What else do I need for my horse?

Buying the stuff is easy, learning what to do with it all and how to care for a horse is the hard bit. Forget all the buying and concentrate on gaining some experience in looking after horses. I have met lots of people who have ' All the gear, and no idea' don;t be one of those people.

I like how the 2nd answer says that western vs. English riding requires different feeds. This is not true AT ALL. Do not EVER feed a horse sweet feed. They love it, but the added molasses is terrible for them. A complete, fortified, pelleted feed is much better for the horse and higher in nutritional content than sweet feeds. I feed my horses SafeChoice Original. The work load of the horse (and the horse itself) will determine how much you will need to feed. If you'll just be doing light riding, and the horse is an easy keeper, a 12-14% protein and 6-8% fat feed would be adequate.

As for things you'll need:

Water access for the horse (I use a big Rubbermaid trough with an automatic float valve)

A 3-sided shelter for the horse to get under during inclement weather

Hay during winter, possibly a turnout blanket depending on how cold it gets where you are

Halter & lead rope

Grooming supplies(like this:http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00EDO0KW2?cache=7cc...

1. Before the horse the most important thing is finding a vet and a farrier who are good and reliable. It's pretty vital to have these things before you need them; trust me, finding out that you hate your vet in an emergency isn't great.

2. Buy a basic first aid kit. You'll want wraps and bandages, leg Cottons for under wraps, vet wrap, basic wound care (Zinc Oxide Cream, Betadine, Iodine, ect), epsom salt (for abcesses and other infections), a bucket, a thermometer, scissors, and a flashlight (the caving head lamps that go on your head are great since you can be hands free)

3. You'll want to buy at least basic grooming supplies: Hard brush/medium brush, soft brush, tail brush, curry comb, hoof pick. Also bathing supplies: shampoo, sponges, rags. In general it's nice to have a lot of rags and towels around so stock up.

4. Lunge equipment: Line and whip. Even if you have a round pen it's always a good idea to have a line handy if you need one.

5. Limited tack. You may want to pick up the saddle pad and such, but for the actual saddle and bridle I would wait until you know which horse your buying. Bridle size will depend on the horses head size and different saddles will fit better than others. You may also need to buy special pads to make saddles fit how you want them to fit.

6. Halter and lead rope. Again, wait until you know which horse you're before you buy these. It'll be worthless if you pick out the wrong size. My 16 hh horse wears a cob size bridle/halter and my 15 hh horse wears a horse size; so be careful estimating based on size; some horses have more delicate heads than others.

7. Blankets. You may decide you don't want these, but again wait until you have the horse. If the horse you're buying has never been blanketed and you're not planning on clipping don't worry about it. If the owner does blanket than I'd suggest asking what size they wear and purchasing whatever weights are appropriate for your area.

8. Feed. Absolutely wait and find out what the owner feeds the horse your buying. Changing the diet isn't a good idea and if you're planning on doing so you'll have to change the food slowly (if the horse has never had sweet feed it would be a bad idea to suddenly start feeding them a couple scoops a day and vice versa). You will absolutely need to have hay available for when the horse arrives. Make sure you have a feed bucket and water buckets as well. Supplements are optional, but at the very least I suggest giving electrolytes.

Extra stuff that you may want:

1. Horse helmet (highly suggest it for horses who aren't use to being trailered),

2. Padded Tail Guard (not really needed, but I know some people feel safer having them, especially if they anticipate a lot of stop/go traffic or moving)

3. Hay net, especially for trailing, but they're also nice to have for horse that pee in the hay and waste it

4. Fly spray depending on the weather where you are is.

5. Boots; there are various types and you may want to get some thought you don't have to.

6. Baby wipes. Literally useful for everything.

7. Tack cleaner and oil (for leather tack). As awful as cleaning tack is it'll keep your tack nice and intact.

First off, I need just need to say- as cheesy as it is- you literally just inspired me to be a better owner. As the months have progressed with my horse, I have lost the love and forgot the reasons why I bought him in the first place. I have been trying to bring back the thrill and love, and you just helped me do that. So thank you. ANYYWAAAYY-

Before and After... Well, you can't exactly know what you need after because that will basically be everything you realize you need for your horse, you, location, and other things.

So before:

-grooming supplies (Hoof pick, curry comb, stiff brush, soft brush, mane and tail comb and/or brush, fly spray, detangler, face brush) Plus more. I am still expanding this list.

-Bath time! (shampoo, conditioner, sponge or mitt, sweat scraper, towel)

-Other supplies (Lead rope, halter, any boots for his feet, lunge line and whip..

-Tack (saddle, girth/cinch, headstall, reins, bit, saddle pad)

-treats!

I know I'm forgetting some stuff, but that will help I hope!

The best place to start is a tack shop. You need a curry brush,light bristles brush a med brush a hard brush and a face brush for winter and spring you need a shedding blade a hoof pick and a main and tail brush and that's just for grooming. For cold weather you need a blanket and depending on how cold a heavy blanket. A halter, bridal, saddle and pad, girth, lead rope, lunge line, crop, fly mask for summer. If stableing at night water buckets and separate feed bucket each about 3 gallons. In field need a 10+ gallon water troff. Depending on the breed and what style you are riding depends on the feed you will need. If just doing trail rides and western you can use just about any feed and feed one 3 cup scoop 1 for breakfast and 1 for dinner. English and show jumping need a high protein sweet feed 1 1/2 scoop for breakfast and 1 1/2 cup for dinner and add a 1/2 cup of vegetable oil each feeding. Vet wrap, neosporine, liniment.

1

Brush

curry comb

hoof pick

halter

lead rope

Horse shampoo

Turn out blanket(you didnt mention any shelter for him)

saddle pad

Saddle

bridle

wraps

idone(for minor cuts etc.)

wormer(you must worm your horse every 3 months or once a year)

Lounge line

way to transport the horse

salt and mineral block

hay for winter

pair of scissors

feed

Money to pay for farrier every few months

someone to go to for advice who knows ehat their talking

about

schooling whip

BEFORE YOU GET THE HORSE ...

BASIC GROOMING KIT-

Body brush

Dandy brush

Curry comb

Mane comb

Hoof pick

Lidded bucket or container to keep your kit in, preferably with a handle

Water scraper, to scrape water off the horse's body

Sponge and extra bucket for bathing the horse with

Towel for drying the horse's fetlocks

Scissors and wire cutters, in case your horse gets caught in a wire fence

TACK-

Saddle pads, as many as you want in whatever colours

Stirrup leathers

Stirrup irons

Reins

Riding crop if you want one

Lead ropes- as many as you like in whatever colours

Saddle bag to keep your future saddle in

Bridle bag to keep your future bridle in

Helmet bag to keep your helmet in, which you should already have if you are riding

BOOKS- you can never have too many books on the following subjects...

Horse care

Stable care

Horse health discussing disease and ailments, injuries, worming and vaccinations

Riding and training

***Also good to have a list of about three vets in case of emergency

FEED-

Feed shed in which to keep the horse feed in

Bins with securely fitted lids to keep feed in (chaff, grains, pelleted feed)

Feed bin for your horse to eat out of

Water trough (old bath tubs are great for this)

AFTER YOU GET YOUR HORSE ...

Saddle- have it professionally fitted to your horse

Bridle to fit your horse's head

Bit to fit your horse's mouth

Halter to fit the horse's head (pony, cob or full size)

Horse feed, such as hay, chaff, any pelleted feed or grains which will be fed to the horse

Diary or similar book in which you can write down worming/vaccination/farrier/dentistry dates and costs- a good way to keep track of when these events are next due and what they cost)

This is just a basic list of things that I can think of right now.

whee do you live?n willl your horse need hayor will he be able to eat of the pasture?what is your horses breed? What color is he? how much money do you have? do you ride western or englsih? are you keeping him in a pasture or in a stall?

if you are keeping him in a stall then you should prabably get the following:

Hay bag

bucket with strap to strap to the side of the stall

bedding (straw, shavings)

curry comb

hard brush

soft brush

pick

spray conditioner

shampoo

conditioner

tail comb maine comb

grain

hay

treats

halter

lead rope

lunge rope

saddle pad

backstrap

brestcollar

saddle

bridle

proper bit

boots

If he is in pasture then you should get

curry comb

hard brush

soft brush

pick

spray conditioner

shampoo

conditioner

tail comb maine comb

grain

hay

treats

halter

lead rope

lunge rope

saddle pad

backstrap

brestcollar

saddle

bridle

proper bit

boots