Hi everyone, I’m a high school student and wondering if there are any good resources to find out more about horse care, anatomy, etc.? Possibly a book or online guide.
Of course the best way to learn is from someone knowledgeable, which I do as much as possible. But I’m more looking for something I can do when not at the barn!
Thanks!
The pony club manuals are a good place to start. Easily available from Amazon.
Online, I’d reccomend The Horse magazine’s website, as well as any number of agricultural extension publications.
Here’s an example.
FEI has some good resources, as well.
USHJA’s Horsemanship Quiz Challenge offers an online study guide that is a great resource:
For diet I like Feed Your Horse Like a Horse (book)
A lot depends on where you are starting. If you are starting from scratch Pony Club manuals are great. There may also be free Coursera courses on basic horse care.
If you are a beginner you need to understand basic diet, cleaning, grooming and when to call in a service provider like a farrier or vet. Annual vet things include teeth and vaxx, farrier or trimmer is every six weeks. Also basic first aid. How to identify colic thrush hoof abscess etc
After you already have horses and understand the basics you can start learning about optimizing nutrition, hoof health, etc. Tack fitting. Saddle fit, especially.
Once you are competing there is a lot to know about grooming and clipping.
Horse care for healthy horses is not complicated but it requires consistency and doing things right.
I kept my own horse in a backyard self board situation from the age of 14 with no intelligent adult oversight and did just fine because I was at the barn every single day to ride, groom, feed, water, clean. It’s the consistency that matters. Hey a simple routine and never miss a day
The pony club books are a great starting point. Some of the content around diet and bandages can be a bit outdated. For specific questions, the search feature in here is amazing. Of course, don’t take every response as gospel but there’s a lot of collective wisdom. I began reading COTH as a teen and learned so so much from getting curious about a thread title that included a word I didn’t recognize or a gap in my knowledge.
If you listen to podcasts you could try Straight from the Horse Doctors Mouth. Dr. Lacher is a FL-based sport horse vet and her episodes cover a wide range of topics.
By submitting your email, you agree to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. You may also receive promotional emails from The Chronicle of the Horse. You can opt out at any time.
For Customers
Company
Terms of Use
