First time

leah_x

leah_x

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I'm getting a horse soon, I've never owned one before but a fair amount of experiance.
He's an ex racehorse who I fell in love with when I went off to racing college & I couldn't be more excited. :D
Any tips for a first time owner?
Thanks.
 
How exciting :D My first horse was a TB straight out of racing (I'd had a loan horse previously) too.

What do you want to know? I'm guessing you know all the basics, so just a few TB tips.

- Keep a routine with him, it'll make him less stressed and help him settle in

- TB's pannic and stress for little reasons, so make sure he is happy with his field buddies, has plenty of turnout, is well rugged, and fed approprietly.

- Most TB's do better on a high fibre/oil, low starch/sugar diet, so maybe ring a few feed helplines and get a feed plan for him

Has he been re schooled? Or are you doing that yourself?
 
to be honest im more confident in my knowledge of TB's than I am with any other breeds lol
He is 14 and has been in a racing school since he was very young, so I don't really want to school him too much, i just want to take him hacking and let him enjoy life after his life at college :)
How much hay & bedding do you get through?
And with him just hacking do you think I'd get away with him going barefoot?
 
That sounds lovely, and I'm sure he'll enjoy his new life. Remember he'll take a bit of time to adjust though, especially as he's been in racing school all his life.

I feed haylage instead of hay, and get through a small 8 slab square bale every 3 days. I feed my TB as much haylage as she can eat to help maintain her weight.

You can get away with using less straw if you make a deep-ish bed in (big enough for him to lie down and roll in) in a corner of the stable, rather than covering the whole floor. I do this and get through a small square bale a week.

With regards to shoeing, speak to a good farrier. A lot of TB's have poor feet so they can't cope barefoot, though if he's only hacking and you look after his feet well and feed something to help them, he may be ok.
 
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