One of the things most people don't estimate when they are about to get a horse for the first time is the cost of housing their horse. You already know it can cost quite a lot to feed and care for a horse including maintenance vaccinations and wormings; however another fee that is incurred with a horse that is properly cared for is putting a roof over his horsey head.

Many people say, well wild horses live outside and it's true they do just that. However, your horse isn't wild and he isn't equipped to shelter himself from extremes of temperature nor sudden hazards such as lightening or hail. Therefore, your horse will need someplace to stay.

A healthy and well cared for horse can put up with cold temperatures as long as they have a full winter coat and aren't exposed to wet weather or extremely windy conditions. A good rule of thumb when calculating space for a horse is he needs at least 64 square feet (8 feet by 8 feet) and a ceiling area of about 9 feet in height. This is at the minimum and isn't meant to hold him for hours upon hours a day.

The shelter should be free of leaks and offer a place for your horse to stay warm and dry. If it doesn't meet these minimum requirements, it's probably not adequate shelter.

In the wintertime, clean straw bedding in the shelter will make your horses more warm and comfortable. Bedding is necessary for foals because they spend a lot of time lying down. Similarly, old horses should have bedding. A horse kept in a stall should have access to clean bedding all year round.

The old saying goes, "Good fences make good neighbors". Good fences also make happy, healthy horses.

Unfortunately, many horses are curious and will wander if given half a chance. That is where strong fencing comes into play. If your horse goes wandering and winds up on a road, he could be injured or even killed by an automobile.

Most horses will recognize a fence as a place where their boundary for roaming ends. A few horses will learn to simply jump a fence and go about their way. You can work with your horse to learn this is his boundary or you can take it a step further and increase the height of your fence or electrify the fence to give him a scolding shock if he touches the fence. Nearly all horses can learn their boundaries with repeated lessons over many week period, however there are a token few that will require electric fencing to discourage them from wandering and finding trouble and possibly injury.

You will also need to make sure you keep your fence in good repair. Horses are very clever and a good number of horses over the years have learned how to open pin-hinge gates by watching their owner lift the pin out and put it in again to close and latch the gate. If you know your horse tends to watch and learn rather quickly, watch out he might be letting himself out of the gate if you're not careful!