Protective Boots

Just some notes on various kinds of boots

-Bell Boots
     -Protect Horse's heels (From clipping themselves)
     -They can help a horse if they have trouble with over reaching and pulling their shoes off

   
-Splint Boots
     -They cover a horse's splint, cannon bones, and fetlock
     -Protect horses that interfere and young horses
     -Used to Support legs when a horse will be putting a lot of stress on that leg (i.e. Barrels and jumping)

(Western Style)

(English Style)

 -Galloping Boots
     -More protection that splint boots
     -Covers splint bone, cannon bone, and fetlock, just like the splint boots

   
-Open Front Boots
     -Same as Galloping boots except with open fronts
     -Used mainly for Jumpers so that the horse feels the jump when they knock it over.

   
-Ankle boots
     -Protects the inside of the fetlock
     -Usually worn on the hind legs

   
-Supportive Boots
     -Very similar to galloping boots and splint boots
     -They have elastic support under the fetlock joint
     -Prevents the fetlock from sinking too low
     -Used for high impact events such as jumping

   
-Skid Boots
     -Protects hind fetlock
     -Used mainly for reining and cow events
     -Can be combined with support boots

-Shipping Boots
     -Protects legs while trailering
     -From knee down and hock down
     -You don't necessarily have to use them for short trips
     -Used for Long trips and inexperienced travelers

   

   

Simple Horse Nutrition

     Today's post will be about simple horse nutrition, we will get into some more complex things later. This is just basic stuff. So, right off the bat, horses need: protein, startch, forage or roughage (i.e. grass, or alfalfa), water, minerals, fats, fiber, grain (about 0.5% of the horses body weirght per feeding), and hay (should be no more that 2% of the horse's body weight per day).
    
     Now, for the grains, there are several types of grains, each with a various amounts of startch, fiber, fats, and protein. First of all, there are oats which are more balanced and it has low starch, high fiber, high protein, and high fats. Next is corn, which is very fattening, it contains high starch, low fiber, low protein, and high fats. Then there is wheat. Wheat has limited nutrition, with high starch, low fiber, high protein, and low fats. Also, we have Barely which has lower energy. It contains very high starch, low fiber, very high protein, and low fats.
    
     Now for the hay. Hay in general is a good source of phosphorus, protein, and calcium. Alfalfa, by itself, is high in protein. grass by itself is low in starch and carbohydrates. When feeding your horse you should make sure that the hay is green, mold, bug, and dust free, and fairly leafy.

     Next time i will be talking about supplements and what supplements can be used for what. until next time. :)

All About Horses

Hi! My name is Maia and I'm going to be using this blog to help you with anything to do with horses. And when I say Anything, I Do mean Anything. Anything from riding, to ground training tips, to horse nutrition, to the simple happy-horse stuff like horse treat recipies. So comment on any of the posts about what you would like me to write about. :)