In addition to the basics for comfortable and safe stalls for your horse, there are a number of add-ons to personalize your stable and to make horse care easier.  

Fall is a great time to upgrade your barn landscape.  Planting new trees/plants in the ground before the first frost gives them plenty of time to get acclimated to their new home before winter comes.  Studies show that plants put in during the fall are already bigger than the ones you will find at the garden store in the spring. 

Whether you are building a new barn or renovating an old one, the best way to get what you want is to remember the old adage, “form follows function.”  Before you start planning your barn, think about the following things:

With high temperatures and dangerous heat waves looming through the Midwest and south this week it is important to remember the dangers of heat stress/exhaustion and heat stroke. Heat exhaustion and heat stroke are extremely dangerous conditions for not only you but also your horse and other animals. It is often seen during the summer months and in areas where the humidity is high. Strenuous activities or sports such as eventing, jumping, combined driving, or even a simple ride during high temperatures can cause heat stroke/stress.

These seven upgrades (all available through Classic Equine Equipment) are functional, cost effective and can enhance your property value. These projects can be accomplished by most do-it-yourself-ers and the results will be appreciated by both the two- and four-legged users!

You all probably know the basics of how to take care of  your horse in case he gets hurt.  But do you know what to do in the event that a rider is injured and/or is left unconscious? Could you recognize the signs of shock, and do you know how to treat it? If you spend a lot of time around horses, then it’s possible that you will have to help a rider in a serious situation at some point. Here are some First-Aid basics that you will want to know.

While traditional equine veterinary medicine continues to grow with new techniques and medications, sometimes your horse may need a little "extra"  help.  One you may want to consider is an equine chiropractor.

The horse’s respiratory system (lungs) provides much needed oxygen to assist with metabolism, while the circulatory system (heart) delivers the oxygen and nutrients to the tissues.  It also provides a way to carry off the waste products (most commonly carbon dioxide) created when the horse’s “engine” is running.  On the simplest level, the respiratory system acts like an air exchange – oxygen comes in and carbon dioxide goes out.

Horses have binaural hearing, meaning they hear out of both ears at the same time, the same as people and most other animals.  However, unlike humans who have small, flat ears, a horse’s ears are large and shaped like a cup.  These ears act like a satellite dish to capture sound waves and funnel them to the inner ear.  Because of this, very little sound is missed and the horse might hear noises that you can’t.  This is one reason why you may think that everything is perfectly fine, but suddenly you horse spooks for no apparent reason.  He may have heard something that sounded like a predator to him.

When someone says, “don’t look a gift horse in the mouth,” they are talking about the custom of telling a horse’s age by looking at his teeth.  It is possible to estimate the age of a young horse by observing the pattern of teeth in the mouth, based on which teeth have erupted.