Horse Maintenance ahead of the winter months
As the season changes, many horses and ponies will be going on their winter breaks. Now is the perfect opportunity to conduct maintenance checks. Proper horse maintenance is key to ensuring your animal stays healthy, comfortable, and able to perform at its best. Checks for dental care, physiotherapy, veterinary support, and worming play an important role in your horse’s overall wellbeing.
Just like humans, horses need regular dental check-ups to prevent discomfort and maintain good health. A horse’s teeth continue to grow and wear down throughout its life, which can lead to uneven surfaces or sharp edges that affect chewing and bit comfort. In general, most people check their horses every year, but this can vary for young and older horses. If you see your horse dropping feed, head tossing, reluctance to take the bit, or weight loss then it may be time to call the dentist.
Good dental care not only keeps your horse eating comfortably but also supports performance and prevents secondary health issues.
Equine physiotherapy plays a vital role in maintaining your horse’s musculoskeletal health. Whether your horse is used for competition, leisure riding, or work, regular physical maintenance helps to prevent injuries and support optimal movement.
A qualified equine physiotherapist can assess your horse’s gait, posture, and muscle condition, providing tailored exercises, massage, and stretching routines. Incorporating physiotherapy into your horse’s routine helps maintain balance, strength, and comfort.
Some horses may benefit from supplements that can help with older joints or for those that need to build up muscle.
My Joints from Horsefirst is a unique formulation of high levels of glucosamine, Vitamin C and sepiolite. These ingredients have a proven effectiveness; we have not included other ingredients which under placebo tests have no proven value. The best nutrients delivered through the most efficient pathways for the most effective results. From top horses competing at international level show jumping to 4* event horses and the aged veteran who is more of a family pet have all benefited from My Joints.
A good relationship with your veterinarian is essential for ongoing horse health. Vets provide everything from vaccinations to emergency care and health assessments. Annual vaccinations (such as tetanus, influenza, and equine herpes, depending on your region). Regular health checks to monitor weight, heart rate, and general condition. Preventive veterinary care is far better—and less costly—than treating illness. Keep an up-to-date health record for your horse to track treatments and vaccinations.
Worming is another critical part of horse maintenance. Internal parasites can cause weight loss, poor coat condition, colic, and other serious health issues if not managed correctly.
Modern worming programs focus on targeted control rather than routine blanket treatments. This helps prevent resistance to worming products.
Best practices include Conducting regular faecal egg counts (FEC) to determine if treatment is needed. If possible Rotate pastures. Use appropriate wormers at the right time of year based on veterinary advice.
Some horses may be getting their shoes off this time of year. For some horses they may have week hooves that could benefit with a supplement. Hoof First from Horse First is a unique formula that contains high strength Biotin with all the essential vitamins and minerals to produce a healthy hoof. It is well known that Biotin will grow horn but at HORSE FIRST we want to give you more, a strong, healthy hoof with continuous growth. Hoof First grows hooves which are better for your farrier to work with, and fights problems such as thin soles, cracked, chipped or weak hooves, contributing to lost shoes which are costly.
Good quality forage and feed is also essential during the winter months. To ensure that your animal is getting all the nutrients that they require it may be worthwhile adding a supplement to their rations. Garlic & More from HorseFirst is nature's goodness packed into one special supplement. It is a complete, powerful unique blend of garlic, seaweed, herbs, oil, salt and vitamins that benefits all horses and ponies. This blend smells as good as it tastes and delivers all of the age-old benefits of natural ingredients. It provides your horse with a range of herbs and vitamins to help utilise nutrition, aid digestion and boost the immune system in one tasty 25g serving.