This topic contains 33 replies, has 0 voices, and was last updated by 
-
Posts
-
I am about to be acquiring a horse of my own. She is a 7yo Arabian mare, in foal, but will be delivering any day now, so when the foal is weaned, the mare will be mine!:) I am so happy! I was just curious how much people spend on their horses a month for main care, not including boarding costs.
The internet can provide a more complete answer to your question… Here is a great link:
Around here it costs us around $100 to $125 thats for 10 bales of hay, 200 lbs feed, 4 bales of straw for bedding and I feed a supplement that cost $20.00….that doesn’t include the occasional shoeing which is $50 here and worm medicine….Not sure how much it would cost you though..We have our own barn so we don’t have to board……Hope that helps…..
My stables provide hay and wood shavings. Is Timothy/Orchard mix hay any good? I heard Orchard grasses can cause laminitis b/c of the high fructan contant. And anyone know if I need to feed any kind of grain if she will just be a pleasure horse, and if so, what is the best brand/kind? I am paranoid about all this laminintis talk I read and hear about on the internet. Thanks a bunch!
I forgot to ask in my previous post, what does anyone think about those combo supplements you can order from the equine magazines, that supposedly help improve and maintain healthy hooves, joints, and coat?
I feed mine a 3 lb coffee can of sweet feed in the morning and once again in the evening…also bat or two of hay from a square bale when I feed them the feed..I have one horse that eats a bite of feed then a bite of hay when he eats…usually there are 12 bats in a bale…then sometimes they get little treat of a handful of sweet feed when we’re out there with them for a treat…..our hay is mostly Timothy and Orchard grass with some clover…
How much would you recommend feeding a 900lb Arab? How much does your horse weigh?
If it were me I would feed her however much the previous owner was feeding her…also don’t change her feed from whats shes used to unless you do it gradually…she could get sick if you change it…if you want more weight on her you could give her a little tiny bit more.
Makes sense! I am just afraid to do anyhthing wrong that might cause the horse to colic or develope another kind of illness or something, since this is my first horse, I guess it is only natural to be nervous? I have been reading anything I can get my hands on about the care of horses, but it is so general, I guess the only thing left is hands on experience!
We have 2 horses…..a mustang we adopted from Bureau of Land Management and a standardbred/quarterhorse mix….we’ve had the mustang since 1986 and the other one since 1988….the mustang is 23 and the other one is 26 yrs old…the best advice I can give you is go always have patience….like the movie the Horse Whisperer….read all you can and dont’ listen to people when they say you have to be hard on the horse…you don’t…always have patience with them and you’ll get more out of them…we’ve never used a whip on ours either….sometimes its best to go with your gut instinct and before you know it you’ll know your horse’s every thought and feeling…horses respond to a loving soul more than anything else. Good luck with your new Arabian. Below is a couple pictures of ours thats posted here on Pet People Place in the Gallery….
Click on any picture to see full size:
You have beautiful horses, Thanks for your advice! I guess I always feel I am missing important info that I need to know, so I’m always searching.
Hey if you have any questions you can email me and I’ll try my best to help you when you get her….addy is sbrowning54@verizon.net….or just keep posting it on here and I’ll see it….me and my husband likes to try to help new horse owners so many get the wrong advice but we train ours the gentle way not with force or by whipping them….we go through the brain that goes sends messages to the stomach….feed or apples works wonders in training…LOL….talk to her, pet her and love her and I’m sure she will be the horse you always wanted….Take Care
I totally agree! That would be considered bullying your horse into doing what you want. The first step is trust and bonding, then it goes from there. You just have to make sure your horse knows you are alpha….how you do that, I have no clue! I read that in a horse book I own. But this horse I am getting, has trust issues, so she deffinitely needs to be treated with sensitivity. A lot of Arabs are one-people horses. They bond with their owners, and become very stressed when they can’t be with them much. Arabs were very valuable in their history with the Bedouins, that they were bred to be "people" horses, so Arabs naturally need a human companion to trust and bond with…Not always the case, but a lot of the time. There’s an Arab at my boarding stables that waits impatiently for his owner to get done cleaning his stall before she puts him away at night. It’s so cute!
SueBee54 you have lovely lovely horses.
jspeer having your first horse is awesome. I have 3 Arabs I rescued and they are joys to be around. I also have a Quarter Horse and 2 Paints.
Generally it’s 1 to 1 1/2 lbs. of hay for every 100 lbs. of body weight. For a mare her size I’d give her 1 1/2, 1 lb. coffee can of grain twice a day. Different feeds weigh differently in cans so be careful not to over indulge her in grain. My little 900 lb. arab gets that much in senior feed and she’s doing great. Don’t over supplement an Arab, they don’t need it. They’ve been bred to live thriftily. In otherwords, you don’t have to pile the hay and grain on them in order for them to look and feel good. Their enduring qualities are unequaled. They can do alot on less then most breeds do on more. I have Quarter Horses and Paints that wouldn’t survive on what I feed the Arabians. Remember, always feed individually, not what everyone else gets. Best thing to do is get the feeding instructions from the previous owner. Just to be on the safe side. Being patient is a must in your training. Arabians are very sensitive to their human friends. They are loyal like no other and they are willing and love to please. They are also escape artists. lol Good luck!Judy,
Thanks so much for the compliment….We used to have a quarter horse too but when hubby become disabled we had to sell him…he went to a little girl in Virginia that fell in love with him…I’m attaching his picture below…I have one of those escape artist horses too…but he’s a standardbred/quarter mix…he was the red one in the picture in the other post..LOL…he can unlock latches, untie ropes and go under any fenced in area…so on his stall I have a latch lock over his slide latch to make sure he stays put!…LOL…Have fun with your Arabians I’m glad you gave some advice on them, we’ve never had Arabians and all horses are not alike.Click on any picture to see full size:
You must be logged in to reply to this topic.
