A viewing room often acts as the hub of a barn – it’s a place for riders and others to gather and relax while watching friends or family ride. Your viewing room may also double as a lounge or meeting place. Whatever its purpose, these tips for creating an ideal viewing room can ensure that the room is welcoming and functional.

Now that winter is over (hopefully), you swore that you are not riding in a muddy arena next year.  Whether you want an indoor or an outdoor arena, it's the footing that will make or break how good your arena is for you and your horse.  Good footing is important in reducing the risk of lameness as well as optimizing performance.  Constant wear and tear of the joints from bad footing is a leading cause of soft tissue injuries of muscles, ligaments, and tendons.  In addition, a horse that does not feel secure and safe on footing will not feel comfortable jumping or otherwise performing to the best of his ability.   Below are five things you should consider for the best arena footing for your horse.

For many years, straw was the preferred bedding for most horse owners.   It was dust free, comfortable and easy to compost.  According to Brett Scott, PhD, extension horse specialist at Texas A&M University, straw also made a good bed because it dried well and stayed fairly clean if manure is picked out often, but it was not as absorbent as some other types of bedding.  And was definitely more labor intensive to maintain.  "It can be difficult to clean; you typically have to remove a large amount to clean out the manure and, thus, end up using more total bedding," says Scott. Over the years, several other types of stall bedding have been developed, included shavings and, one of the newest, wood pellet bedding.

The controversy with how to deworm, when to deworm and even IF you should deworm has been loud and heated.  The solutions seem to be either overmedicate (and your horse develops a resistance to dewormers) or don’t deworm at all (and take a chance your horse gets infested).  But there IS happy medium.  Here’s how.

If you are lucky enough to be getting a tax return from the government this year, consider investing at least some of that money into upgrading your barn.  As we've said before, you don't have to do a major overhaul all at one time to get  your dream barn.  Start with something small that can make a big impact on your barn's look and/or functionality.

With the weather turning better, it seems the perfect time for a trail ride.  But sometimes it's hard to get everyone to the barn at the same time for the ride. At some point, almost any rider will have to ride alone.  Riding alone can be a wonderful way to connect with your horse and enjoy some solitude, but there’s also an element of danger to mounting up when you’re the only one on the property. Before you ride solo, think about putting some or all of these safety tips to use.

It may be hard to believe in some parts of the country, but blanketing season is just about over! Quality horse blankets can be expensive, so it’s important to make them last as long as possible. Before you put them away for the year, here are some great tips to help prolong the life of your horse blankets.

Before you know it, foaling season will be here. If you have broodmares in your barn, then it’s time to get ready for foaling season. Here’s a to-do list to make sure that you’re prepared for the busy season.

Have you ever thought about taking a trip to Lexington, Kentucky? April and May are the perfect times of year to not only enjoy "The Horse Capital of the World," but there are some major events to enjoy during that time.  Late April is the Range Rover Three Day Event - the USA's only 4-star horse three day event.  The first weekend of May is, of course, the Kentucky Derby in nearby Louisville.  There are tons of things for horse lovers to do in Lexington - and non-horselovers as well.  Here are some reasons why you might want to take a trip to Lexington.

There are many "alternative" treatments for your horse - chiropractor, acupuncture, massage to name a few.  Most of these require special training to do them correctly. But with some basic education, aromatherapy can be used by anyone for a variety of ailments.