Common Horse Health Problems and their Treatments

Just like many other prized creatures, horses are no exception to diseases. No matter how much care and attention you give to it, there are times when horses may also contract diseases that owners would be surprised why they have it. 

Proper way to take good care of them is to identify what causes their own or illnesses and perhaps prevent it from happening in the future. Proper horse husbandry is the key to ensuring that your valuable horse's health is taken care very well. Most of the diseases that horses contracted are:  rabies, influenza, colic, intestinal worms and tetanus. But there's just too many of them to enumerate them all. 


If you are truly passionate about horse riding, this activity would surely be a fun and pleasurable experience once you pay close attention and give proper care to your horse. 

Essential Equipment Needed for Horse Riding

You should know that horseback riding is one of the most expensive sports. You may have already gone through the essential steps in finding the right trainer, and you also have scheduled your first lesson. Horse riders seem to acquire so many horse equipment that they forgot to take their lessons first. Make sure to master your horse riding lessons first before you buy anything yet.  

Your instructor should already have a helmet ready if he or she is teaching you a beginner’s lessons. Call your instructor if he has one. This is one of the most important equipment you should have. Wearing a helmet is important for your protection against accidents and injuries.    

Riding is one part of equestrianism. Grooming your horse is another part and as such, you need a good set of high quality grooming brushes and storage box to keep all of them. It can include dandy and body brushes, curry combs and a hoof pick although this is by no means exhaustive.

Whips and crops are not huge concern at first. However, when you become more serious in your horse riding lessons, the need for them will be greater. The major role of crop is to back up the voice and leg instructions of the rider—you should never hurt your horse. The crop is placed on the fleshy rump where the horse can sense it but won’t get hurt. There are a wide variety of crop and of them exist for different purposes. Whips on the other hand have crack at the bottom. Its primary function is to guide the horse and direct it to the right pace.

More than what the horse riding equipment can offer, think of horseback riding as more than just another sport—it’s a lifestyle. You can look around your area and check if there are bargains for equipment they may no longer need. However, I don’t encourage you to buy cheap, low quality equipment. The better quality you buy, the longer you can use it and the safer it will be to use.

This blog is written by Scarlett Michael, one of the Featured Senior Contributor of the HorseRiding Perth Community Journal. She has contributed more than 1,000 articles to different sites that talks about horse riding for more than a decade.