invest in mold-resistant water tanks. Clean the tanks regularly by emptying them and rubbing them thoroughly.
3. Keep Your Horses Warm
You should set an adequate temperature for the stable. During the summer season, make sure that the stable is properly ventilated to avoid getting your horses sick.
You should also make sure to warm your stable during extremely cold weather. You should invest in automatic heaters to heat the place. You should also keep rugs on your horses to prevent them from getting sick.
4. Provide Adequate Hay To All
Invest in large durable hay feeders to keep your horses well-fed. If your horses are living individually, place a haystack in front of each horse at night to give them something to munch on. During winter, horses might get hungry at night and if you place a haystack in front of them, they will feed themselves when required.
You should make sure that you have a proper feeder to provide equal opportunities for all heads to take out an equal amount of food. This will ensure that all horses are eating properly.
5. Groom Your Horses
Your horses need grooming after some time. If you want to maintain your stability, make sure to groom your horses regularly. A well-groomed horse always attracts people. This can be a great opportunity for you as a horse owner to sell one when required.
Grooming horses includes washing your horse, cutting hair, and cleaning the hooves. Take each foot one by one and clean it thoroughly. Grooming will also keep your horses healthy.