Autour du cheval

Your horse's well-being

This theme aims to help make life more enjoyable for your horse, either by simple gestures, or by "small ticks"

An average horse daily life is scheduled on a precise timetable : an hour out training, a quarter of an hour for each meal (that is to say 45 minutes per day), two fodder distributions (that is to say overall 90 minutes), grooming (30 minutes) and time for rest (8 hours). That is to say a total of 12 hours and 45 minutes per day. It remains therefore 11 hours and 15 minutes of « spare time », to be used in a way or another to avoid sullenness.

ENVIRONMENT

1. The paddock

PADD advices horse well being

      

In the sunny days, a totally free stay in the paddock is the best moment in a horse's life. Actually, open air, contact with grass and no bars will allow his mood improvement. The paddock is highly recommended for stressed and nervous horses. There's nothing like a stay in the paddock to cheer a horse's spirit up.

    

2. Box location

Isolation is the most radical way to let your horse get bored. It must therefore be avoided at all costs. On the contrary, if the box communicates with the one on its side, don't hesitate to change his neighbour each month so that he can experience new smells, some movement…

CARE

Box look
The wall decoration is important. A box must be painted with clear colours (picture no. 1). Only a band (1,50 m from the floor) can be covered with a dark colour in order to hide the marks of dung on the walls.

For what regards the litter cleanliness, it is a very important matter for the horse well-being (picture no. 2).

Smell
Urine and dung stench are never pleasant. To avoid these troubles, damp the side walls of the box with a mix of water and non-toxic aromatic plants, as eucalyptus (picture no. 3).

Dust
This volatile dust that you often discover in your stables causes two troubles: the first regarding health (cause for hacking cough), the second regarding cleanliness because it settles everywhere. To counter these two problems, damp the ground before sweeping, get your litter slightly wet after adding straw and turn the litter over. This simple action allows fixing the dust on the straw or the shaving (picture no. 4).

Awakening

A toy

   

This accessory hanged in the box allows the horse to keep himself busy, by making it swing, or by rubbing on it. In the past the toy was replaced by a pet - goat, rabbit or sheep - in order to let the horse have fun with his friend. The toy must have suitable dimensions, so that the horse cannot take it into his mouth. It must be manufactured in a material different from tissue so that it doesn't tear. Swallowing the scraps, the horse would risk blocking his digestive tracts.

The horse size is imposing. Choose for him a pet according to his size.

    

Trick
1. Buy a plastic beach ball.
2. Find some strings from the straw bales.
3. Place the strings as in the drawing, forming a grid. Another chance is placing the ball in a hay net.
4. Once the assembly is over, fix it to the ceiling at head level and in a free corner (without drinking trough or manger). Your horse will therefore be able to play pushing it.

We sells balls of different shapes, dimensions and colours.

PROTECTION

Stable door and stable chain

conseils PADD bien-être cheval porte de box

         

To avoid horses gnawing at them, more and more stable doors are equipped with grids. Imagine the daily sad view behind bars… During the day and always under surveillance it is better to place a chain across his door. But be careful! Don't you ever take such a risk with aggressive horses or horses having a tendency to escape. In case of an accident, the horse owner is the only liable person.
Considered how simple it is, we suggest assembling it by yourself (see the plan hereunder). The cost will be much cheaper than at your saddler's.