Owning a horse offers a rewarding and enjoyable experience, as horses make wonderful companions for pleasure riding, competitions, or simply as pets. However, horse ownership also entails significant responsibilities. It is a long-term, time-consuming, and expensive commitment.

 

As a horse owner, you are legally responsible for ensuring your horse's basic needs are met to maintain its health and happiness. These requirements include adequate and appropriate feed, water, shelter, space, exercise, companionship, and healthcare, including treatment for illness or injury. Additionally, horse owners keeping horses on their own property, as well as owners of properties where horses are agisted, must have a Property Identification Code (PIC).

 

Regarding feeding, horses require access to sufficient good-quality roughage (pasture, hay, or chaff) to maintain good body condition. A general guide is 1–2 kg of feed per 100 kg of body weight daily:

 

Pony (up to 13.5 hands, 200–350kg): 3–7kg per day

Galloway (13.5–15 hands, 350–500kg): 7–10kg per day

Horse (15–16.5 hands, 500–650kg): 10–13kg per day

Heavy Horse (16.5+ hands, 650+kg): 13+ kg per day

 

Supplementary feeding may be necessary if a horse is working regularly, the pasture is insufficient, or the horse is l

osing body condition. Always provide a salt lick or mineral block in the paddock. Please consult with your

veterinarian about suitable supplementary feeds, as grass clippings and many food scraps are unsuitable

and can cause illness.

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Ideally, a dam or a self-filling trough should be used as a permanent water source and checked frequently to ensure

proper function and cleanliness. While bathtubs can serve as a temporary solution, they require daily checks and

refilling as needed. Buckets are not recommended as a permanent water supply due to the risk of being easily

tipped over.

 

Regardless of the method, if your water supply is not self-filling, it must be checked daily. As a general guide,

a horse may drink 25-45 liters of water per day, especially in hot weather.