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Horse Basics

Virtually Horses

When deciding to buy a horse, one of the first decisions you will need to make (and have sorted out prior to accepting delivery of your new horse) is how and where you are going to keep it.

There are two basic options when keeping a horse - either at grass or stabled. Either of these options may be leased or owned and there may be combinations of the two.  This section looks at the alternatives and some of the decisions you need to make.

In New Zealand the most common method of keeping a horse is 'at grass'. This means that your horse will live in a paddock 24 hours a day, in all seasons.  This may be on your own property, if you are lucky enough to live on a farm or lifestyle block, or it may be on leased grazing, frequently shared with others. Facilities available will vary greatly from property to property and so will the price.
 

The paddocks need to be kept clean and tidy with a good clean water supply.  Even self-filling troughs need to be checked and cleaned out.  Fences need to be checked for damage regularly and the paddock should be checked for poisonous plants, rubbish and other potential problems.  All horses sharing the paddocks should be wormed at the same time or the horses pulled out to be wormed in a separate area (and kept there for 12-36hrs).

The horses will need to have their rugs checked for breakages and rips and changed for the weather conditions  In the winter you will probably need to feed out hay (daily) and possibly hard-feed as well to keep your horse warm and in good condition.  In a shared paddock you will need to co-ordinate hay feeding with the other owners as it is simply not possible to feed out hay to a single horse.

How Much Land do you require for a horse?

If you have your own land and are considering purchasing a horse or pony you may be wondering whether you have enough land?  There are a couple of things to consider when answering this question.

• If you only have enough land to support a single horse, how happy will he\she be? 

  Remember that horses are herd animals and are frequently very unhappy if forced to live alone.  Some may accept a sheep, goat or more likely a small pony as a paddock mate.  Many horse will develop vices (anxiety illnesses) without contact with other horses.

  If you do get a second horse or pony as a paddock mate, some horses can become very dependent upon this sole companion.  If this is your first horse (or now your first two horses), are you able to deal with this situation?  Will you be able to choose a horse that will happily live on its own when you are buying?
   

• Do you expect the land to provide all nutritional and exercise requirements for your horse?

  The amount and type of grazing (grasses) available will have some influence on how much land you will need, but more importantly you need to consider how much land will be 'wasted' by the horses trampling the grass.  If you view your land in perfect condition in early summer, you may think this is a mad concept, but in the depths of a wet winter you can easily lose 1/2 or more of the available grass through trampling and flooding if the land is low lying and\or clay. 

  The area around gates will usually be lost through trampling and so will a favourite 'loafing' section of the paddock (both horses and cattle will find an area for just 'hanging out' when they are not feeding) and finally don't forget that horses enjoy and need a rolling area and this will take away yet another small area of grazing.

  The size of the paddock(s) and the equipment you have available will determine how you keep your fields clean.  Small paddocks will need to be skipped out (manure removed by hand) while larger ones can be harrowed. 

A rough guide is to allow around 2.5 acres per horse as a minimum, but take all of the factors above into consideration.  If you are willing to feed your horse all year around then you can settle for a smaller area.  However, you will need to carefully manage how you keep the paddocks from degenerating into barren or horse-sick fields. Horses and ponies are picky eaters who will leave coarse grasses, yet they can also suffer from laminitis if put on too rich pastures.  Ideally you should rotate pasture with either sheep or cattle to keep the plant balance or else you will have to manage this additional task too.

Also remember to allow yourself some land set aside for exercising or schooling if you need it and somewhere for hay\feed storage.  Hay storage can require a reasonable sized shed\barn.  A single ave horse will need approx. 2 biscuits\slices of hay per day over winter with grass and some hard feed on work days.  This means approx 5-6 bales per month, so you may need to store 20-30 bales for a winters feeding per horse.  Allow more if the land is very limited, covered in snow or does not provide grass for other reasons - in this case allow about 1/2 bale of hay per day (about 5 biscuits\slices).
 

When keeping a horse stabled, you must keep it clean and ensure that your horse has clean water and hay at all times.  You must also be responsible for the horses physical and mental fitness providing exercise, entertainment and social activities.

Stabled horses are highly likely to develop vices such as weaving and cribbing and in some extreme cases can become highly territorial about their stable, biting and lunging at those who enter or becoming afraid of the outside world. There is also a higher likelihood of disease, especially airway related and hoof and leg damage when worked (since the limbs aren't being constantly worked and hardened in a natural setting).

Stables should be at least 2.5 metres high and should have a floor area of at least 12 square metres (for horses) or 9 square metres (for ponies and donkeys). They must be constructed and maintained to be secure and to minimise any risk of injury. Windows and lights should have solid mesh protectors.  Good drainage and ventilation are needed, and fire fighting equipment should be kept close at hand. Clean bedding, such as straw or wood shavings, should line the floor of the stable and must be changed regularly and often.  Although your horse is protected from the worst weather he is unable to move to keep warm, so you will need to rug appropriately for the temperature.

Livery

Depending on where you live, you may also have the option of putting your horse into 'livery'.  Livery options will vary from basic - 'tending' to a horse kept on the property (checking the health and rugs of the horse and perhaps feeding hay in winter), right through to full livery - where you are paying for the horse to be fed, exercised, checked daily, perhaps stabled and generally looked after ready for you to ride when you want.

If you are considering any forms of livery you will want to make sure that you are getting what you pay for.  Check that all of the facilities are well kept and free of 'horsie' hazards such as broken fences.  Make an unscheduled spot inspection before you sign up and perhaps a month afterwards to check that things are as they appear.  Talk to others already using the livery.

• Take a look at the paddocks - are they well cared for ? Or full of dock and buttercup indicating that they have had too many horses for too long.
• If your horse will be stabled or boxed for any of the time, is it in good condition? Big and airy or small and dark? Can your horse see and communicate with other horses when stabled?  How long will your horse be stabled each day?  How often will the stable be cleaned out, fresh water checked, and your horse fed?
• Be clear on who, how and how often your horse will exercised, if that is part of the deal.
• Are you expected to pay for additional feed? Hay? Or is the price all inclusive?
• What staff are on hand? What is their horse experience? Is anyone vet trained?
• What are the rules regarding calling in a vet, farrier or even you in the case of an emergency i.e. what is an emergency?
• Make sure you agree up front under what circumstances  your horse may be put down.  This sounds shocking and perhaps unthinkable, but if your horse is injured make sure that you have agreed who will make decisions about the horse if you can't be contacted and how long you can be out of contact for before the livery manager takes over.
• If there is a dispute, do you feel like you can talk it through with the manager\owner?
• When you go to ride your horse what are the rules regarding allocation of facilities such as arenas? Do you have to book, share?
• Is there somewhere secure you can store your tack, feed and other bits and pieces.
• What are the horse training philosophies of the people running the livery? This last one may sound a little odd, but if you have brought up or trained your horse with NH techniques and the livery owner is fervently against it, you can expect clashes.

Cost: Cost of Livery is expensive in comparison to most other forms of horse keeping - the only more expensive option being purchasing land to keep your horse on yourself. In Auckland you can expect to pay anywhere between $115 per week for part livery and $185pw for full livery service.

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