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Horse Care Basics – Part 4

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The final part of Horse Care Basics discusses tips on hoof care, rugging horses, managing flies, cooling down your horse after exercising and sleeping habits of horses. make sure you’ve read Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3 for more useful tips on how to care for your horse.

Keep the flies away

During summer, many irritating flies may disturb your animal. Flies are hard to control but here are some tips:

  • Remove manure from the paddock or stall as excrements attract flies.
  • Put a fly mask on your horse to protect his eyes. Fly masks must be removed at night as they obstruct the horse’s vision, and may lead the horse to run into objects and hurt himself.
  • Use natural fly spray or ointment with Neem oil and various essential oils like Citronella and Cajeput. It is best to avoid chemicals but if you have to use them, then choose one that is safe for humans. If you read on the container that you have to wear protective gear and must not have the product in contact with your skin, then wonder for a minute what damages it will cause to your horse!
  • You may need to rug your horse, especially if he has an allergic reaction to insect bites. There are some fly mesh rugs that, as the name says, are designed to keep flies biting the horse.

Rugging horses

It is generally not necessary to rug horses as they will naturally adapt to the weather. Their body regulates their temperature by producing more heat for extra warmth or sweat to cool down. However, sometimes putting a rug on your horse may be recommended. read more

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Raising Chickens – The Basics

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Chickens have long been kept by humans for various reasons. These reasons range from simple domestication for the purpose of egg production and a constant meat source, to the stranger ones such as for companionship. If the idea of rearing a chicken has crossed your mind, it might be good to know some extra pointers about caring for chickens before you start.

First of all, you would have to decide between picking either a hen or a rooster. Of course, for those of you who would like to have more than 1 chicken, you can always opt for both. However, hens offer much more benefits in terms of value since they also provide a constant supply of eggs. One thing you should also note is that hens do not require roosters to lay eggs. Additionally, roosters are very noisy and tend to be far more aggressive and rowdy as compared to hens, which are usually more docile and well-mannered. Also, though you might only need 1 chicken as a pet, chickens are rather social animals and prefer to have the company of some other members of their species around. Going by that, it is advisable to keep at least 2 or more chickens in order to keep them happy. Of course, before you decide how many chicken you want to keep, ensure you check the regulation with your local council. In some urban areas, roosters are not allowed. In both rural and urban areas, there are land requirements that must be met before you can have your chickens. read more

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Goat Care Basics

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Goat-raising and caring can be a lot of fun because goats have peculiar characteristics that set them apart from other farm animals. Goats can be exciting pets and perfect for business. Goat care is actually quite simple. All it takes is patience and the love of goats.

The Goat Family

The male is called a Buck. Males have a strong odour which can be quite unpleasant to humans but very attractive to the female goat the Doe. However, if bucks are left with does, this musky smell will affect the milk which will produce a specific odour. Their off-springs are simply called Kids. read more

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Horse Care Basics – Part 3

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Part 1 of Horse Care Basics was about horse behaviour, Part 2 about stable management, grooming and training. Part 3 tips on horse care are dear to my heart as I am passionate about equine nutrition.

I hope this summarised information regarding feeding horses will be valuable to you and your horse.

Horse feeding

Horses are creatures of habit. Their life is made of events which repeat every day. This daily routine brings them comfort and safety. Feeding is part of their routine, therefore they must be fed at a fixed time. Having had-oc feeding times cause distress to horses. They become inpatient, and sometimes aggressive. It is even more prominent with a horse who has been starved in the past. Once a feed regime has been established for your horse, it should not have any radical or dramatic changes. The program must be very carefully examined and must be changed gradually only if the horse’s response is not satisfactory such as losing weight, showing signs of extreme hunger or putting on too much weight. Horses have a highly sensitive digestive system which digests a fixed set of food items in a well organised digestive cycle. Any sudden change in the horse’s feed may bring about colic and he may die. The introduction of new food (except hay and chaff), should be spread over a two week period, starting from about 50 g or 50 ml (solid or liquid form feed) the first day to increase to the desired amount at the end of the period. It is important to keep the digestive balance in place. read more

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