All you need to know about Horse Ownership

A horsecarecourses.com free guide to everything you need to think about before becoming a horse owner

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Contents:

  • Can you afford a horse?
  • Do you have enough time to own a horse?
  • The Responsibilities of Owning a Horse
  • Equine Skills you need to have before buying a horse or pony - Handling
  • What you need to know before buying a horse - Horse Health Care
  • Recommended Riding Skills - How well should you be able to ride before buying a pony?
  • What you need to know before you buy a horse - knowledge of horse care and management
  • Types of Livery
  • Daily Routine - Combined system of stabling /grass
  • Daily Routine - The Grass Kept Horse or Pony
  • Daily Routine - A day in the life of a stabled horse
  • Daily Routine at a competion yard - Carl Hester 's
  • Alternatives to horse ownership
  • Where to Report Concerns About the Welfare of a Horse, Pony or Donkey
  • Equine Codes of Practice
  • Horses and The Law - Straying on Roads
  • Horses and The Law - Liability

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Equine Codes of Practice

The following Codes of Practice cover all domesticated Equidae for which a person is responsible, including all horses, ponies, donkeys and hybrids.

The Codes give a practical guide for these types of animals throughout the United Kingdom and detail a set of underpinning principles of equine care which are designed to cover the differing management techniques for the many circumstances in which animals are kept.

Breach of a provision of the Code is not an offence in itself, but if proceedings are brought against you for a welfare offence, the Court will look at whether or not you have complied with the Code in deciding whether you have committed an offence.

England – Code of Practice for the Welfare of Horses, Ponies, Donkeys and their Hybrids (PDF)

Scotland – Codes of Practice for the Welfare of Animals: Equidae (PDF)

Wales – Code of practice for the welfare of equines (PDF)

National Equine Welfare Council Codes

Code of Practice for Welfare Organisations involved in the Keeping of Horses, Ponies and Donkeys (PDF)

Code of Practice – A Booklet to support Welfare Organisations involved in the Keeping of Horses, Ponies and Donkeys (PDF)

Code of Practice for Markets & Sales involved with the selling of Horses, Ponies and Donkeys (PDF)

Code of Practice for Tethering of Equines (PDF)

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Where to Report Concerns About the Welfare of a Horse, Pony or Donkey

World Horse Welfare :

If you have concerns about the welfare of a horse, please call World Horse Welfare's Welfare Hotline at 08000 480 180 with as much detail as possible about the condition of the horse(s).

The British Horse Society:

If you have genuine concerns about a horse or pony, you can report it to the BHS and one of their local Welfare Officers will pay a visit to investigate. Call 02476 840571 or 02476 840574. Alternatively, you can e-mail [email protected].

For genuine emergencies outside office hours, please ring 02476 840570 and then call the mobile phone number given in the answerphone message. However, this number really is for use in emergencies only.

RSPCA

To report a mistreated, neglected, injured or distressed animal, you can use an online enquiry service My RSPCA or you can call the RSPCA 24-hour cruelty line on 0300 1234 999.

The Donkey Sanctuary

The Donkey Sanctuary has regional welfare officers responsible for a particular region who have an average of 12 area welfare officers who are always available. If you are concerned about a donkey's welfare, please get in touch immediately. Your call is strictly confidential.

Allen Andrews - 07717 814946
Scotland, North East and Northern Ireland

Shelagh Steel - 07836 756117
East of England

Molly Lloyd - 07850 963563
North and Mid-Wales, Midlands, Cumbria, Lancashire, Yorkshire, Cleveland

Mark Kerr - 07770 683767
South and South East England

Lionel Ford - 07768 336912
South West England and South Wales



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Types of Livery

Here we look at the 6 types of livery generally offered in the UK:

Grass Livery

DIY Livery

Full Livery

Assisted Livery

Part Livery

Working Livery

Not all livery yards will offer the complete range eg. some only offer DIY whilst, others only offer Full, but if you get a chance to choose  the following information on types of livery will help you to make an informed choice.

Grass Livery

Grass Livery is grazing only and you have to look after your horse or pony yourself. You should check that fencing is in good order, that there is a suitable water source and that there is adequate shelter. You might need to feed hay in the winter so ask if there are any storage facilities you can use. Grass livery is sometimes offered by farmers and there might not be any riding facilities.

DIY Livery

You rent grazing and a stable and look after your horse or pony yourself. Adequate storage should be available for feed, bedding, forage, tack  and you should have use of riding facilities.

Assisted Livery

Is an enhanced DIY Livery, you do most of the work of looking after your horse or pony yourself but livery staff will be available to do some pre-arranged work eg. turning your horse out, bring him in, holding your horse for the farrier etc. Assisted livery is ideal for the working horse owner who still wants to care for their own horse themselves.

Part Livery

Daily care of the horse is undertaken by the livery yard and the owner is responsible only for grooming and exercise.  Part Livery is ideal for owners who don't have enough time to perform stable chores.

Full Livery

Care and exercise of the horse or pony is undertaken by the livery yard, this is most suited to absent owners.

Working Livery

Working Livery is offered by riding schools who want to use your horse or pony for lessons or hacks. An agreement is made as to the number of hours the horse can be used each week, it requires very careful consideration as to whether it is suitable for the horse or pony and whether it would limit the owners own riding.

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Technorati Tags: Assisted Livery, DIY Livery, Full Livery, Grass Livery, livery yard, Part Livery, riding school, Working Livery

Alternatives to horse ownership

Horses-and-ridersImage: © Copyright Walter Baxter and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence.

There are a number of alternatives to owning your own horse obviously you can continue to have riding lessons, go on hacks etc through your local riding school but if you want a taste of horse ownership without the full commitment the following may be of interest:

Own a Pony Day / Week

Lots of riding schools have special days (or weeks) during the school holidays where children can experience most of the activities that are required if they had their own horse. These days are ideal for any youngster who wants to be around horses. Prices vary but they start in the region of £50 per day.

Voluntary Work at a Riding School

If you or your child have been having regular riding lessons at an equestrian centre speak to the owner about volunteering for a few hours a week, you'll get lots of hands on experience of horse care and in some cases you might even get a free ride as a thank you.

Voluntary Work at a Horse Welfare Centre

Most Equine Welfare Centres are crying out for volunteers to help with day to day stable management chores as well as fund raising activities. Getting involved with the right organisation can be tremendously rewarding.

Riding other Peoples Horses

From time to time you will see advertisements in tack shops etc for riders / help wanted this can be a good opportunity to get more riding experience but caution needs to be exercised.

For your own safety you need to be 100% sure that you are an experienced enough rider for the horse you are being asked to ride.

It's a good idea to arrange your own rider insurance.

Be careful not to get exploited, unfortunately there are some people out there who are just looking for free labour.

If you see any signs of equine mistreatment it should be reported, see Where to Report Concerns about the Welfare of a Horse, Pony or Donkey

Horse Share

Often owners who don't have enough time or would like to reduce the cost of keeping a horse offer a horse share, sometimes they ask for a financial contribution to the up-keep of the horse, sometimes all they want is help with horse care and exercise.

This is a great way of finding out, on a part time basis, if you have the committment to horse ownership, the horse remains the ultimate responsibility of the owner but you get to experience what horse ownership is like.

As always you need to exercise caution, make sure you are capable of handling and riding the horse, that you are happy with the way it is kept and arrange your own rider / public liabilty insurance. Of course it also helps if you like the horse's owner!

Horse Loan

Owners who are not willing to sell their horses but are unable to continue caring for them will sometimes offer the horse for loan. Basically this means that you borrow the horse and are responsible for it's care and exercise including the financial costs but the horse on loan always remains the property of the owner. The owner is not involved with the horse's day-to-day care but will usually want visit to their horse from time-to-time and they will be able to ask you to return the horse to them if they choose to.

Different types of loan are offered:

Some stipulate that the horse must remain at it's current yard while others will allow you to take the horse to your own poperty or choice of livery.

As well as ridden horses some horses are offered on loan as companions only due to age or health, others are offered for light riding only due to soundness issues.

Some horses are offered on loan for a short period whilst others are offered on permanent loan where the arrangement is intended to last for the life of the horse but in the event that you change your mind the horse must always be returned to the owner.

Some horses are offered on loan with a view to buy this  means that the horse is for sale but the buyer has the option of loaning the horse for a set period of time before purchase. After the loan period, the loaner should purchase the horse or return to its owners if it is found to be unsuitable. If you don't intend to buy don't enter into this type of agreement.

Looking for a loan horse is very much like looking for a horse to buy you need to make sure you've found the right one before taking the horse on loan.

It is strongly advised that a loan agreement is drawn up with a solictor making sure that every eventuality is covered. The BHS has a sample loan agreement here.

 

 

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Daily Routine at a competion yard - Carl Hester 's

Here we look at a typical day at a large competition yard, in this case Carl Hester's,  the working day starts at 6.30 in the morning.

The photograph is of Utopia in his stable at the London 2012 Olympics

Utopia-in-stable-at-olympic-games
6.30 am. First feed. Horses are checked as feed is delivered for any signs of ill health, they are then left to eat quiety. 

Evening and tomorrow mornings feeds are prepared and left stacked in the feed room.

7 am. Night rugs removed. Start mucking out and bringing in morning hay.

Horses that are going on the horse walker are prepared, rugs changed, boots put on.

Carl Hester arrives to ride his first horse at 8.30.

The horses on Carl 's yard have a special magnetic rug on before they are ridden to warm and stimulate the muscles before work this rug is also used to relax the muscles after work.

8.30 am. Sweep the yard and continue to take horses on and off the walker. Get Carl’s second horse ready, Carl’s horses are walked ready for him to get on and walked off when he has finished. After work the horse is bathed or groomed.

9 am – 2 pm. Carl Hester, Charlotte Dujardin and Katie Bailey work the horses all of which have to be got ready for them to ride and groomed or bathed after they have been cooled down.

2 pm. Lunch break. Start cleaning tack and filling the washing machine. Carl starts teaching. 

3 pm. Cleaning tack, tidying yard and  wash bays, emptying and re-filling the washing machine.

4 pm. Skipping out, delivering more hay,  grooming horses that have not been ridden, rugging up.

5 pm.Evening  feeds and hay. Hay trolley is re-stacked for the morning and the morning feeds are piled into the wheelbarrow ready for the next day. The barn is tidied, the yard is swept tidy and the horses are left in peace.

5.30 pm. Final tidy of tack room, wash boxes hosed down, arenas levelled. Informal staff meeting over a cup of tea where everyone has a chance to talk about the day and discuss what needs doing the following day.

9.30 pm. Late night check on the horses.

This is a typical day at Carl Hester's yard  in Gloucestershire as described on his website,  Carl also insists that all of the horses go out in the field, every single day, for a minimum of 2 – 3 hours.

There are also visits from Farrier, Vet, Physio, Dentist, saddle fitter to be arranged and supervised plus rug repairs/cleaning collection, clipping, ordering feed and yard essentials, unloading deliveries etc.

Weekly Routine

All the horses are worked as above on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday.
 
Horses are hacked onWednesdays and Saturdays.


The horse have the day off on Sunday giving staff time to catch up on  jobs like pulling manes and tails, cleaning the horsebox.

Find out more about Carl Hester, his horses, staff, and yard by visiting the website Carl Hester there is also an interesting interview with him here at  http://www.manage-my-horse.com/NewsManager/templates/mmhnews.aspx?articleid=253&zoneid=1

Photo source Carl Hester 's Twitter

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Daily Routine - A day in the life of a stabled horse

Stabled_Horses_-_geograph.org.uk_-_65188Image: Tony Aitkin

Stabled horses need to be waited on hand and foot, here we look at the daily routine for a horse kept in a stable.

6.30am. Early morning health check, rugs adjusted, haying up, water, horses breakfast.

7.00am. Start mucking out.

7.30am. Quick groom called quartering, tack up, first exercise of the day.

9.00am. After cooling off and rubbing down and rugging if necessary horse can be left with ample hay and water.

12.00pm. Check horse, re-adjust rugs, skip out, hay up and water. Horse should be walked if possible for at least 30 mins either in hand or on a horse walker.

4.00pm. Deliver more hay, skip out, check water, groom and prepare for more exercise.

5.30pm. After exercise, cooling off, rubbing down and rugging evening feeds and hay are delivered.

9.30pm. Late night check on horses.

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Daily Routine - The Grass Kept Horse or Pony

Pony-at-grass-grazing-paddockPhoto: Trish Steel

A horse or pony turned out in a field cannot survive without regular attention and should be checked on at least once, preferably twice, a day.

Even if you don't intend to ride you should catch your pony to do the regular health checks. Horses often get nicks and scratches when out at grass and these will need treating to prevent them going septic and causing further problems.

Water troughs need to be checked and cleaned regularly, algae grows very quickly in the summer, ice needs to be broken in the winter.

The perimeter fence, gates and field shelter all need to be inspected and repaired if necessary.

Fields also need to be inspected for litter which should be removed and other dangers such as broken branches which need to be sawn off close to the tree, rabbit or rat holes which should be filled in etc.

All of this should be done daily.

Dung should be removed from the field at least twice a week and you'll need to remove ragwort and any other poisionous plants as soon as they appear.

Your horse or pony will also need additional feed at certain times of year in the form of hay and/ or a bucket of feed such as pony nuts, soaked beet and chaff.  These should be fed early morning and late afternoon so that the pony gets best advantage from the food.

During the winter your horse may need rugging and the rugs will have to be checked and rearranged if necessary twice a day.

Some horses and ponies will benefit from fly sheets in the summer, again these need to be checked twice a day.

Keeping a pony at grass also means that you have to learn about pasture management, your horse won't be able to stay on the same field for the whole year, the field will need resting. Sometimes the paddock will need harrowing, fertilising, weedkilling etc 

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Daily Routine - Combined system of stabling and going out to grass - real life routines

Horse_and_Rider_at_Knowle_Park_-_geograph.org.uk_-_1193192Image:© Copyright Oast House Archive and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence

The College student:


Go to yard early in the morning,  feed & check horses. While they are eating do hay and water.
Rug up if wearing rugs, and turn all horses out.
Muck out all leaving beds up for floor to dry.

Go to college.


Go home and get changed and head  straight to yard, get boxes ready putting down more straw. Hay and water already done.
Bring horse in, wash feet off, and change rugs. Brush off mud.
Ride.
Groom, bed and feed.
Go home, eat,  homework, try and have social life if I don't fall asleep first!

A working owner:

Get up at 5.30am to be at the  yard by 5.45am. Check horse over mix morning feed.
Tack up and ride for 30 mins.
 Untack and rug and feed.
Muck out.
Turn out horse.Get home by 7.30 at latest to shower, do hair and make up etc,  in the car by 8.30 for work at 9.

Winter Evening -
Get home about 5.30, change go straight to yard
Mix feed and bring horse in by 6.00.
Do hay and water for stables while horse is eating.
Change rugs while horse is eating.
Home by 6.30 / 7.00pm.

Horse is stabled during the day in summer so everthing is reversed here's the routine:

Summer Morning -
Get up at 7am to be at yard by 7.15am.
Bring horses in by 7.20am and feed horses.
Go home at 7.30.
Get ready as before


Summer Evening -
Get gome about 5.30, change go straight to yard.
Tack up horse,  ride for 30 minutes.
Turn horse out by 6.50 and feed in field.
Muck out by 7.10.
Do hay and water for next day.
Get home by 7.30.

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Do you have enough time to own a horse?

Antique_Clock_FaceImage: Chris Willis

Make no mistake horse ownership is very time consuming, horses require care 7 days a week, 52 weeks a year, come rain or shine and as a horse owner you'll have to look after your horse yourself or pay someone else to do it for you.

Daily care could take up to 3 hours a day, everyday including Christmas Day, and that's not including riding.  Take a look at these typical days for the following methods of keeping a horse or pony:

The Grass Kept Horse or Pony

Combined system of stabling and going out to grass

A day in the life of a stabled horse

Daily routine of a competion yard

Those are just the daily routines, every 6 weeks or so you'll need to be available to hold your horse for the farrier. Once or twice a year you'll need to be available when the equine dentist visits, and the vet, and maybe an equine physio, then there's the saddle fitter's annual check.

Don't forget you also need to think about travelling times, how long will it take you to travel to and from the yard where your horse is kept? Ideally you should do this twice a day but there will be occasional unforeseen circumstances when you'll need to be there more frequently.

And there's the time it will take you to go to the feed merchant to purchase the horse's food, how frequently will you need to do this?

Now ask yourself honestly do you really have the time for this?

What about your family commitments, how are the rest of the family going to cope, and feel, about you spending so much time looking after a horse?

Are you sure you can fit in enough time to care for your horse and get to work / school / college on time?

What about homework / house keeping / other hobbies / your social life, can you fit it all in?

Are you really prepared to go without holidays / days out / shopping etc and for how long? Horse ownership is a full time, long term commitment, can you really do it, do you really want to do this 365 days a year, year in year out?

If you're not  sure there are alternatives to horse ownership that will give you a taste of what it's really like to own a horse or pony and help you to make up your mind if horse ownership is really for you.

And if you haven't got the time, but you have got the money, you can pay someone else to take care of your horse by keeping it in full livery which brings us to the next question,

Can you really afford a horse?

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Can you afford a horse? Costs and hidden costs of ownership

Horses are expensive, the actual purchase price is a drop in the ocean compared to the day to day running costs here we've complied a list to give you an indication of the costs involved.

Please note that prices will vary enormously depending on geographical location and those quoted are just to give you a general ideal before embarking on horse ownership you should check prices locally.

Livery Costs

Grass livery - £70 -£100 per month

DIY - £110 - £250 per month

Part - £240 - £550 per month

Working livery - £280 -£340 per month

Full livery £300 - £800 per month

Feed

Hay £4 - £7 per small bale

Haylage £7 - £9 per small bale

Horse & pony nuts - £7 - £14 per bag

Chaff - £5 - £14 per bag

Bedding

Wood Shavings - £7 - £9 per bale

Straw - £2.50 - £3.50 per bale

Wood Pellets - £3.00 - £5.00 per bag

Farrier every 6 - 8 weeks

Shoeing - £80

Trim - £30

Worm Control every 6 - 12 weeks depending on type of wormer used

Wormer - £7.00 -£20.00

Faecal Egg Count - £8.00

Worm control blood test (usually biannual) £60.00

Dentistry every 6 -12 months

Float and check up £40 - £50 should any extra work be required the charge is more

Annual Vaccinations

Flu & tetatnus £50.00 + VAT and vet call out fee

Insurance

Costs vary depending on value of the horse, type of work it's going to do, amount of vet fees covered etc  from£350 upwards

Grooming kit

From £17 upwards

Equine first aid kit

Approx £50

Yard and field equipment

Wheelbarrow £35.00 - £300 +

Feed Bucket £4.50 - £25.00+

Water Bucket £4.50 - £25.00+

Broom from £6.00

Fork £20.00

Shovel £15.00

Manure scoop & fork from £15.00

Feed storage bins £60

Hay nets from £5.00

Tack & Rugs

Turnout rug £50 - £150

Stable rug £30 - £80

Saddle £500 - £2,000

Bridle  £50 - £150

Head Collar £5 - £70

Lead rope £ 5 - £15

Transport

Horse trailer £2,000 and up

Horse box  £5,00 and up

Hire of self drive horse box  £100 a day

+ necessary insurance and cost of any additional driving tests that may be required.

Identification

Passport £60

Microchipping £25.00 + VAT and possible vet call out fee

Freeze marking £50.00

Pre-purchase vetting

2 stage vetting £150.00 + VAT and vet call out fee

5 stage vetting £300.00 + VAT and vet call out fee

Euthansia & Carcass disposal

Shooting £100 + VAT & vet call out fee

Lethal injection £200 + VAT and vet call out fee

Cremation individual  £700

Cremation shared  £300 - £500

Hunt kennels  £100 - £250

Lessons

Group lessons  £22 an hour

Private lessons  £25 - £45 an hour

Competion entry  £25 per class

But that's not all let's take a look at some of the hidden costs of horse ownership

Cost of travel to and from the yard

You'll need to work out how much it's going to cost you to travel to your horse to and from your home and work twice a day. The cost of fuel will add a considerable amount to your monthly running costs and don't forget there will have to be trips to the feed merchant to, the cost of those needs to be factored into your running costs as well.

Additional Livery Charges

If you aren't on full livery and are unable to do them yourself there will be extra charges for various services performed at your livery yard eg. if you can't be there for the farrier the livery will be there for you at an additinal cost of approx £5.00. Other additional charges are made for:

  • Turning out
  • Bringing in
  • Rugging up
  • Skepping out
  • Standing for the vet etc

Make sure you know what you are going to be charged for and how much you will be charged before entering an agreement, in some cases the extra charges could almost double your livery bill.

Vets Bills

Make no mistake horses are accident prone, they often hurt themselves and each other, and vets are expensive. Learn about equine first aid and you'll be able to deal with lots of the smaller injuries yourself but sometimes a vet needs to be called in.

Even if you take out insurance to cover veterinary costs, which is advisable,  there will still be an excess to pay similar to car insurance and you'll find that you will be paying out of your own pocket for the smaller medical emergences. In additional to the consultation charge and cost of medication there will also be a call out charge and VAT this will probably add up to over £100 per visit and you can never know when or how often you will have to call a vet in. You need to make sure you have funds put aside to cover this.

Seasonal Variations

The cost of hay and straw will often vary depending on supply and demand. If there is a poor crop of hay it will be expensive, the price also tends to increase during the winter months when you need to feed more.

Extra feed and bedding will be required the colder it gets, so in a hard winter your horse will cost you more to keep.

During the winter months your horse might need clipping to prevent him getting too hot and sweaty during exercise, this will involve either the purchase of clippers or paying someone to clip for you.

Weather conditions will also result in the need for additional medical supplies eg. fly spray in the summer.

Maintenance

Rugs will require washing, repair and re-proofing annually.

Tack cleaning - saddle soaps, leather softeners.

Saddles refitting.

Sometimes tack needs to be repaired by a saddler or items replaced.

Tyres will go down on wheelbarrows, equipment will break and need to be repaced.

If you have a horse box or trailer it will require regular servicing and MOT

Extras  

Take a look around any tack shop or feed merchants and you'll see lots of equine extras for sale, all at considerable expense. Although many of them aren't absolutely neccessary you will want at least some eg.

Supplements

Hoof care products

Shampoos, coat and skin care products

Mane & tail care products

Fly sprays

Additional brushes and combs

Bandages and boots

First Aid products

 Riding Apparel

Another hidden cost of horse ownership is the cost of your own horsey clothing. If you're used to riding once or twice a week it might come as a surprise just how quickly jodhpurs and boots wear out when you wear them 7 days a week. You'll need to factor in the replacement costs of your own clothes and footwear, also bear in mind that somedays you'll get absolutely soaked so you'll probably need more than one warm coat etc.


If you've been honest with yourself and realised that horse ownership is just too expensive for you at this time in your life don't despair there are alternatives to horse ownership some of which are much more affordable, take a look at Alternatives to horse ownership Print Friendly and PDF

Technorati Tags: cost of hay, cost of horse ownership, cost of owning a horse, cost of straw, equine, expense of owning a pony, horse expenses, vet bills

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Contents

  • Can you afford a horse?
  • Do you have enough time to own a horse?
  • The Responsibilities of Owning a Horse
  • Equine Skills you need to have before buying a horse or pony - Handling
  • What you need to know before buying a horse - Horse Health Care
  • Recommended Riding Skills - How well should you be able to ride before buying a pony?
  • What you need to know before you buy a horse - knowledge of horse care and management
  • Types of Livery
  • Daily Routine - Combined system of stabling /grass
  • Daily Routine - The Grass Kept Horse or Pony
  • Daily Routine - A day in the life of a stabled horse
  • Daily Routine at a competion yard - Carl Hester 's
  • Alternatives to horse ownership
  • Where to Report Concerns About the Welfare of a Horse, Pony or Donkey
  • Equine Codes of Practice
  • Horses and The Law - Straying on Roads
  • Horses and The Law - Liability

Free Guides

  • Green Horsekeeping
  • Horse Safety
  • All about Ragwort
  • Common Horse Colours and Markings
  • All you need to know about horse ownership

Top tips to help keep you safe around horses

  • Always wear suitable footwear when riding or working around horses
  • All you need to know about Horse Ownership
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