If you are under the impression each equestrian accident occurs when horses are being ridden, you’ve got to do some research before you find out the hard way. Horses and their riders are equally subject to the whims of fate. Both of them can get hurt even while they are engaged in humdrum chores: grooming, feeding and watering and such like. As a pony owner, it is your job to wish for the best but make preparations for the worst! Here are some hints.
1. Lead rope precaution: Never make the error of wrapping lead lines around your wrist or any other part of your body. If anything happens to make your pony spook, you will land up with burns, sprains or even broken bones.
2. Tack sense: Be wary when getting tack onto a pony, especially a strange one. Some horses snap at anything reachable when they are being girthed. If you are working on a horse in cross ties, make sure there is no one inside biting distance. Improve on that if the pony is not in cross ties: make sure there isn’t any one within spitting distance.
3. Bridle uppercut: Watch out when you’re putting the bridles on a pony. Lots of horses toss their heads hard just before they accept the bridle. If you’re daydreaming, you get it on the chin.
4. Sedate shenanigans: Horses have been known to become suddenly assertive after they’ve been drugged. It would be a mistake to presume a drugged horse is like putty in the hands. Unless in a downright emergency, never use prescribed pharmaceuticals without clear directions from your veterinarian.
5. Fly-fed flights: Beware the environment you are leading your horse into, whether for work or play. If flies abound and are in the biting mood, the chance of your pony bolting is high. If you use fly sprays, remember that the sprays work only for a while. You want to reapply them now and then.
6. Care while caring: Before grooming, check to see if your pony is carrying any injuries or sores. Even an inadvertent brush of a comb over a sore spot can result in a bite or a kick.
7. Treat with care: Horses are nuts for treats. In their rush to get more, they may push and kick their pals. Horses are really conscious of their own places in the herd pecking order, and they’re serious about maintaining it. The problem is, they may unwittingly inflict some unintended damage on the treat distributor, you. Commonsense says you stick to safety first guidelines by treating horses from the other side of a barrier like a fence. Don’t forget to especially feed treats to the poor horses on the lower hierarchy rungs, or they won’t be getting any. Your best chance basically is to feed treats to horses by putting the treats in individual feed buckets. The horses in the upper echelons may not approve, but you’ll stay whole and you’ll ensure equitable non-discriminatory treatment.
8. Tackle tack properly: Your pony can suffer great discomfort as a result of ill-fitting tack. He may try and take it out on you by bucking you into orbit. You would like to be very sure all tack fits well and painlessly on your pony.
9. Don’t let him get the boot: Be precise in your selection of shoes. The combination of your boots and the stirrups should be perfectly complementary. Some saddles come with release devices that prevent your getting dragged if your foot gets caught in its stirrup.
10. Eviction notice: Never get into a horse’s stall without an escape plan. You are relatively fine if the stall has side bars you can duck under to get out. If it doesn’t and you have got to shut the door, have a kind samaritan on the other side of the door prepared to open it straight away at your call. You may not be able to reach the latch if an emergency should arise.
Horses are Heather Toms
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