As summer heats up, you’re probably seeing more articles on the critical problem of heat stress or heat exhaustion for you horse. Signs can include elevated temperature, rapid pulse, rapid breathing and/or dehydration. But unless you know your horse’s healthy vital signs, you might miss a real emergency. So let’s review a horse’s T-P-R, I.e. their normal, relaxed temperature, pulse and respiration. We’ve also included a reminder on how to check for dehydration.

Think of pasture management as “grass farming” - grasses are the crop you grow and your horses “harvest”. The difference between a good crop (abundant, high quality grass) and a poor crop (weeds and unappetizing grass) is dependent on good pasture management. These include:

Did you know that your horse can get sunburn and damage his skin just like humans do? And like humans, sunburn can occur even on cloudy days. Light-colored horses and horses with white markings can get quite badly sunburned, especially on the muzzle and around the eyes, and need extra protection. Dark colored horses, however may not be as prone to sunburn, but their coat color can get bleached, turning your beautiful bay to mousy brown.

If you're thinking of adding breeding to your barn business, it’s important to evaluate your current barn and make any changes before you start your breeding program. Here are a few things to think about if you look forward to the patter of little hooves:

Time To Ride was created by the American Horse Council’s Marketing Alliance to encourage the growth of the U.S. horse industry. Their sixth annual National Meet A Horse Day on Saturday, July 20, 2019, is an opportunity to introduce a new generation to the wonder of horses. And you can be a part of it.

Nothing ruins a trip to the barn or a trail ride faster than being inundated by flies or other pests. But there are ways you can minimize them and their impact on your riding time. Try one or several of the following suggestions. An integrated pest control system is the best way to say “bye-bye” to flies.

Unfortunately, summer is a prime time for thefts of tack, tools and even machinery around barns. You can help deter would-be thieves with simple amenities from Classic Equine Equipment like lights, doors and gates.

There are some topics on horse safety that we feel are important enough to bring up every year. Fire survival is one of those topics. As horse owners, we should all know how to keep a fire from starting at our barn.

Hard work and a great horse aren’t the only requirements to make it as a top level rider on the world equestrian stage. You need financial support as well. The United States Equestrian Team (USET) Foundation helps selected athletes achieve their goals by providing resources for the training, coaching, travel, competition and educational needs of athletes and horses in partnership with United States Equestrian (https://www.uset.org), the USA’s equestrian governing body for horse sports.

An equine architect can help translate your barn ideas or plan into reality. Typically, an architect is a person trained and licensed to plan, design, and oversee the construction of buildings and the space within the site surrounding. In the architectural profession; technical knowledge, management, and an understanding of business are just as important as the knowledge of design.