If you are thinking about getting yourself a horse or you already have one, then there are some things which you are going to need to think about. Looking after a horse is extremely hard work and they take a lot of your time and attention. As well as spending time with your horse, you will also need to spend quite a bit of time preparing the space where your horse is going to live.
Land
One major thing which you will have to consider is the amount of space which you have that you can provide for your horse. It is so important that your horse has plenty of room to burn energy and run around in. There are no officially guidelines in place telling you how much space that you should to own a horse, however it is advised that you should have at least an acre of land for each horse you have.
Shelter
It is possible that you don’t need to provide any officially shelter for your horse in the space that he has, as long as he has some shelter coming from nature, such as trees and fenced areas. However, as the weather is so unpredictable in the UK you will be much better off providing more stable shelter for your horse. Building stables can be quite an expensive and long job; first of all you will have to get planning permission to build stables on your land. If you are after a quicker and cheaper option, then you can choose to build a mobile field shelter on your land. You won’t need to get any planning permission to build this, and it is also much cheaper to build.
Pasture
You will have to make sure that your horses pasture is safe for him to live in. You should regularly check for any rubbish and waste which is in the pasture, as this many be a risk to your horse’s health if left in there. You should also check the fencing around the pasture to ensure that there are no gaps in there where your horse can escape from. There are also many plants which can grow naturally in your horse’s pasture which can be a huge risk to your horse’s health, as they are poisonous for horses to eat. You should do some research into which plants are dangerous for your horse to eat and make sure that you regularly check the pasture for these and remove them.
Karen is a caring horse owner and loves to share tips on how to care for horses. For information on shelter for horses go to http://www.primestables.co.uk