You have bought your horse. Now what do you do? Well let's see....

• Start looking for a farrier. Your horses hooves need to be trimmed once every 6 weeks. Expect to pay between $25-45 for a trim and between $70-130 for shoes. Hooves are one of the most important part of the horse. Without good hooves, you do not have a sound horse.
• Ask around for a good large animal veterinarian. Keep his/her number on speed dial; you are gonna need them.
• Vaccinate your horse yearly; expect to pay between $120-200.
• Get their teeth floated yearly around $100.
• Make sure you have the barn must haves. If not go get them.
• Always provide free choice fresh water.
• Provide free choice salt block.
• Feed hay/grain 2 times per day. If on pasture, make sure it is good quality. Expect to pay $4-12 per square bale and $45-95 per round bale.
• Always check your horses hooves before you ride by cleaning them out with a hoof pick. Check for thrush and treat as needed.
• Check for any swelling or cuts that may keep you from riding that day and need to be doctored.
• Spend time with your horse grooming/leading/riding.
• Lastly never stop learning. Go to as many clinics and read as much as you can. You can always learn something new.

  Morning feed time

  Here's a look into my daily chores. Which will vary with how many horses you have if they have stalls or pasture etc.
  I wake up and rustle the kids out of bed. We go out to feed anywhere from 10-15 horses depending on our training schedule. All our feed and clients feed is in bins and metal trash cans to keep the rodents out. We measure out the correct amount of feed adding supplements to the horses who need them. We walk the feed out to them individually. Checking every horses water trough as we go. Which we will fill and rinse out as needed. We get round bales of coastal hay delivered so we pull off arm-fulls of hay for the horses in stalls. We also have round bales out in pasture during turn out. We also feed alfalfa square bales to our horses and any other clients horses as requested. We have to supplement hay since we do not have nice lush pasture...hopefully by next year we will begin some planting! Feed time is a good time to check on the horses. Making sure everyone looks as they did the day before and no one needs special attention. I will do a visual inspection of the horses to make sure there is no unusual swelling or cuts. If any horse is lying down I watch to make sure they get up and are not experiencing colic. Feed time takes anywhere from 1-2 hours depending. Now that we have fed the horses we go inside and make our breakfast.

  Expanding on colic

  Colic is abdominal pain caused by a variety of factors. Colic can be caused by a blockage of feed or hay usually when the horse either eats too much specially with out enough water. Also if the horse eats something that does not agree with his/her stomach or a change of feed that occurs too fast. Which is why when changing a horses feed you must transition them slowly. Colic can also be caused by stress and cribbing as well as wind sucking. Horses with a major parasite infestation are likely to colic. Regular deworming is recommended throughout the year. For more information on deworming and for a personalized deworming chart for your area of the country go to www.getrotationright.com.
  Signs of colic:
  Any time the horse stops grazing for an unusual period of time for your horse or does not want grain. Your horse may stretch out long ways while standing to relieve pressure from their stomach. possibly pawing the ground and stomping. Also diminished stool production. The horse lays down in a labored manner. They appear weak in the back end. They are laying down frequently and longer than usual. They may lay and roll often thrashing about sometimes with all 4 legs in the air. Also if you hear no sound in their gut. If your horse is exhibiting any of these signs contact your vet immediately!! Keeping your horse moving until the vet arrives will help out.