Horses

How-to Videos

Grazing Muzzles and How to Fit Them - Grazing muzzles are a tool to help keep both your horses and pasture healthy in the early spring and fall.  A muzzle will reduce the consumption of grasses that tend to have high sugar content but still provide your horse activity in the pasture.  A grazing muzzle is also a method to prevent overgrazing of pasture grasses in the early spring and fall when plants are beginning to grow.

Horse Hoof Poultice Wrap - This video demonstrates how to properly wrap your horse's hoof when treating an abscess. Hoof abscesses are fairly common when horses are in wet, muddy conditions.  To help prevent abscesses review horse farm management ideas in the publications in the section below.

Horse Hoof Diaper Wrap - This video will show you how to wrap a horse's hoof when you need protection in a pinch. This wrap may be used if horse has pulled a shoe off or has a sensitive hoof that you want to keep clean until you can consult with your veternarian or farrier.  This method literally uses a diaper!

Horse Farm Management

Managing Small-Acreage Horse Farms in Western Oregon and Western Washington - Horses, grass, manure, soil and water are all interconnected. How you manage one affects the others. Following these seven steps can make your horse farm safe, efficient, and environmentally friendly. Learn more about horse grazing habits, pasture rotation, weed control and manure management.

Introduction to Housing for HorsesOwning a horse can be an incredibly rewarding experience. One of the biggest decisions is choosing a place to keep your horse. What considerations should you take to choose a place that best fits your and your horse's needs.

Health & Nutrition

How to Feed a Horse: Understanding the Basic Principles of Horse Nutrition - The law requires commercial horse feed manufacturers to put information concerning their feed on a "feed tag," which is either attached to or printed directly on the bag. This tag provides essential information on what the horse will be eating. However, most horse owners either don’t understand or don’t take the time to read this information. This publication explains your horse’s nutritional needs, common guidelines to observe when feeding your horse and how to determine if your horse’s nutritional requirements are being met.

Managing Hypochaeris radicata May Prevent Stringhalt Disease in Horses - Hypochaeris radicata is also so known as false dandelion, flatweed, common catsear or summer dandelion. Stringhalt is a neurological condition that affects the mobility in a horse’s hind legs. It is characterized by a jerky, exaggerated flexion of one or both hocks towards the abdomen with a delayed extension when moving forward.  If the horse is diagnosed with stringhalt after being on pasture, it is referred to as pasture stringhalt. 

Composting & Manure Utilization

Composting: An Alternative for Livestock Manure Management and Disposal of Dead Animals - Composting is a naturally occurring process that farmers have used for centuries. Under the right conditions, microorganisms grow and multiply, converting the original organic material into a more stable, usable product. Organic materials suitable for composting include leaves, yard and garden debris, grass or cereal straw, food waste, sewage sludge, and livestock manure.

Looking for more information? Try the OSU Extension horse website.