Introduction

Owning a horse. From the first dreams of that pony to an adult's realisation of lifelong dreams.... many have to wait a lifetime for that equine companion. You finally bring the horse home, and then the confusion starts. Whether you are a child listening to your parents, or an adult starting from scratch, you start to realise that every other horse owner has opinions -and that THEIR opinion is the only right one.

For some reason, horse owners are one group of people who become very set in their ways. Things are done a certain way because they have ALWAYS been done that way. This oddity also passes the barrier into the veterinary and farrier professions. The professionals you should be able to trust are frequently just as uninformed as the horse owners around you.

The only way to sort all of this out is to leave yourself open to new studies and new information. Talk to everyone, and pull the truth apart from the tradition. Look at scientific studies. Ferret out the real from the misinformation floating around.

I have owned horses for thirty years. Unfortunately, the first fifteen years I fell into the rut of doing it because it had always been done that way. Then I started to open my eyes and use my brain. I started researching new studies and talking to everyone I could, trying to find what is truly the best for the horse. Over the years I have gained a lot of knowledge, and heard a lot of really stupid comments from "experts". I plan to share what I have learned.

I am not the be-all-end-all of information on horse care - but what I do have is common sense. I have spent years wading through opinions, techniques, and questionable practices. I have rescued horses in dire straights. I have seen healthy horses lamed and destroyed due to lack of information. I just hope that you can benefit from some of the things I have learned, and use it as a springboard for your own knowledge gathering.