Horse Health and Nutrition For Dummies

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!

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