Horse Training Source

Having a horse that is anxious or under stress is not uncommon.  The source can be just about anything.  From a prior owner, a physical ailment that you haven’t uncovered or just plain nervous genes.  Sometimes it can be as simple as a deficiency in Magnesium.  What’s so important about this is that having an anxious horse can make riding very uncomfortable and even dangerous.

Many horse owners now give their horses equine calming supplements.   These come in many forms and some are much more controversial than others.  Magnesium supplements are one and can help your horse by relaxing muscles, slowing heart rate, and slowing down the absorption of sugars in the digestive system.    Different equine Calming Pastes generally contain Magnesium, among other things and are popular products.

There is also an Herbal Blend for Mares that is a supplement designed to regulate your mares cycle and smooth aggression, irritability and mood swings that can accompany it.   Strictly Equine Ease Up is made of natural ingredients of Magnesium, Taurine, Thiamine, B1 and Inositaol to bring on calming in your horse.    Valerian Root is the main ingredient in Riva’s Calm and Cool, which is designed to cure long term stress.

The use of Trytophan to calm horses is something that is still being studied and questioned.  Trytophan is an amino acid that the body uses to build seratonin, that essentially will make us less fearful and stressed.  Works well in people, dogs, pigs, and even fish.  Horses?  Not so sure about that yet.    What has been shown is that high doses of Tryptophan will negatively affect a horses’ endurance level.

If you do have a nervous or stressed out horse, there are things that you can do to help.  However, it’s important that you first consult your horses’ vet before starting any of these supplements, particularly to be sure that there isn’t a physical element to the stress and anxiety that you need to address.  Once you do that, you can both be on the road to calmer ride.

Horses experience many of the similar problems as we do, for example bruise and scrapes, but other than these, they face many problems that are more intricate too. For example—foot swelling, urine-trenched tail, wounds, bug bites, sting nettles and much more. In the olden times, experienced equestrians had their own-patented techniques to take care of their horses in their stables. Nowadays the equestrians have adapted these traditional home remedies. Below are some of them.

Home Remedies for your Horse

1. Vinegar- The horse owners are generally sick of the yellow, urine sopping tail on their pretty white horse. Not all the pricey bluing shampoo available removes the stains completely. Vinegar is the best home remedy for horse facing this problem. Drench the tail in white plain vinegar for just 5 minutes, prior to washing and taming it normally. You will notice some bubbles there, which are actually cutting down the stains of urine, resulting in the nice white tail. Vinegar is very good for the hair, and contributes to a sparkly, better tail! Using vinegar weekly may help to avert urine from being too entrenched on the tail.
   Vinegar is not only good for the hairs but also very helpful for the horses having stones in their intestines (enteroliths). A cup of Vinegar Apple Cider mixed in the food twice a day helps reducing the pH level, and reduce the stone formation.
   Vinegar is a natural insect repellant. Vinegar when added in food or sprayed directly on the horse acts as a wonderful natural insect repellent.

2.  WD-40- The wonderful rust-buster has a glut of horse related uses. When sprayed into the mane or tail, WD-40 works as a great detangle, and works far better than most expensive products available in the market. A little bit of WD-40 when sprayed directly into tangled areas makes brushing very easy through the tangles. Be careful using WD-40 before riding- it is a bit slippery so the reins may slip off your hands.

3. Clorox Bleach- One of the most importunate hoof associated problems known to horse owners is Thrush. There are several products available in the market to conflict thrush, but they are very expensive.  Old-time equestrians generally recommend bleach as a good home remedy for horse owners to combat thrush. When bleach is dispensed into a spray bottle and sprayed a thin coat of it to a clean, selected hoof once every day for several days it helps in eradicating thrush quickly. Application of bleach weekly helps to prevent other problems also. Beware bleach’s contact to the horse’s skin may cause sting and burn.

4. Sugar- There are several creams, salves, and sprays that are easily obtainable and helpful to combat horse wounds, and everybody has their own preferred product. For obstinate, infected wounds, natural white sugar application on the wound may help to fight infection, and fast healing. The sugar is effective in changing the pH of the wound, formulating an unfriendly environment for bacteria, which helps to clear out necrotic tissue and help in healing wounds. Thus, sugar acts as a great home remedy for horses.

5. Diapers- Foot swelling is a frustrating problem, which often needs days and weeks of vigilant treatment, along with bandaging as it heals to keep the foot clean. Instead of squandering money on dressing material such as the elastikon and vet wrap, wrap a kid’s diaper to the base of the foot with the duct tape. The diaper will keep medications and poultices in place stay for long time than regular bandage material, and the additional padding will help the foot be more at ease as it heals.

Summary–

However, your local tack store is the good source for all the necessary things you horse need, but these home remedies can save you money, time, and may resolve the common horse-related troubles. Try these time-tested remedies rather than reaching for the pricey bottle-, you will note that these works better.

All the above-mentioned home remedies for horses help you look after your horse at the same time avoiding expensive trips to the veterinarian for small problems.

Horse Home Remedies

in need of a good home remedy for keeping insects off horses?

flies, mosquitos, etc!

Mix equal parts of water, skin so soft and apple cider vinegar. Put in a spray bottle and spray on your horse daily.

Horse riding could be an unharmed and exceptionally pleasing hobby if the rider follows the riding safety measures to minimize risks. However, by knowing the riding safety rules, the risk of injury can be reduced to a great extent.

Riders must be aware of the highway rules and evade busy or main roads if possible. Horses are very impulsive and if your rein is loose, it may lead to a mishap.

Riding Lessons

Untrained riders must first get lessons from a professional trainer.  These lessons may be expensive, but are worth it for riding safely. Until you get the proper riding lessons do not come on the traffic road to ride.

Road Position

Riders must ride on the left side of the road, and must never ride more than two side by side. Riding two abreast is recommended particularly if you are riding an inexperienced or young horse, and the trained horse being almost in centre of the road. There must always be a space equal to a horse’s length between every horse being ridden after another. Riders must not ride on bridleway but can ride on grass porches if local state laws do not forbid it.

Hazards

Keep an eye on the traffic behind you and constantly listen and look for hazards that may panic the horse. Gratuitous hazards must be avoided by taking a diversion if feasible so as not to distress the horse.

Turning and Junctions

Riders must always be on the left side of the road even when reaching a junction and planning to turn towards right. Always look at the traffic and give signal before turning to any direction to specify your intention. When indicating your plan to turn right or left make sure that your belt is in the hand which remains on the reins and clutch your other arm out straight for 3 seconds so that adjoining traffic are able to see your the signal clearly. Always pay attention to the traffic and be ready to stop at a turn before turning if needed.

Additional Signals

You may require some additional signal at times, mainly if the rider is facing some problem with the horse. Hold out your right arm and wave it up and down slowly, this signifies an impending driver to slow down, while the arm out showing the palm of the hand with fingers pointing upwards indicates the car driver that the rider wants him to stop.

Always Wear a Helmet

Wearing a well-fitted and certified horse-riding helmet is a major aspect of riding safety.  Horse riding helmets are different from the bicycle helmets, as these are designed in such a manner to save the back of your head. The horse riding accidents mostly result in a back head injury.

Stirrup Safety

To protect your foot from tripping through the stirrups wear a boot with a good heel. If you cannot get your foot free during an accident, you may be dragged appallingly. You can use riding safety stirrups like the break away stirrup, toe stirrup or the peacock stirrup as some additional dragging precautions.

Horse Riding Safety

Mary King Horse riding safety tips