Horse Care in Hawaii

As we know, Hawaii is very wet! This makes the horses more likely to develop skin funguses such as rain rot, or hoof problems such as thrush. For Lilo, I like to dry his feet out when we come out of the pasture with thrush buster or durasole, this also helps harden his feet as he is barefoot. Lilo has once gotten Whitelines Disease (a hoof disease) and part of his hoof had to be carved out and treated for about a week! 

Because we get a substantial amount of rain, our grass flourishes all year around! But this also gives the horses a higher chance of obesity or founder. If your horse is at risk for these, it is best to put them on a feed that is low in sugar, and easily digestible. Or you can use a grazing muzzle/pen rotation to keep their weight normal. Because our grass is so high in sugar, I feed Lilo pellets that are low in sugar and protein called Timothy. 

Because our weather doesn't change much throughout the year, except that we get more rain in the winter and more sun in the summer, we do not need to use heavy blankets to keep them warm, except when it rains for a while without stopping. This prevents rain rot and hypothermia (although it is rare!).