A Day in the Life of Lilo and I

On a normal day, I will first head out to the pasture to get Lilo. Once I am able to see him, I call his name. He will normally come walking up to me and out of the pasture! Before we leave the pasture, I put his halter on, and then we head out to start our day together. 

First, I bring Lilo into the wash rack and clean and treat his hooves. Then, I brush him off a bit, and then I feed him. After he is done eating and he is all brushed off, its off to playing! One of our favorite things to do is go for walks and small runs. We will run around a little bit, and then head off to the arena or round pen where we will practice our tricks. 

After playing for a while, I will bring Lilo back into the pasture and spend some quality time with him. I will read to him, sing to him, pet him, or even just sit with him and take in all of his beauty. 

I hope you've enjoyed this weeks post!

How to Get Your Horse to Take Medicine

When your horse needs to take medicine, such as the monthly de-worming paste or antibiotics, it is not something to mess around with. It is very important that your horse takes his medicine to stay healthy, just like any other human.

One effective way to get your horse to take his medicine is to have him associate the medicine with a reward. So, when you give him his medicine, you can reward him with food. This lets him know that it is a good thing when he takes his medicine. 

Another way is very similar to the method above. You simply fill your syringe with something tasty, such as apple sauce or a smoothie. This will show him that the syringe does not always mean that he will get something that has a bad flavor! 

I hope you've enjoyed this weeks short (but somewhat informative) blog post! 

How to Keep Your Horses Hooves Healthy

As you may know, horses need four good legs and hooves to survive. On todays post, I will be giving some tips on how to keep your  horses hooves strong and healthy. 

1. Clean out their hooves! 

It is mandatory that you pick all of the dirt and rocks from your horses feet, otherwise, they could develop an abscess or an infection. 

2. Use a hoof hardener. 

I like to use a liquid called Durasole on Lilo's feet to keep them strong and hard. 

3. Soak their feet every so often. 

Soaking your horses hooves in epsom salts and betadine is extremely beneficial for them. The betadine kills bacteria in their hooves, and the epsom salts help to strengthen their hooves as well. 

4. Get their hooves trimmed often.

To keep a horses hooves healthy, you must get them trimmed about every 6 weeks or so. 

Unhealthy hoof

Healthy hoof

For more information, you can visit these websites:

https://extension.usu.edu/files/publications/publication/AG_Equine_2006-03.pdf

http://practicalhorsemanmag.com/article/eqhooftips837-11352