
7 Horse Care Mistakes Equestrians Should Avoid
Caring for a horse goes well beyond providing food and shelter. Horses need a careful balance of nutrition, hoof care, dental checks, and adequate turnout, among many other considerations. Unfortunately, it’s easy to make mistakes—even well-intentioned ones—that can have a significant impact on your horse’s overall health and well-being. Below, we’ll explore some of the most common horse care mistakes and how you can avoid them to keep your horse happy and healthy.
1. Overlooking the Sugar Content in Grass and Grain
Some horses can be greatly affected by the sugar content in their grass and grain, while others may show barely any reaction. It’s crucial to monitor your horse’s individual response to sugar. If you notice signs such as weight gain or behavioral changes, it might be time to adjust their diet. Understanding your horse’s specific needs will help you feed them correctly.
- Monitor sugar-sensitive horses: If your horse gains weight easily or becomes “hot,” you may need to limit access to rich pasture or high-sugar grains.
- Choose the right feed: Look for low-sugar, low-starch options if your horse is prone to issues like laminitis or excessive weight gain.
2. Not Adjusting Hoof Care to the Climate
The climate where your horse lives can greatly affect hoof quality. Hooves are somewhat like human fingernails in that they can absorb moisture and then dry out. Wet conditions soften the hooves, making them more sensitive to hard or rocky ground. Dry conditions, on the other hand, can cause hooves to become very hard and potentially brittle.
- Wet climates: Horses in damp environments often have softer hooves, making them more sensitive on gravel or pavement.
- Dry climates: Horses in dry conditions typically develop harder hooves, allowing them to navigate tougher terrain more easily.
- Finding balance: Be mindful of your horse’s environment. In a very wet area, you may not need to apply hoof moisturizers constantly; sometimes giving hooves time to dry out is more beneficial than adding more moisture.

3. Feeling Overwhelmed with Proper Horse Care
New horse owners often find it stressful to make sure they’re doing everything right. To address this, I’ve compiled everything I know about caring for horses into one online course. It’s an eight-lesson series covering every aspect of horse care. Each lesson includes:
- Detailed videos walking you through essential information
- Summary notes and quizzes to test your knowledge
- Homework to help the information sink in
If you’d like a step-by-step guide to ensure you’re providing top-notch care for your horse, consider enrolling in my Horse Care: Keys To Success Course. It covers everything from daily routines to more advanced topics. You can find this course at https://shop.equinehelper.com/courses/horse-care.
4. Neglecting Adequate Turnout
Not giving your horse adequate access to turnout can lead to serious issues. Turnout refers to time spent in a pasture or paddock, where horses can move around freely, burn energy, and graze at will. The benefits of regular turnout include:
- Improved circulation: Movement helps the horse’s blood circulate throughout its body, contributing to overall health.
- Mental health: Horses in small, confined areas can become stressed. Access to open space lets them run, play, and socialize with other horses, keeping their minds engaged and content.
- Reduced swelling: When horses stand still for long periods (e.g., in a stall), fluids can pool in their legs, causing swelling. Turnout helps prevent this.
Even if you must keep your horse in a stall part of the time, aim for at least half a day of turnout each day. Watch for signs of restlessness, such as weaving or pacing, which indicate your horse is eager to get moving.
5. Skipping Regular Teeth Floating
Horses need regular dental checks to prevent painful issues. When they eat, they grind their teeth in a circular motion, leading to sharp edges on the outer surfaces of the teeth. These edges can cut the horse’s gums and cheeks. A veterinarian or qualified equine dentist can “float” these teeth, filing them down to eliminate sharp points.
Although many owners wait until their horse shows discomfort or behavioral issues—such as head tossing or resistance under saddle—it’s better to schedule teeth floating once a year, before problems arise. Another reason regular floating is crucial is that horses need properly ground feed to avoid choking or colic from impaction. During routine vet visits, always ask for a quick check to see if your horse needs floating.
6. Providing Insufficient Forage
A horse typically eats one to two percent of its body weight daily—often 10 to 20 pounds of food. The majority of this should come from forage, like grass or hay. The horse’s digestive system is designed to break down grasses and hay over an extended period, extracting the necessary nutrients and sugars for energy.
Because the horse’s digestive system works best when it’s almost constantly processing forage, not providing round-the-clock access can create health problems. If your pastures lack grass, you should supplement with quality hay to keep your horse’s system functioning properly. Continuous access to forage:
- Helps maintain healthy digestion
- Prevents digestive issues by keeping the gut moving
- Reduces boredom and associated undesirable behaviors

7. Failing to Check Your Horse Daily
Horses, despite their size and resilience, can be surprisingly accident-prone. Forgetting to perform a quick visual check each day is a major oversight. Here’s why it matters:
- Detect injuries early: A small cut or swollen leg caught right away is much easier to treat than a severe problem left unchecked for days.
- Monitor weight and coat condition: If your horse is wearing a blanket, take it off daily to check for rain rot, weight loss, or signs of discomfort.
- Ensure overall well-being: Simple observations can clue you in to whether your horse is sore or off in some way, so you can address the issue promptly.
Take Your Horse Care Skills to the Next Level
If you’d like to avoid the mistakes discussed in this article—along with many other potential pitfalls in horse care—consider enrolling in my comprehensive online course, Horse Care: Keys To Success. This eight-lesson program covers feeding, turnout, health checks, and much more. Each lesson breaks down complicated concepts into easy-to-digest segments, with videos, notes, quizzes, and homework assignments. You can find it here: https://shop.equinehelper.com/courses/horse-care.
Conclusion
A healthy horse starts with careful, consistent care. By paying attention to your horse’s diet (especially sugar intake), adjusting hoof care to suit your climate, providing adequate turnout, scheduling regular dental floating, offering enough forage, and checking on them daily, you’ll help ensure they remain happy and thriving. Remember that each horse is unique and may require slightly different approaches, so always observe how your horse responds and adapt your care accordingly.
Whether you’re a brand-new horse owner or an experienced rider, avoiding these common mistakes will help you maintain a safe and nurturing environment for your equine companion. Always keep learning, stay mindful of changes in your horse’s health or behavior, and when in doubt, consult equine professionals for guidance.
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