Horses, just like people, need to eat a variety of things to meet their nutritional requirements. If their diet is out of balance, then problems occur. A horse getting too much feed will become overweight, while one who eats too many treats may end up with colic. A young horse that eats an unbalanced diet may grow slowly or not grow correctly.

Horses, just like people, need to stay clean in order to not only look good but also stay healthy. Grooming not only gets the horse clean; it also relaxes them and allows you to look for injuries, parasites, or skin conditions.

Horses do not speak in words, but they still communicate. They use body language. Understanding horse “language” is important when it comes to safely handling horses. There are several ways horses position their bodies in order to talk to each other.

Just as different people do different jobs, so do different horses perform different tasks. In order to do their jobs well, they need to have the right tack or equipment.

So many activities and interactions with horses require you to know what the parts of the horse are, where they’re located, and how they function. It’s also important to use the correct terminology when speaking with others about horses. For example, telling the vet that a horse has a wound on the withers is more specific than just saying on the back.

The economic and ecological considerations of clear cutting wooded acreage.

Fall Panicum is a common annual warm season grass that can be hepatotoxic (cause liver disease) in horses under certain growing conditions. Toxicity in horses was documented in Virginia in 2004 when fourteen horses were diagnosed with liver disease as a result of consuming Fall Panicum hay. Currently, there have been several cases of suspected toxicity in horses grazing Fall Panicum in Northern Virginia pastures since late summer 2015. The trigger that causes toxicity and the amount of grass required to cause illness are not well understood, thus proper identification and treatment are essential for recovery.

An elite thoroughbred racehorse can burn up to 30,000 kilocalories daily making nutrition an integral component underlying athletic success.