Full Description
Want to know the best ways to care for your horse? Horse Health and Nutrition For Dummies gives you up-to-the-minute guidance on keeping horses healthy at all stages of life. It provides the latest information on equine nutrition and healthcare, explaining how your horse's body functions and how to keep it in good working order. Packed with practical advice on equine first aid and alternative therapies, this completely practical, plain-English guide explains exactly what to feed your four-legged "hayburner" and how much. You'll find out what kind of preventive care is vital to keeping your horse in good physical shape and how to recognize signs of illness when things go wrong. You'll get the low-down on the diseases and conditions most likely to plague the domestic horse and find help in deciding whether to treat problems yourself or call the vet. Discover how to:
Manage your horse's diet
House your horse safely and comfortably
Tend to the daily details of horse care
Examine coat, eyes, hooves and manure
Identify, control, and prevent equine diseases
Understand links between horse behavior and health
Practice good horse nutrition
Grow your own horse food
Cover horse-health-care costs
Breed your horse
Care for pregnant mares and newborns
A healthy horse is a happy horse. Keep your horse fit with a little help from Horse Health and Nutrition For Dummies, and you'll be happy too!
Contents
Introduction 1
Part I: Honing Basic Horse Care Skills 7
Chapter 1: Taking on Your Horse's Health 9
Chapter 2: Sizing Up a Healthy Horse 19
Chapter 3: Connecting Your Horse's Behavior to Health 37
Chapter 4: Getting Up to Speed on Routine Care 49
Chapter 5: Exercising for Health 75
Part II: Good Eats: Nutrition and Feeding 87
Chapter 6: The Building Blocks of Good Nutrition 89
Chapter 7: Your Hungry Horse: Feeding Fundamentals 107
Chapter 8: Special Considerations for Your Horse's Diet 125
Chapter 9: Growing Your Own Food 141
Part III: Recognizing and Treating Illnesses 153
Chapter 10: Introducing the Anatomy of a Horse 155
Chapter 11: Tackling Common Ailments 173
Chapter 12: Fighting Infectious Diseases 205
Chapter 13: Staying Prepared with Equine First Aid 221
Chapter 14: Checking Out Complementary and Alternative Therapies 239
Part IV: Horse Care for All Stages of Life 251
Chapter 15: Breeding Your Horse 253
Chapter 16: Caring for the Newborn 275
Chapter 17: Helping Your Horse Age Gracefully 289
Chapter 18: Reaching the End of Your Horse's Life 301
Part V: The Part of Tens 309
Chapter 19: Ten Signs of Horse Illness 311
Chapter 20: Ten Ways to Keep Your Horse Healthy 319
Appendix: Resources for Horse Care 327
Index 339
