Keeping Your Horse Healthy and Happy
Dr. Madalyn Ward, DVM
Holistic Horsekeeping info@holistichorsekeeping.com http://www.holistichorsekeeping.com
If you’re into holistic and natural care for your horse, getting all your needs met in a boarding situation can require quite a bit of planning and forethought, not to mention tact and diplomacy! To help you get the most out of your boarding situation, we’ve created a list of the hot topics that are usually in contention between horse owners and stable owners, and listed possible ways to keep everyone happy in each situation.
Feed
As a horse owner, you want your horse to receive the type and amount of feed most suited to his needs, which might change from season to season. A stable owner, on the other hand, is more interested in having standard feeding procedures, not a different kind of food for every horse. There isn’t a lot of money to be made in boarding horses, and they don’t want to pay for the extra labor needed to feed each horse a specific program or for the extra feed needed for thin horses. Plus, extra feedings in the middle of the day often disrupts the barn schedule, causing undue exciting in the horses that are not being fed.Solution:
Since most stable owners charge just enough board to cover their expenses, asking them to supply extra or special food at special times is asking a lot. What you can do is offer to pay extra for special food or special feedings, including tipping the stable hands for their time. You can also bring your own feed daily and take your horse to an isolated location and feed him extra. This ensures that your horse is getting what he needs, but isn’t disrupting the other horses.Feed Supplements
As with the feed, you want your horse to get whatever supplements he needs, which often change over time. A stable owner considers extra supplements to mean extra work, however, and may be less than willing to feed them. Extra supplements mean extra time, plus many stable owners may not understand all the reasons you feed supplements.Solution:
Be understanding of the stable owner’s point of view, and try to educate them as much as possible (tactfully, of course!). In addition, make the job as easy as possible. Put each day’s or each feeding’s supplements into film canisters or containers so all the stable hand has to do is dump it in the feed. You can also feed Essentials supplements from Cell Tech, which come pre-packaged. Finally, check out Smart Pack Equine, a company that will package any supplements you choose into daily packs. Visit their website at http://www.smartpackequine.com. Remember that it is your job to keep track of the supplements. Count them to make sure they are being given in the right amounts, and keep the supply constant. The stable owner shouldn’t have to track you down to get more!Hay
As a horse owner, you want your horse to get as much as they can. Hay is great for your horse’s physical and emotional health. But for a stable owner, stocking large quantities of hay is difficult because it requires a significant cash outlay and a lot of extra space. Stable owners would rather pay for grain weekly and feed more grain, less hay.Solution:
If your horse lives in a corral or has a stall with a run, buy round bales so your horse can munch anytime. Some barn owners will also feed more hay if you pay extra. Finally, you can always bring your own. Some stable owners will let you keep a bale of hay in front of your horse’s stall, and will even feed extra hay at mealtimes. Remember to always express your appreciation and pay extra (to both stable owner and barn help) when necessary.Turnout
As with hay, the more turnout your horse gets the better. From the stable owner’s point of view, though, lots of turnout isn’t always a possibility. They might have limited space, not to mention limited staff. Plus, footing may be an issue, and horses may be kept in when it’s raining because wet pastures are easily torn up by horse hooves.Solution:
First, always choose a boarding situation that offers turnout. Second, you may be able to pasture board your horse (assuming your horse can fend for himself in a herd situation). Pasture board isn’t a good solution if you horse is a hard keeper or doesn’t do well in groups. Third, you can pay someone to turn your horse out for you if the barn owner doesn’t want to do it. Finally, if your horse doesn’t get as much turnout as you’d like, you can always ride him more to compensate. Note: While in the past pasture board was cheaper than stall board, with increasing land values this isn’t always true anymore. With many stables located in suburban areas, land values can be as much as $20,000 per acre, which means that pasture board can cost the same or more than stall board. Also, the more places the barn has for exercising horses (arenas, pastures and round pens), the more you’re going to pay in board, even if you don’t use all the facilities. Shop around to find the place that best fits your horse’s needs and your budget.Use of Natural Remedies
As a holistic horse owner, you have absolute say in the type of medications and healthcare your horse receives (it’s the same rights you have as a patient in a hospital). Many stable owners are less inclined to use natural remedies because they don’t understand how they work and they are often under pressure from the stable veterinarian to use conventional methods.Solution:
Stand your ground. You have the right to choose what kind of healthcare your horse receives. However, because probably neither the stable owner nor the stable vet understands how these natural remedies work, you’re going to have to provide this kind of care yourself or be available to give instructions. For instance, if your horse gets sick, be prepared to leave work or dinner to go take care of him. Give the stable owner all your phone numbers so you can be maximally available. You might also need to leave instructions for natural remedies and a time period in which they should work for times when you’re not available. The stable owner will usually do her best to accommodate you, then switch to conventional medicine if the natural remedies are not working fast enough. If you’re not available, you have to be willing to accept whatever treatment the stable owner deems necessary.
Farrier and Veterinarian
As a horse owner, you may want to use a different farrier or veterinarian than the stable owner. You’re interested in custom services from a professional of your choice. In contrast, the stable owner wants to deal with one farrier and one veterinarian for convenience.Solution:
You have the right to bring in the farrier and veterinarian of your choice so long as you schedule your own appointments and show up to hold your horse (and pay for the services). If you’re unwilling to take these steps, then you’re more than likely going to have to accept the barn owner’s choices of farrier and veterinarian.Blanketing
If you live in an area that experiences cold weather, you may want your horse blanketed during the winter months. Because blanketing and unblanketing takes a lot of time and manpower, most barn owners charge an extra fee for this service. Plus, they usually blanket and unblanket all horses at the same time, not necessarily when you want your horse blanketed.Solution:
As with most situations described in this article, paying the barn help or someone else to blanket and unblanket your horse when you want it done is probably the easiest solution. If you go out to the barn regularly or live close by, you can also do it yourself.Vaccinations
As a horse owner, you’re interested in supporting your horse’s immune system with natural methods, and have concerns about the safety and effectiveness of vaccines. You want to use as few vaccines as possible. The stable owner, on the other hand, is concerned about protecting all the horses in the barn using a standard procedure. Most stable owners feel that vaccines are both harmless and effective, and prefer to vaccinate all the horses at once (since this is truly the most effective way to vaccinate). They feel that horse owners who don’t want vaccinations just want to save money. Custom vaccination programs can cause complications in record keeping, not to mention headaches with the stable veterinarian.Solution:
Choose the middle ground. Agree to a minimum of vaccines rather than refusing all vaccines. Allow vaccinations for the most dangerous diseases, such as encephalitis, tetanus, and rabies. If you have a chronically ill horse or a horse with a poor immune system, ask your own veterinarian to write a letter stating that vaccinations could be harmful to the horse. If the barn owner insists on vaccinating, you have two options: move your horse, or get the barn owner to agree to pay for any problems arising from vaccinating your horse (since the labels on vaccines state that they should only be given to healthy animals). It’s a rare barn owner who will agree to this, but it does make a point.Titers:
If you truly want to avoid vaccines, you can have titers done to show that your horse is already protected from certain diseases from previous vaccinations (some vaccines create a lifelong immunity). Titers are especially important for rabies. A negative titer doesn’t mean your horse isn’t protected, and a positive one shows that he absolutely is protected. Titers are less reliable for influenza and rhinopneumonitis. A titer is an extra step you can take to help convince the barn owner that you are not just trying to save money, since a titer costs more than the vaccine.Final Note:
Once you’ve chosen your vaccines, make sure you’re really getting what you want. If you choose to give the influenza vaccine, give the intranasal version, which gives year long immunity rather than just 2 month immunity. Also, if you choose to give only tetanus and encephalitis, make sure you’re not also getting rhino or flu in the package, too. Some vets will charge less for just 2 vaccines, but actually give a vaccine for all four.Solution
In general, the way to work with your barn owner to resolve most situations boils down to:Educate, compromise, and, when necessary, pay extra!