Getting a new horse is exciting! You can’t wait to start riding, showing and learning everything you can about your new friend! However, when you bring a new horse home there are some precautions you should take to protect them and the other horses already a the farm.
- Make sure they are up to date on all vaccinations. Also, make sure they have had the strangles vaccination.
- Put the new horse in quarantine for at least 10 days.
- Make sure you have one person handling the horse on quarantine. That person needs to wash their hands before dealing with any other animals.
- Make sure each horse has their own buckets for food and water. Make sure the buckets are cleaned regularly.
- Sterilize the stall. You need to do this both when the horse moves into their stall at the farm and when you stable them at shows.
- Keep the contact your horse has with other animals to a minimum. It’s best to quarantine them in a separate barn and pasture away from other horses.
- Deworm the horse before it comes to the farm. It’s best to use a deworming schedule developed with your veterinarian according to fecal egg count tests.
- Use a probiotic such as EquiOtic packets or paste to help their gut health and make the transition easier for them. The immune system is supported through the gut so proper gut health is needed for overall health. You also want to make any feed changes gradually. You should get some of the hay and grain they have been eating at their previous farm so you can slowly transition them to what you have.
