With the spring months approaching, it is important to prepare your horse for the warmer weather. The first thing you should do is schedule a checkup for your horse so a doctor can thoroughly examine him or her to make sure they are healthy. The most important part that needs to be checked is the hooves of your horse.

Once your horse’s health has been checked and approved by your doctor, it is important you begin an exercise plan. Your horse most likely will not be in top shape because you made sure to feed him extra food during the cold months to stay warm and were not able to exercise him as much as you’d like. His tendons are not in the best shape and his bones might be more brittle. In fact, when you begin to exercise your horse, his bones begin to remodel because they soften and then start repairing itself. As a result, it is important to not overexert your horse in the early stage of the exercise plan. Instead, try to start out with 20 minutes of exercise with 5 minutes of warming up, 8-10 minutes of slow trotting, and then 5 minutes to cool down.

It is important to note that a huge factor in how quickly your horse gets back into shape depends on what kind of shape he was in before the winter. A horse that was kept in top physical condition will be able to get back into shape quicker. However, no matter what shape he was in, the best thing to do is start slowly.

For more tips on preparing your horse for spring training, please refer to our next blog!

If you are looking for high quality horse insurance to protect you and your horse, please trust in the experts at Ark Agency. Our professional staff is dedicated to helping owners, trainers, etc. find the best horse insurance plans for their needs. To learn more, give us a call today at (320)243-7250 or (800)328-8895.