Listly by Ivan Dimitrijevic
Having your own horse is an amazing thing. This is truly a unique animal companion not all people can afford having. These are strong, intelligent, beautiful animals that enjoy being independent. Having a horse is pretty much different than having any other pet. However, horses need good conditions if you want them to be healthy and loyal companions that will live a long and happy life.
Horses are not like other animals and they need special conditions in order to be happy. Everyone wants their animals to be happy, right? As an owner, it is your duty to give them all they need and they will repay your care with their love. So, let’s get to it and see the 5 essentials you must ensure before going through the process of buying or adopting a horse.
The first thing you need is a proper shelter where your animal will be spending most of its time. No matter if you want to rent a space or build your own stables, it’s important that the horse has enough space to move around a bit and lie down to sleep.
During winter, a horse needs somewhere where it can keep warm and sheltered from the wind and, during the summer, excessive heat can harm the animal. Make sure that the place you choose can provide all of these things, so make sure that the isolation is good. If you feel comfortable inside, then your horse will too.
Apart from getting appropriate stables where your horse can sleep and rest, you also need to have a spacy area around it where you can let your horse run around and exercise. You must also make sure that the fences are completely secure and that there is no way your horse can jump over it or hurt itself.
Also, make sure that there are some trees in the yard so that the animal can rest in the shade. You won’t have to keep it inside all the time and it can enjoy the fresh air without the risk of having a heart attack.
Make sure that you have fresh water available at all times and that you add additional salt minerals that horses enjoy licking. At the same time, these minerals are very healthy for their body. Horses also require fresh food throughout the day. Horses are grazing animals and they prefer to chew on something during the entire day.
There are various supplements horses need to chew each day in order to grow into healthy and beautiful animals. Since most of us cannot be with them all the time, it’s generally a good idea to find someone who can take care of these things during the day. A Melbourne horse food delivery business be of great service when it comes to providing all of these nutrition related essentials on time, so that owners don’t have to worry about whether their animal will get all the food it needs.
Providing proper living conditions taking care of the living space is impossible without all the necessary equipment. Buying the necessary items ahead of time is essential. Things such as buckets, horse feed, stable brooms, pitchforks and lead ropes are a must.
Use hay to create appropriate bedding for the animal so that it can lay down comfortably. Also, make sure that you get some fly spray so that you can get all of those annoying insects away and, just in case, get a blanket for your horse. Winters can get extremely cold.
If you have never ridden a horse, you should look to get lessons from a professional trainer who has horses that are used to this. Even if you already had some lessons, you should look to improve your skills and continue training until you are 100% confident in what you are doing.
This is how you can slowly get your horse used to riding, as you will know how to handle the animal much better. Make sure that you don’t fall down. It takes time for the horse to get used to this and you need to have experience before you can go through with this.
In the end, you need money. Horses are more expensive than any other animal and all of the licenses, equipment, and the proper living conditions are additional costs that come along with it. Even if you have enough to purchase an animal and set up a proper habitat, there are still other expenses that might be around $3,500 per year. So, think things through before you make your final decision.