HOOVES
How often your horse will need to see a farrier will depend on a number of things. Are you going to leave your horse barefoot or have shoes on it? How strong are your horses hooves and how fast do they grow? Does your horse have any problems with it’s hooves – has it foundered in the past, is it lame, does it need corrective shoeing?

Each horse is different, so the best thing to do is ask around, find a good farrier and consult them as to your horses needs. But as a very rough guide, assume that if you wish to have shoes on your horse, you will need to see a farrier approximately 6 weekly.

TEETH
If you have just purchased a new horse and the previous owner was unable to tell you when the horse’s teeth were last seen by a horse dentist, then it is worth getting them checked. Or if you have a horse that is struggling to maintain condition on good feed, tosses its head a lot while being ridden or seems to be bothered by having a bit in its mouth, then it is worth asking a horse dentist to check them. Once the horses teeth have been done, a yearly check should be sufficient.

WORMING
It is a good idea to worm your horse every 3 months. Make sure you use the correct dose of worm paste, and if you have more than one horse, treat all horses in the same group at the same time.

If you have a foal, begin worming at around 4 – 6 weeks of age and worm 6 weekly until after weaning. After this time 3 monthly worming is fine. Check that the worm paste you use is suitable for foals.

FEEDING
The feed you give to your horse will depend on the grazing you have available (in some cases this may be sufficient all year round, although most people need to supplement their horses feed during winter), the work your horse is doing and your horses age and ability to maintain condition. While hay may be sufficient as a supplement for many horses, horses that are in work or naturally struggle to maintain condition will require hard feeding as well. The easiest way to work out your horses feed requirements is to consult an experienced horse person.

As a general rule of thumb, your horse should maintain a weight that means that you cannot see its ribs, but should not be carrying so much weight that you cannot feel its ribs.

FIRST AID KIT
Hopefully this is something you will never need to use, but a basic first aid kit is good to have available. Basic items you can include are: an iodine based disinfectant solution, wound powder, anti-adhesive wound dressings, gamgee, co-hesive bandages and scissors to cut the dressings. If your horse is paddocked where there are wire fences it is also wise to have wire cutters on hand.