Natural Horse Care is all about giving your horse the best life in a domestic environment.
It’s even more than meeting the Five Freedoms:
- Freedom from hunger and thirst,
- Freedom from discomfort, pain, injury, or disease,
- Freedom from fear and distress, and
- Freedom to express normal behavior.
Natural Horse Care is understanding equine ethology and applying it as much as possible.
Here’s a definition I like from horseextension.org
Ethology is the scientific study of animal behavior. Technically, ethology is the study of animals in their natural habitat. Several things make a horse unique in the animal kingdom:
- Horses are strongly social. They are herd animals and are very comfortable when they can see other horses.
- Horses are herbivores, or plant-eating animals. They rely on grazing grasses and leaves for food.
- Horses typically show a tendency for imitation between young and old.
- Horse are seasonal breeders.
- Males tend to form separate male subgroups at certain times of the year.
- Horses are considered a prey species in the animal kingdom.
- Horses are capable of strong pair bond relationships.
My 50 years of natural horse-keeping has helped me choose what I think are the kindest and healthiest methods and products for their care.
The following posts will help you care for your horse in a more natural way, along with the topics listed in the drop-down menu above.
Hybrid Horse Keeping – Equicentral and Tracks combined
There are many ways to achieve what you want and just as many opinions on what is best when it...
Read MoreInsight To Equus by Tomas Teskey
A Holistic Veterinary perspective on health and healing. The equine world would be a better place if this 250-page color-filled...
Read MoreAiming for self-trimming horse hooves
By Cynthia Cooper What is a self-trimming horse? They aren’t trained to use farrier tools on themselves that’s for sure!...
Read MoreWhich mineral supplement is best for my horse?
Rather than offering a smorgasbord of nutrients in tiny amounts (the ‘everything but the kitchen sink’ approach), Balanced Equine mineral...
Read MoreThe Art and Science of Feeding Horses with Carol Layton
Feeding horses is both an art and science so Carol Layton of Balanced Equine explains how common mineral deficiencies can...
Read MoreSeedy Toe – the quick fix and long term solution
Seedy toe (also called white line disease) used to be the one on-going issue all my horses had many years ago....
Read MoreHow to Avoid Laminitis
The two most dangerous times for laminitis are in the spring and autumn, depending on where you live. Cooler climates...
Read MoreHow to use slow feed hay nets for horses
Have you ever wondered if there’s a better way to use slow-feed hay nets? There are so many options, choices,...
Read MoreRestricting Forage is Incredibly Stressful
By Juliet M. Getty, Ph.D. Owners of ponies with laminitis are often advised to ‘lock them up’ and only feed...
Read MoreHorse Behaviour Linked to Poor Nutrition
By Cynthia Cooper. Natural nutrition must be our first priority for keeping a horse healthy, both physically and mentally. Many health...
Read MoreTHE HEALING POWER OF HONEY on Severe Wounds
by Cynthia Cooper I’m always looking for natural alternatives when it comes to treating horses and I believe they can...
Read MoreWhy I Use Chemical Wormers – Encysted Strongyles
By Cynthia Cooper I would love to be able to worm my horses more naturally, and years ago I tried...
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