Tag Archives: horse care

Tips and more information for horse care from Klene Pipe Structures, creator of the Hay Saver Hay Feeder for horses and cattle.

Keeping Your Horse’s Coat Healthy and Shining: 3 Tips

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Your horse’s coat is extremely important to overall health. Shedding and dryness could mean something is wrong, and not enough cover or nutrients could lead to all sorts of health concerns. Follow these few tips to give your horse a shiny and healthy coat:

Run in Horse Shelters

Run in horse shelters are great for providing shade and cover for your horse’s coat. Since too much sun exposure can be damaging to your horse’s coat, it’s important to offer protection during those hot, sunny days. A run in shelter will allow your horse to find cover when they’re too hot or feeling dried out.

Focus on a Healthy Diet 

Make sure you have quality horse hay feeders to keep your horse well-fed. The majority of your horse’s calories must come from hay. Similarly, it’s recommended that your horse eats 1-2% of their body weight in roughage daily. Do a little research and purchase some quality round bale feeders and square bale feeders. Our Hay Saver Horse Hay Feeders ensure that hay stays in the feeder so there is less waste.

Pay Attention to the Signs

Make sure you’re consistently grooming your horse and paying attention to their coat. If you notice strange discoloring, dryness, or brittle coats, that could be an indication that your horse is not feeling too great. Also, a lack of shedding could be cause for concern.

As long as you’re monitoring your horse’s coat as much as possible, sticking to proper nutrition, and giving them enough shelter, your horse should be healthy and able to show off a nice, shiny, and glossy coat!

horse in horse shelter in winter

Caring for Horses in Cold Weather

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Depending on where you’re located, the winter months can bring extended periods of cold weather. While we may feel the need to protect horses during the winter months and keep them inside, they can actually tolerate cold weather very well. In fact, horses tend to be more comfortable in colder temperatures than in very warm or hot weather. And, many horses even grow thicker coats during the winter months to help protect them.

We may be tempted to have them spend more time in the barn, but keeping horses in their stalls all day can actually increase the chances of a winter illness due to poor ventilation in the barn and not enough physical activity. Therefore it’s important to ensure that horses get a lot of time outdoors for fresh air and the opportunity to exercise. Be sure to provide a horse shelter for when your horse may need to be protected from the elements. And, beware of any icy area as horses can slip and fall on icy patches.

When horses are inside the barn during the winter months, there are some things that can be done to help prevent illness. During times of extreme cold they can be covered with a blanket for additional warmth. In addition, barns should be properly ventilated in order to provide good airflow and stalls should be cleaned regularly. Proper nutrition including horse feed and hay is also important to keep horses healthy. Hay feeders can be kept outside so that horses can graze as they spend time outdoors.

portable shade for horses

The Importance of Shade and Shelter for Your Horse

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Giving your horse the opportunity to get shade and shelter from the elements helps to keep them healthy and happy. Wind, sun, and issues with weather can leave horses vulnerable to getting sick or hurt. That’s why the use of a shelter for your horse is so important.

Equine Wellness Magazine has outlined a number of items that should be considered when deciding on purchasing a horse shelter including where to place it on your property. When determining where to place a horse shelter, they discuss the importance of looking at weather patterns as well as the landscape for best protection. In addition, they write that having a sturdy and portable structure is ideal for best protection. You can read the full article here.

Klene Pipe offers many different shelter options for horses, cattle and livestock. Our run-in shelters are some of the toughest frames you will find. In addition, our portable shade and our portable shade kits offer protection from the sun in the hot summer months.

Be sure you are taking the proper precautions to keep your horses safe during the upcoming summer months by giving them the opportunity to get out of the elements. Shelters for horses are a must-have for protecting their well-being.

Horses Eating

The Best Way to Feed your Horse

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To keep your horse in optimal health, there are some guidelines that should be followed for feeding. Whether it’s the type of food or when they are fed, changes in a horse’s food regimen can mean the difference between a happy horse and one that is ill tempered.

Feed Horses on a Regular Schedule

As with many animals, horses do best when a regular schedule is followed. They feel most comfortable when they can rely on when they will get their next meal. Whether you are feeding your horses in the field with a hay feeder or in their stall, horses will thrive by sticking to a regular routine.

If Feeding Grain, Consider Smaller Amounts

While hay should be the primary food source, if you are supplementing your horse’s diet with grain, try not to feed them too much at one time. When fed grain in smaller amounts, horses do better digesting the feed.

Don’t Make Any Sudden Change in Your Horses Feeding Routine

Whether it’s changing the time of day or the type of food you are feeding your horse, a sudden change can cause unnecessary stress. If you do need to change something, do it gradually so that the horse can adjust. Therefore, if you are changing the feeding time, do so in small time increments until you get to the final adjusted time.

Be Mindful of When Your Horse is Fed

It’s best not to feed your horse just before or after exercise. Exercising on a full stomach can make exercise harder for horses and can also slow down digestion. Therefore if you are planning on riding your horse, be aware of their feed schedule and work around that.

Horse Hay Feeder

Horse and Cattle Nutrition

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Without the right amount of protein, carbohydrates, fiber, vitamins and minerals, horses, cattle and other livestock could suffer from poor nutrition. For optimal growth, it is important your livestock is getting the proper nutrients.

Most feeds are simply designed to be the primary source of food for animals, while others are designed with a primary focus on animals eating forage with extra protein and energy so if necessary, they can improve their diet.

For horses, most do not need grain as good quality hay will suffice. And, while grain can be added, the majority of their nutrition should come from roughage. This makes ensuring you contain as much hay as possible in a hay feeder important in order to save hay and money.

If you do feed your horse grain, it should be given in small amounts as they can’t digest large amounts effectively.  Find out more about the best way to feed your horse.

When it comes to feed, it isn’t always ‘one-size-fits-all.’ Your horse and/or cattle will have unique needs, so it is important to be aware of which feeds will be best for them based on their nutritional needs.

Different types of feed include:

  • Pelleted cattle feed (ingredients are formed into small pellets)
  • Sweet feed (comes from fresh grains)
  • Block feed (formed into solid blocks)

Similarly, there are different types of minerals that are important for your cattle’s’ health. Minerals can be loose, separated in mineral feeders, or if preferred, they can be added to normal feed the same way humans would add salt onto food, whereas block minerals are meant for animals to lick.

To keep your animal’s energy up, be sure to provide ample water, carbohydrates, protein, fiber, vitamins and minerals.