The Dangers of Stabling Your Horse

What comes to mind when you think of a pleasant, content horse? I bet many of you think of a horse grazing in a huge, lush, green pasture. The horse is surrounded by nothing but green and other horses grazing around him. Some of you may even picture a horse in its stall on a [...]

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Which Plants are Toxic to Horses? Milkweed

Milkweed The picture above is of just one of the almost 100 different species of milkweed, and all look different. The one characteristic all have in common is that, when the plant is injured, it releases a white substance that closely resembles milk. Milkweed is found throughout the United States in almost any type of [...]

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Which Plants are Toxic to Horses? Red Maple

Over the next few posts, we’re going to show some of the plants that are toxic to horses and which tend to be common, well-known plants. We’ll also feature some that may be lesser known. Red Maple Tree The red maple tree is very common throughout the United States and is one of its native [...]

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How to Prevent Poisoning from Plants

Preventing your horses from getting into plants that are toxic is really about common sense. But here are some tips to ensure they stay away and don’t get sick: Check all around the pastures, especially close to any fence, and make sure you can identify all of the plants you see. Check both inside and [...]

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Hoof Care for Your Horse

“No foot, no horse.” We’ve all heard–and believed–that old refrain in one form or another many times in our lives. Yet, we often approach foot care as if it weren’t true. We might be good about having the farrier out on a regular basis during the riding and performing season, but when the horse is [...]

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Caring for Your Horse’s Teeth

In order for a horse to properly chew his food, he must have teeth that function properly. With a horse, proper teeth function is more difficult than one would think. A horse’s teeth are called hypsodont, which means that they continually erupt or grow out of the gums. As the surface of the tooth wears [...]

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Determining Skin Problems on Your Horse

During the cold winter months, nature provides the horse with a warm coat comprised of long, thick hair. The hair is designed to protect the skin from wind, rain, and cold. It does a good job of it unless it is compromised in some way. There are many ways in which both the hair coat [...]

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Are Biting Flies Eating up your Horse?

Flies and other biting insects are not only a nuisance but they pose a major health risk to you and your horse. Flies carry a number of dangerous diseases that become more of a problem as the fly population increases. Flies live, feed and breed in filth, where germs, bacteria and communicable diseases thrive. Good [...]

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Deworming Your Horse – Part 2

In our last post, we began to look at parasites that can infect your horse as you do your Spring deworming. Today we’re going to look at signs to look for if your horse is infected with parasites, as well as how prevalent they can be, a deworming program you can follow, and the kinds [...]

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Deworming Your Horse – Part 1

Spring is a great time to deworm your horse.  We offer lots of choices in dewormers here at Hawkeye Tack & Western Wear. We all know that controlling parasites through appropriate deworming is the major part of your parasite management program.  Bots, pinworms, small strongyles, round worms and tape worms pose the greatest risk to [...]

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