As a horse owner, the most important thing to me is my horses’ overall health. I want them to live a long, happy, and fulfilling life. Over the years, I’ve become more and more focused on ways to support a healthy lifestyle for my horses. From making simple adjustments to their daily diet, to developing a line of natural horse care products, I have spent hours researching and speaking with other horse owners. Along the way, I have learned a lot and I wanted to take some time to share what I’ve learned with you. Here are my key tips for helping you boost your horse’s overall health and wellbeing.
Take A Holistic Approach To Horse Health
Horses are very complex creatures with unique personalities and quirks. I have found over the years that when it comes to horse health, it’s important to take a holistic approach. A holistic approach considers not only the physical health of your horse but their mental and emotional health as well. When thinking about ways to boost your horse’s health, I recommend looking at all aspects of their life and think about how you can make things happier. A happy horse is a healthy horse and vice versa.
Minimize Stress In Their Daily Lives
Horses are prey and herd animals, so by nature, they tend to be more prone to stress than other animals. Stress taxes the immune system and is a contributing factor to a number of illnesses. So it’s critical to be mindful of any stressors in their life. The best thing you can do is to always stay calm and be patient around your horses. Take the time to introduce them to new stimuli and experiences gradually whenever possible. Make time for them to relax and unwind in the pasture. I’ve found aromatherapy with the essential oils in Show-Thyme Calming Oil can really help support a stress-free environment and help them stay calm in high-stress situations.
Feed Your Horse A Diverse And Healthy Diet
Health starts from the inside out. I have written a free guide to share some of the foods that I feed my horses to help maintain a healthy diet, but the best way to determine what to feed your horse is by speaking with your veterinarian or an equine nutritionist. They will evaluate your horse’s lifestyle, breed, and unique needs. Then they will help guide you in choosing a feed, pasture, supplement, and even special treats. Regardless of what that diet looks like, it’s important that if you make any changes to their diet, make them gradually. Introduce new foods slowly over a few weeks, as a rapid change in diet can have negative health effects. Also, I recommend if your horse has any changes in lifestyle, for example pregnancy, increased workload, or aging, you speak to your veterinarian or equine nutritionist see if any changes are necessary.
Support An Active Lifestyle
Exercise can also keep your horse on the path to health. Exercise will help them maintain a healthy weight, support cardiovascular health, and strengthen their musculoskeletal system. Exercise isn’t just important for their physical health, but their mental health too. Horses are by nature active creatures and are meant to spend time running and playing. That isn’t to say, they can’t become overworked or tired like humans. In those cases, a good spray of Cool Muscle Wash can be a big help. It’s formulated to help reduce strain and fatigue especially in the horse’s legs, hocks, and back. By helping relieve the stress and cool these active muscle groups, your horse will have less downtime and will be able to get back to their healthy lifestyle faster.
Grooming Is Essential To Horse Health
I cannot speak enough about the benefits of daily grooming for your horse’s overall health. Grooming has so many health benefits including:
- Helps prevent infections
- Wards off pests and parasites
- Increases blood flow
- Reduces muscle tension
- Supports emotional bonding and comfort
Grooming also allows you to inspect your horse up close to see if there are any injuries or illnesses. Top to tail grooming is a crucial part of boosting your horse’s health.
Always Keep It Natural!
Daily grooming is very important. Finding the best products to groom your horse, is just as important. There are many products on the market for horse grooming, but many contain ingredients that can actually cause health issues for your horse. Many artificial fragrances and dyes can trigger allergic responses, irritation or inflammation to their skin. Your horse’s skin is their most important barrier against disease. When the health of their skin is compromised, it leaves them vulnerable to infections and illnesses. At Equi-Spa we have a variety of natural horse care products that contain ingredients your horse would encounter in the wild. They are extremely safe while supporting and improving your horse’s skin health.
Don’t Forget The Hooves
Horse hooves are especially vulnerable to diseases and many unnatural products can degrade the hoof. Other products contain mineral oil that clogs the pores and blocks the natural flow of oxygen. Without oxygen, your horse’s hooves won’t grow correctly. This can lead to a variety of illnesses and diseases. It’s better to use a hoof care product like Kiss A Frog Foot Wash. Applied underneath the hoof, it creates a breathable barrier that can protect against disease while also supporting healthy regeneration of the hoof.
Work With Equine Experts
Horse care and maintenance is tough if you are just starting out. The best thing I can recommend if you are new to owning horses is to find equine experts. Whether you are picking out a saddle, deciding whether or not to shod or let them run barefoot, or determining a vaccination schedule, having a team of experts goes a long way. A knowledgeable equine veterinarian, a farrier, and even a seasoned horse owner have endless wisdom that can help you manage and support your horses’ health.
Helping give your horse the healthiest and happiest life is a constant learning process. At Equi-Spa we can help. Whether you are looking for great natural grooming products or advice on wound treatment, stress management, or hoof care, we’re here to help. Post in the comments below or contact us anytime and I’ll happily answer any questions and help you find natural options for your horse health needs.
Its very important to keep your horse healthy
Hoof care is essential, cant count how many times my horse has gotten thrush at his old barn
My mother was a horse trainer and she always love the more natural approach! I’m absolutely too scared of the beautiful animals so I admire from afar!
These articles are great info for my niece who is a new horse owner as of last week!
I agree
I love that there are natural things we can do to help our horses health!
this is some great information
I could groom our horses but as you have stated there was a wealth of information to learn. That’s when I relied on our equine expert the most and he taught me so much.
Thank you for this very helpful tips!!
Thank you for the depth of information.
That’s a lot to factor in regarding the well-being of a horse.
Great info
important and nice article
I don’t know much about horses but these are some valuable information that I may need one day. Thanks a lot!
Learn something new every day
Wow, awesome info! I’m a huge believer in natural health and getting away from chemicals whenever possible. The difference it’s made in my own animals (and myself) is huge. Avoiding gmos and glyphosate in the diet are also very important. Thanks for the tips! 🙂
Great article thank you!
Great info!!! Active and stress free lifestyle. 👍
Awesome !
interesting read
thank you for your knowledge
Thank you for the information!
Interesting!
Thank you for all this great info.
This is some great information for a new horse owner!! Thank you
I don’t own horses but my sister does. This is a very informative article on the health and well being and caring of horses. I will pass this article on to my sister. Thank you
Great read for soon to be!!!!
Great blog post there is so much more to the care of a horse then most people realize
Thanks for all the tips! I agree that your horse’s diet should be adjusted based on their stage in life.
So much goes into caring for horses. These articles will definitely be a huge help!
I love when I read about people reaching for more holistic and safe health options for all animals. Horses especially!
I was just reading that spending time with horses helped veterans with PTSD.
Boosting your horse’s health. great article.
CooL
Thanks for the tips!
Thank you for all the great information
Thanks for the info
Good to know!
I have always wanted to oen a horse but could never get one. This is very useful information that I’ll be passing along to my uncle that own a couple horses.
Good tips
Every horse should live its happiest life!
Wow good to know.
good to know that ty
I love that we have all natural products to use ..
Great information
That is such a beautiful horse in the photo. Thanks for posting!
Great information thanks
this is all great to learn ppl get pets b4 learning what u need to know thats sad
good info
Love the holistic approach….diet and homeopathic remedies….much more appealing.
I love horses but never knew they had all these great products out there to take care of them….If I ever have a horse I’m glad to know about these products!
Great informative article!
very interesting…
Very interesting. Horses are so beautiful and cute.
Spending time grooming your horse is so important. It feels good to them and helps create such a great bond and builds trust. Don’t forget the hooves – a very important part in having a healthy horse
CooL
Thumbs Up!
This is extremely valuable for new caretakers like me. I found all of the info very useful. Let’s just hope I don’t forget any of it.
Interesting and important information. Thank you.
What a great and informative article!
Horses are my best friend! 🐎🐎🐎
Thanks!
A healthy horse is a happy horse
Super article intéressant.
Might get myself a horse
Nicely written.
Beautiful!! 😀
I always thought the stress issue with horses was interesting.
Great articul! Very informative!
great info thanks
Nice Great Article!
Awesome!
Thanks
I think using a holistic approach is great!
Thanks for the info! I try to avoid chemicals whenever possible. 🙂
Ok
My grandfather trained race horses. Very informative.
Horses are beautiful animals that need daily love and care. I think that owners should take the time to make sure that their horse is happy and healthy.
Great to know all of this! Natural is always better. Thank you for this article and have a lovely weekend!
Thank you for the information!
Boosting Your Horse’s Health
Thanks!
Very useful !
LOTS OF LOVE AND NATURAL IS BEST!
Boosting your horses health
Great information. Thank you.
Thanks for info
Good read.
That looks hard, but it’s ofc important. Keep natural!
This will surely come in handy! thanks
Good read.
nice article!
great article thx!
it is important to take care of your horse’s health
Definitely need a stress reducer!
Great information
The job you guys are doing is great.
Excellent read – holistic approach to all round care – perfect
The hooves are the most important part that a horse owner should care for.
Is it OK to feed a horse warm bran mash?
Is it OK to feed a horse warm bran mash? I recently read somewhere that it can cause colics.
Thanks for the article. It reminds me of when I was a kid, and we had horses.
thanks for the information i love horses
very informative
good read
Great info!
Interesting, good tips here!
Great tips! I always wanted a horse but never knew how to care for one. Of course this was back in the days of no google.
Great ,good to know thanks 🙂 .
Thank you for this info!! Very helpful
Great information
thanks for the awesome tips
This is fantastic information, thank you for sharing and the help!
Very good points. I’ve never owned a horse of my own.
Nice read!
Good article its extremely important to look after all animals as you would do yourself
Excellent article my daughter who’s 21 next month loves her horse and I’d love this for her she will also love the article
Great Info!!
Another great article !
Great information. Thanks for sharing
Great article for horse owners. Their health is so important
Thank you for the great information
I live in the Horse capital of the world! I love this info thank you!
wow interesting tips for a horse thanks for sharing it
Good to know 🙂
Great tips. Love the natural ways to care for your horse!
This is great! Very useful
Great information to keep our horse in top shape feeling great. Will do anything to help them stay happy.
This is all great info!
Thanks for all the healthy advise
I wish I could afford a horse.
I found this article extremely informative! Thank you so much for sharing 🙂
The tips and pointers are so excellent. Thanks for sharing the information.
Animals are just as important as we are and it’s great to see a movement dedicated to providing some of the health benefits that we may get for ourselves. Horses are particularly beautiful and sensitive creatures and deserve all the comforts possible. They have suffered much throughout history and even today many suffer. It’s great to see some people actually put horses first, and if I’m so lucky as to come back as a horse in my next life, I know whose horse I’d like to be.
Great info!