Horse Care manuals...any recommendations?

[Cheryl]

Hi,

I really enjoying my share horse and it has certainly got me thinking more about having my own horse in the future.  I know the basics of horse-care -grooming, mucking out etc but i know that i don't know enough about the day-to-day, year-in year-out side of horse care.  For instance it would be really useful to have an overview of the key moments in an equines year (such as what vaccinations a horse needs and how often...how often to worm...deciding on what shoes to have and care of the feet...feeding and nutrition...).  I also want to have this overview so that I can begin to pre-empt the time/cost associated with owning a horse as opposed to just sharing one.

Can anyone recommend a comprehensive horse-care manual which may help with this?  How do (wannabe) first-time buyers prepare themselves???

Cheryl x

[catkin]

You are doing the very best thing - 'hands-on' practical horsecare. It's all very different from books when you're actually handling the horse!!

I think you will find that you will glean stuff from a number of books rather than a single one - and question everything that you read, there is no one way to keep horses happy and healthy it depends upon circumstances, type of horse etc. Your local library wll be your friend!!
One recommendation that I would make is to include at least one book on horse behaviour - (personal favourites are Lucy Rees and Marthe Kiley Worthington - you can often find their older books on sale)

Pick the brains of everyone - I've learned sooo much from discussing stuff with farriers, vets, instructors and breeders. Above all it is about observation - knowing your horse and how they are normally.

Sorry, not going to give costs as that is so dependent upon location, type of horse, workload it is almost impossible to give a sensible budget - but you will need a slush-fund for emergencies and equipment replacement.

Hope that helps

[Wendy]

Quite honestly I don't know of a manual that would cover this, although I'm sure there are loads out there. Before I bought my first horse I did ABRS level 1 which was free at my local riding school, it covered pretty much everything you need to know before you start out. You can also do the horse owners certificate, it is really worth looking into and will give you the hands on experience and confidence you need to get going. The course I did was free and I didn't have to 'help out' at all, not quite sure how it worked but I wasn't complaining. I would certainly not like to go into horse ownership without first getting the knowledge, there are so many possible pitfalls, so many horses suffer awfully in the hands of inexperienced owners.

Also this forum is an absolute mine of great information. 

[Jenny]

https://www.bhs.org.uk/Horse_Care/Horse_Care_Advice/Publications/Printed_Publications.aspx

 Horse and Stable Management by Jeremy Houghton Brown, Sarah Pilliner & Zoe Davies

[intouch]

The Pony Club Manual?  Good basic stuff.

[flintfootfilly]

Before I bought my first pony 10 years ago, I did all four of the BHS Horse Owners Certificate courses at a local agricultural college.

Someone else has already mentioned them, and I'd agree that they are well worthwhile.  The syllabus was relevant and at an appropriate level for me.  But more than that, it was the general chat in the class from which I gleaned most - for example, which dentists were worth using/avoiding, reputations of different horse insurers (the kind of reports you probably wouldn't find people putting in writing!) and all sorts really.

I don't think I have a book which covers all the things you mentioned, which does seem a shame, as they are all relevant things.

The BHS's Complete Manual of Stable Management is probably my nearest thing to a general horseowner reference book, but although I still refer to it from time to time, I wouldn't stick to it as gospel.

Will be interested whether anyone else has come across a good general book.

Oh, and the BHS used to do a leaflet on the estimated costs of keeping a horse per year.  Don't know whether they still do it, but that was quite an eye-opener for me when I was building up to horse ownership.  Might be worth a look on their website to see if it's still available?

Sarah

[flintfootfilly]

Before I bought my first pony 10 years ago, I did all four of the BHS Horse Owners Certificate courses at a local agricultural college.

Someone else has already mentioned them, and I'd agree that they are well worthwhile.  The syllabus was relevant and at an appropriate level for me.  But more than that, it was the general chat in the class from which I gleaned most - for example, which dentists were worth using/avoiding, reputations of different horse insurers (the kind of reports you probably wouldn't find people putting in writing!) and all sorts really.

I don't think I have a book which covers all the things you mentioned, which does seem a shame, as they are all relevant things.

The BHS's Complete Manual of Stable Management is probably my nearest thing to a general horseowner reference book, but although I still refer to it from time to time, I wouldn't stick to it as gospel.

Will be interested whether anyone else has come across a good general book.

Oh, and the BHS used to do a leaflet on the estimated costs of keeping a horse per year.  Don't know whether they still do it, but that was quite an eye-opener for me when I was building up to horse ownership.  Might be worth a look on their website to see if it's still available?

Sarah

[Bradders]

The Pony Club Manual?  Good basic stuff.

I was going to suggest that too - bought it when I got my first loan pony and found it invaluable! (And I was in my thirties then so well out of pony club age!)

[ash]

From a welfare point of view, ditto the suggestions of anything by Marthe Kiley-Worthington and Lucy Rees.

Also I can't recommend highly enough Lesley Skipper's "Let Horses be Horses".  It is a wonderful book , which, while not a horse care manual as such, does address the welfare aspects of many horse keeping methods.

In fact, i would recommend any of Lesley Skipper's books.

Also the BHS horse owners certificates are a great idea, as are the ABRS weekly rider and stable management tests.

[flintfootfilly]

Just had a reply from BHS.  The welfare leaflets are still on their website for free download.  I just couldn't find them before!

Anyway, here's the link to them.  Whilst not a manual, there are some interesting leaflets there:

https://www.bhs.org.uk/Horse_Care/Horse_Care_Advice/Publications/Download.aspx

Sarah

[Cheryl]

Thanks people  loads of great ideas...I have just looked up the BHS phamplets and the cost one was an eye-opener for sure! 

I have also just been on Amazon and ended up ordering three books not on topic but still on horses  think i should open my own library!!!

"101 Schooling Exercises: For Horse and Rider"
 
1"Knowing Your Horse: A Guide to Equine Learning, Training and Behaviour"
Emma Lethbridge

1"Real Riding: How to Ride in Harmony with Horses"
Perry Wood;

i couldn't resist! i will have a look at the other recommendations now

[ash]

Sounds like a good selection to me...Emma Lethbridge is brilliant! 

[Claire]

The Pony Club Manual?  Good basic stuff.

definitely.

[OliviaR]

I'm mid way through the four levels of the BHS Horse Owners Certificates.  I did them as a social thing really, but I've still learnt loads (even after 10 years of owning my own horse!).  The level 4 stuff is really quite advanced, but at level 1 they do give you all the basics.  The teacher who ran mine (who is also my RI) is really very enthusiastic about thinking of the horse as a horse first - and ensuring they lead as natural life as possible.  So although it is a BHS curriculum it didn't feel like it was horribly traditional or anything.  And to be honest - some good old fashioned 'traditional' is probably a good place to start anyway! 

I'd definitely recommend it to any one thinking of buying their first horse.

Olivia

[jenb]

Another vote for the Pony Club Manual of Horsemanship.

I am teaching the BHS Horse Owners courses locally to me and they really are a brilliant idea.  I'm currently teaching a level two course and have 15 students, a really wide range from BHS Stages students to complete novices who have only ridden at a riding school and had no other horsey contact.  I love teaching it, they seem to enjoy the course and it gives them all a good grounding in the basics.