Put to Pasture – A Basic Overview to Caring for your Aging Horse

Articles on Horses | Topics: horses, horse, equestrian

by Leoma Olson

The older your horse gets, the harder it will be for your horse to move around. This will usually cause circulation problems and digestive problems. However, there is a way to help your horse by guiding your horse through a simple stretching protocol, as well as techniques to help maintain your aging horse's overall health.

One of the most important steps to taking care of your older horse is to assist your horse in stretching exercises. There are different types of exercises as described below.

The first step is to find a quiet area that has level ground. The second step would be to find a helper who can hold your horse as you begin the stretching exercises. While doing the exercises with your horse as described below you should hold that stretch in position to the point of resistance for approximately twenty seconds.

One stretching exercise involves you lifting your horse's food in a way that the stifle and hip joints are partly flexed. The easiest way for you to do this is to stand facing your horse's hip with one hand on the Cannon and the other around the back and stretch the horse's leg to the side. When doing so you should gradually increase pressure rather than applying immediate full force.

When you start your horses stretching routine, you should begin by standing at the horse's flank and face toward the back of the horse. Then you should grip the hind end fetlock joint and raise it to flex the stifle and hock to 90 degrees. In this position the gaskin should be straight up and out and the cannon should be horizontal. Then, you should apply some upward pressure as you raise the gaskin and stifle to flex the hip joint.

The next step is to lift the horse's foot in a way that the stifle and hip joints are partially flexed. You do this by first facing the horse's hip on one side and by placing one hand around the cannon and the other around the back and by stretching the leg to the side. While stretching the horse's leg to the side, you should gradually increase pressure rather than applying immediate full force.

Afterwards, you would then let the leg back in without setting it down. After that, slide the hand that was on the hock down to the cannon bone, and hold the front of the fetlock in your palm. After that, begin to lift the fetlock gently in an up and back motion. During this process the hock should be flexed 90 degrees while extending the hip joint again.

After stretching the hip joint, you should lower the foot, and stand in front and face slightly towards one side of your horse. At this time you can let the horse's foot down, and move to stand at your horse's flank. In that position, you should offer your horse a carrot. While the horse reaches for the carrot, the horse's neck muscles will stretch for as long as it takes for the horse to put his or her mouth on the carrot.

Then you can repeat while standing on the opposite side of the horse. While you are working your horse's neck muscles in this way you should offer your horse a carrot.

Bit of History

Barely a twelvemonth after
The seven days war that put the world to sleep,
Late in the evening the strange horses came.

—Edwin Muir (1887–1959)

The reason why it is important to help stretch your aging horse's muscles is because your horse still needs some exercise even if he or she is no longer able to gallop, trot, or walk long distances. Be careful as you work your horse's muscles not to strain your horse too much, but help stretch your horse enough to keep that horse as healthy as possible.

Stretching a horse's muscles helps improve circulation as well as digestion in an aging horse. These stretching exercises also help preventing an older horse's muscles from shrinking. Furthermore, these simple stretches can help keep your horse in shape enough to still be able to retain nutrients from food without further complicating the horse's aging situation.

Other exercises that can be good for keeping an aging horse's muscles in tact is to take the horse swimming or on a walk for as long as the horse is able. Take note that even though a horse may not be able to do these activities for a long period of time, your horse will be able to do these under your watchful eye for a short time.

If you want more information on how to properly care for a horse other than just the above stretching exercises you can search the Internet for that information or call your local animal doctor. On line horse websites as well as doctors can help you with information such as how to treat a horse's cold, how to protect your horse from biting insects, and how to help build up your aging horse's immune system.

You may also want information on how to properly shelter your aging horse. You can find this information online as well. You will also want to find out about how to make sure your aging horse is not lacking nutrition during the winter months.

All the above information usually can be obtained for free, but you can also take classes on how to care for your aging horse as well. Taking care of an older horse is even more crucial than taking care of a younger horse so do not neglect your aging horse.

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Please note: All personal opinions expressed in the "Put to Pasture – A Basic Overview to Caring for your Aging Horse" article belong to the contributing author and are not necessarily shared by DogsPetsCats.com.

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