Now that we've covered the feeding and nutritional basics for your horse; let's get into more aspects of horse ownership.

Care of your horse's hooves is a big deal. Keep urine and manure out of your horse's hooves. If clean mud from the pasture gets packed in there, it's fine as long as there isn't a rock or other debris making your horse's hoof sore. If you let your horse's hooves stay packed with clean mud and always pick them out before you turn your horse out to pasture to insure there is a regular rotation of clean mud; it also keeps urine and manure out of your horses hooves. There are a lot of small issues around the area of your horse's hooves, but basically if you keep the hooves of your horse in a natural condition, they should be fine. Check your horse's feet often as they are where a lot of lameness issues can start.

Getting your horse's teeth checked on a regular yearly schedule (more often if your horse needs it) are a must for keeping your horse's teeth maintained for healthy chewing and good digestion. Vaccinations are another must. Horses don't need a huge number of vaccinations, but they do need them to protect against encephalitis, tetanus, and rabies. If your horse is very young or very old, consider adding an influenza vaccine to the regiment.

Training your horse means using kindness and rewards. Horses respond in the most positive of ways to this type of training. There is no need to whip your horse, it will never make him respect you - he will only fear you and it's been proven time and time again that horses respond greater to trainers they have a bond with rather than a fear of.