Questions Please Help!?

Question

Okay here goes:

How often should you bathe a horse? (not too much so they loose their natural oils but enough so they stay clean and healthy)

When does a horse OFFICALLY become an adult?(I've heard answers from age 1 to age 4, which one is right)

Someone told me that you must rotate wormers(or the active ingrediant)in order for them to effectivly work every month. So like pick two you like and just rotate(making each have a different active ingrediant)is this in pastes only or pelets only or neither?

When you clip a horses tail should you clip straight across or in like an upward kind of motion?(I've seen both be done)

All answers that have been researched will be appreciated-I dont mean to be rude, I just want to make sure what I'm "learning" is RIGHT.

BM :)

Answer 1

1) A horse shouldn't be bathed more than once a month. Maybe once every few months, if the weather is permitting.

2) I'm not 100% positive on this one, but I think they become adults around the ages of 4 or 5.

3) Rotating wormers is a good idea, at my barn we do it also. Rotating the wormers will help the horse not become immune to a certain brand.

4) A horse's tail can be clipped any way you want. Straight across is more of a dressage style. Just don't cut it too short, he needs his tail for swatting flies!

Hope that helped!

Answer 2

Your horse should be bathed in the morning, even if it's just a spray. A good bath every week should be sufficient. As for the wormers, I personally prefer to rotate an invectin with a big 'ol bot fighter about every 3 weeks or so. Have your vet check for anything else your particular horse may need. When it comes to clipping, there's clipping and there's clipping. How short do you want to go? It's up to you. If you intend to keep it long, I'd recommend a blunt cut, just ask a fellow horseman/horsewoman what they think. A bobbed tail is becoming more popular and quite the thing in England. Of course, you can always "ribbon up" the tail for certain occasions. I prefer to keep the tail long as it helps them to swat flies and they also use their tails for communication. Hey, I didn't think you were rude at all!

Answer 3

I typically don't bathe my horse at all in the winter unless I'm going to a show.  In the wild, horses are never bathed, its not something that is necessary, but we, as owners like them to be clean.  In the summer, if I'm not showing, I hose them off after a ride if they are really sweaty, but only shampoo them once every few weeks (or before a show).  Horse's skin can dry out easily, so I really only do it when I need to, and shampoo the tail once every other week.

As for adult age of a horse, I've heard between 4-5.  In "show" terms, like with AQHA, APHA, etc, they consider a Junior Horse 5yrs or younger, and 6 and older is a Senior horse.  So by their terms, the horse is pretty much an adult at 5.  Some horses will have their joints fuse earlier than others.  I've had horses grow until 4, and other people have seen some growth spurts and changes in the joints as late as 6.  Its kind open to opinion.

Rotating wormers is important so your horse doesn't build up an immunity to one "type" of wormer.  If you look at the boxes on the paste wormers, you will see some are "ivermectins, pyrantels, etc"  They are different classes of de-wormers.  You want to rotate between a couple of the different classes.  I prefer using paste wormers all the time.  You also want to read the label to see what type of parasites it covers.  I like to worm for bots in the late summer/fall when the bots lay their eggs.  I like to make sure that the wormers cover Ascarids if its a young horse, and I want all my wormers to cover Strongyles.

When clipping your horse's tail, its whatever you want to do.  I show western pleasure, and they like the tails to have a blunt cut across the bottom, so I cut it straight across.  Some people like the more tapered look.  Some breeds want the tail dragging on the ground, and for some disciplines (like barrels, jumping, etc), you might want to keep the tail shorter so its not in the way.  There is no "correct" way to trim their tail.  Do whatever you like the best.

Answer 4

For the wormers:  the BEST parasite prevention plan is to do regular fecal testing, choose 2-3 products that are effective against the parasites your animals have or had in the past, and then use each for several wormings before alternating.  If you don't test, then you need to choose products for a broad spectrum of activity against all types of worms and rotate more often.

Answer 5

I bathe with shampoo once a week show horses, rinse everyday

JR horse is 4 yrs an under

we use a feed through program and only paste if our cultures come back positive

banging a horses tail is a cut straight across at the bottom

am curious is the for Howrse?

Answer 6

I only give my horse a wash when he needs it, like after a ride (cos he gets real sweaty). In winter I try not to ride him too hard, cos if he needs a bath I don't want to give him one, cos he might get a chill. I'm not sure when a horse becomes an adult, but if you are going to break one in, wait until they are at least 3 or 4, so they have time to grow, (TB are generally broken in when they're about 2, its not good for them). You should worm your horse about every 6-8 weeks, then change your wormer every 6-12 months, because after a while the worms will become immune to the wormer. Depending on where you go, you can wormer's in the form paste, pellets and granules. I don't know about clipping a horse tail (never done it, never been a need to).

Answer 7

1. BATHING...During the summer when they work up a sweat they get sprayed down with hose to remove the sweat as well as to make sure no sand got slung up and caught in the sweat between the rear legs during their work. That can be very painful and rub them raw.

Don't put soap more than once per month on a heathly horse with no skin issues. Wash thoroughly, allow to dry then spray on enough Laser Sheen to soak the hair, even on manes and tails. Brush it in thoroughly. This both protects the hair from bleaching by the sun but makes it less likely to attract dirt, what dirt they get on them will brush right off. Also helps keeps manes and tails tangle free so there is less breakage from combing out tangles.

2. ADULT...Most horses are fully mature with all bone plates hardened at around 5 years, the spine/neck is actually one of the last parts to fully develop..and the legs the first parts, basicly from the ground up.  Some large breeds (drafts, saddlebreds, warmbloods ect) mature slower and aren't fully mature to 8 years. With any breed you can generally add 6 months if it is male.

http://www.equinestudies.org/knowledge_b...

3. WORMING ... When Ivermectin wormers hit the market they were advertised as the "one wormer you'll never need to rotate" Now studies have shown that to be false. It's always a good idea to rotate wormers but don't just rotate randomly. Use a wormer with an active ingredient that is most needed in your area at that time of year. Generally horses should be wormed every other month if they are in a good environment. Horses in overstocked paddocks ect will ingest more eggs and keep a higher supply of intestinal parasites so you have to be more diligent, for those every 6 weeks is better. Young horses (foals up to 1 year) should be wormed monthly  as they have very little resistance to parasites. Intestinal threadworms and large roundworms are the biggest threat to foals.

http://www.horsehealthusa.com/cgi-local/...

4. CLIPPING THE TAIL....Straight across is a banged tail. You see it many times in Hunter classes and now it's also becoming seen more in the western pleasure classes (or maybe the same horses are moving between the two classes). The upward angle is a more natural look.

Just depends on what you are doing with your horse and what you prefer. Varies greatly depending on region, breed and disipline .

Answer 8

1. I never bathe my horses=]

i might start showing one of them and if so, ill just give her a bath before the show so shell be clean.

2.When a female horse turns 3 years old, then she is considered a mare.same with colts and stallions. however, they usually dont stop growing til around the age of 8.

3.I use the same brand of wormer paste every time.

4.If i were to cut my horses tail, id kinda layer it so it would look more natural. one of my horse's tail was all the way to the ground and he got it tangled in a piece of barbed wire and i had to cut it straight across. didn't look too good if i may say.

that's about all i can tell ya.

i hoped i helped!

also, if youre looking to break a horse, for qh horses, tw horses and horses  like that, they can begin training around 2 or 3, but with arabians, you should wait until they are around 4. i read that their spines are weaker than most horses and can become very sway-backed if you dont wait long enough.

Answer 9

Ok, these answers are partially opinion, and partially from experience. I've been around horses for around 30 years.

Bathing is as often as deemed necessary. I rinse a horse in the heat every time I get them to break a sweat, and not so much when it's cooler and sweat will dry with just brushing. Shampoo? Only if we're going to a show, or when the horse is so filthy brushing is a lost cause, or if I'm showing a horse to a potential buyer.

IMO a horse becomes an adult at age 4. Meaning bones have hardened, able to do harder and more complex work, etc.

Yes, wormers should be rotated. Worms build up immunities to wormers that are used on a continual basis. Your vet can tell you which are the best and what rotation schedule to use.

I have never clipped a horses tail in my life, but in the US and back when I was heavily into showing Hunters, tail clipping wasn't really done. It was more accepted in dressage, and all of the clipped tails I ever saw were clipped straight across with the tail laying as flat against the butt as possible.

Again, everyone has their own opinions, and people who ride in different disciplines have different MO's and beliefs.

Answer 10

i bathe my horse whenevr they are too dirty to be cleaned when grooming. but with my grey, he gets dirty all the time, so at least every 3-4 weeks

i think 4 is correct

i personally just buy what ever one i find, but i like to use just one.

both are just right- it depends on what you are doing