FAQs About Horse Electrolytes

It is evident that each horse has individual dietary needs.
If you want to find out the most suitable horse electrolyte supplement for your beloved friends, make sure that you know what your horses require as well as the basic knowledge about nutritional supplements.
In this article, I will show you some factors you should take into consideration before purchasing horse electrolytes.

Whether your horses need supplements or not?

If you are taking care of a retired horse that stands all day in the field, maybe that horse doesn’t need electrolyte supplements.
In other cases, if your horses are in training courses or reproductive state, join in competitions, do performances or travel regularly, they will need extra energy for work.
However, daily activities and hot weather will lose the electrolyte in the body through sweat.
If you realize that your horses don’t want to drink, sweat too much, feel tired or exhausted, lose weight, or show a drop in performance, you should check their health condition carefully.
My advice is doing blood tests which will show you whether your horses need electrolyte supplements.

Consider product label

When choosing the best horse electrolytes, you need to read and check the product label carefully and define what your horses are lacking.
However, most electrolyte supplements on the market now are a combination of different nutrients instead of only one particular type.
The essential factor you should verify is whether this electrolyte supplement includes too much sugar and other fillers. Those substances will dilute the number of electrolytes in the product, which lead the ineffective use.

Types of electrolyte supplements

Each type of horse electrolytes has its features, so you should consider what your horses are working and some other factors to find out the best electrolyte supplement.

●      Electrolyte powders

These products are useful to provide a balanced daily intake of electrolytes.
Daily activities will require your horses to replace the electrolytes lost through sweat. Therefore, equine enthusiasts usually add electrolyte powders daily to the feed of horses.
The horses excrete excess electrolytes in the urine. An ideal way to use is feeding half the dose in the morning and the same amount in the evening.
However, remember that not all electrolyte powders are suitable for daily supplement dietary. Ensure that you have read the product label as well as follow guidelines from the manufacturers before using these products.

●      Liquid electrolytes

After prolonged exercise or long-distance transport, liquid electrolytes become a considerable choice.
It will replenish lost body salts and spur the thirst responses to replace lost body fluids.
Always take notice of your four-legged friend to check whether he or she drinks the adequate amount of water for a day.
Also, it is more difficult to replenish their electrolyte losses when dehydrated horses often lose their appetite. In these cases, you should consider more supplement dietary.

●      Paste electrolytes

Many horse owners let their pet use paste electrolytes for recovery after strenuous exercise or long-distance transport.
Traveling may cause stress and strain for your horses, which leads to a mild state of fluid and electrolyte depletion. Paste electrolytes will support your horse to drink and recover quicker.
There is no particular horse electrolyte which can meet the different requirements of every horse in the world. Also, each horse has its favorite as well as the health condition.
You can refer to some suggestions above, however, remember to base on the unique features of your horse and of the specific product to find out and purchase the best horse electrolytes.

FAQs About Horse Electrolytes

Q1: Can you make your equine electrolytes?

Yes, of course.
A basic electrolyte supplement usually includes table salt (NaCl), KCl, and NaCl.
If you want to add more minerals, you should search on the internet and find out the detail information on trustworthy websites.
My advice is referring to the professionals as well as checking carefully before feeding your horses homemade electrolyte supplement. Make sure that your product is safe and useful for health.

Q2: How to manage electrolyte consumption of your horse?

Feeding your horses the same amount of electrolyte every day is an ideal way.
Do not let them eat electrolyte supplements just on the day of competition or on harder work days.
It is not the solution for a long-term deficiency.
Your horses cannot store electrolytes in their body. They will excrete what is unnecessary. Extra electrolytes will not help your horses to have better performances.
After a competition, do not forget to supply your horses with electrolytes for 2 to 3 days for enhanced recovery.
All you should do is ensure that your horses have what they are supposed to have.

Q3: Is it better to topdress on feed or add your electrolyte to water?

When feeding electrolytes, equine owners usually mix it in water.
Replacing sweat also helps replenish the horse’s hydration or lost water. With the combination of electrolytes and water, you will achieve two goals at the same time.
Your horses will absorb both nutrients and water in the fastest way.
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3 Different types of Horse Saddle Bags

Type Of Saddlebags

You must be aware that there are various types of saddlebags but do you really know what it is for?
Below are the most common categories and why they are making it. Depending on your purpose, you can pick the right type for your horse.

Pommel Or Wither Saddle Bags

This kind of horse saddle bags is super convenient as it put the weight over the horse’s front legs, enabling easy reach without turning back. Pommel and wither bags maintain the center of gravity, creating sustainable balance so you can keep your eyes on the trail when grabbing things on the bags. Wither saddle bags fit in the breastplate while the pommel version requires a saddle horn to slide over or front D-rings to clip on to.

Cantle Bags

Cantle bags can be the first types of saddlebags with large capacity and flexible attachment. You can store quite lots of things inside, from a brunch to a first-aid kit.
To attach the cantle bags, you can use D-rings, clips or even saddle strings also work. However, as the bags will rest over the back of the saddle, too much weight can impair the kidney of your horse.

In-pad Pouches

This is the most lightweight, as a result, it has the most limited space for storage. The in-pad pouches are special bags tailor-made for the saddle pad. They have hook-and-loop fasteners for quick mounting toward the back or from one side of the pad. Due to the small capacity, you can keep only a few things like some kinds of snacks or utensils for your meal.
In addition to these saddlebag types, you also find certain items with specific design for mobile phones or water bottles. First-aid kit holders are popular for the helpfulness in an emergency on the trail.

How To Mount A Saddlebag?

After you have chosen the best horse saddle bag, you will need to get it in the right place.
The thing is, your friend may not like the idea of having an additional attachment. If the horse never carries a saddle bag, you need to make sure he or she get accustomed to it before starting the trail. Or else, your pet will be irritated or even terrified.
So, how could you avoid that problem?
The very first thing you should do before anything else is to allow the horse to smell the bag. When he or she get used to it, you can clip or tie the saddle bag on the back of the horse. Then, lead your horse for a short walk so that he or she can get on well with the weight and the sound of the bag.
Your friend might be cooperative or not.
He may spook, getting angry. Just give him some moments to calm down and try to walk him again with the saddle bag. You can use some of his favorite treats to ease the horse.
Once your friend is completely comfortable, both of you are ready for a long ride.

Tips For Using Saddle Bags

Like a suitcase, saddlebags have a maximum capacity. If you put in more than they can store, not only the lifespan is shortened but your horse is also loaded up.
So, pack things wisely.
Also, you should distribute weight equally between two sides of the saddlebags. The horse will find it inconvenient to carry an unbalanced load, which can result in lameness and fatigue.
Placing the weight to the front is better than to the back limbs of your horse. The ideal ratio is one-third of the body length. The worst position is behind the saddle, which is close to the horse’s kidney.
Finally, don’t ever forget to secure your bags properly. Each product will have different instruction. Make sure you follow all the steps closely as after speeding up your horse, any flips or flops can be super dangerous.
Source: https://bit.ly/2ZqFFf2

FAQs about Horse Riding Body Protector

1. What is a horse riding body protector?

A horse riding body protector has the capability of covering almost all of the body of the wearer and it is specially designed to reduce the impact and increase shock absorption.

It is produced to help you protect your ribs and important organs against hooves and falls. Since all protectors are light, you can feel very comfortable and safe when wearing it.

2. How often should a body protector be replaced?

You should replace body protector after at least 3 to 5 years although there aren’t any damages that happen. You should also check the body protector carefully after any big fall.

When a fall or kick occurs, it is not strange to compress the foam. However, if there are still indentation and compression after 30 minutes to an hour, it’s time for you to replace the foam as it can’t be used anymore.

3. How do you choose a body protector?

Fit and quality are the 2 most important factors you should take into consideration when buying a body protector.

You should invest more money to get the best product with high quality. Product with top quality material will give you perfect protection when enjoying this interesting sport

Moreover, you should choose the product that fits your body well, then you can feel comfortable and easy to move your body around. In addition, the one that fits your body is also able to protect yourself better.

4. Body protector vs. air vest: What’s the difference?

Body protector protects your body from impact forces by using compressed foam under high pressure

An air vest is just similar to the airbag for your bodies. An air vest will be connected to the seat with a rope. On the condition that the rider falls down, the rope becomes disconnected and causes the vest to inflate.

The air vest will cover more of your body by extending to your neck and your hip, which helps protect your pelvis, spine, and neck.

5. Should I wear a body protector when riding?

It’s highly recommended that you wear body protector when you are riding. It’s better safe than sorry!

Anyway, Horse is still wild animals, we could hardly predict how it reacts or what will happen. To avoid extra risk, you should wear a protector to ensure your safety.

Moreover, when you learn a new skill or difficult one, it is advisable to wear a body protector, it helps to keep you safe when things go wrong.

Horse’s reactions are unpredictable, so everyone, especially children, should equip themselves with a body protector to make sure they are safe when playing this sport.

6.  What’s the best body protector for a child?

Nowadays, there are many body protectors available with a wide range of sizes, you should base on your child’s type of riding, their body shape and how much you are willing to spend on purchasing a body protector

Make sure you read the review above carefully so that you can choose the one that suits your child the most.

7. How do we measure for a good fit?

• Start by measuring the largest part of the chest, ensure that the tape is balanced and not too tight.
• Measure your spine by measuring from the position the neck meets the shoulders to your spine’s tip, you should sit in a chair for easier to measure
• Check your measurement carefully and compare it with the size chart available on every product detail.

Following this instruction and you will be able to find the correct size for your body protector.

If the body protector is not fit, it can’t work effectively. Therefore, you should consider the size of the protector carefully in order not to waste your money.

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FAQs about Horse Waterer

How To Keep Horse Waterer Clean?

Water plays an important role in maintaining the horse’s health as it can affect the horse’s digestive system, temperature, and fluid balance. Therefore, keeping waterer clean is a vital task when you raise horses.

But it is quite a challenge to ensure your horses have a clean water supply. Keep on reading to know how!

1. Add bleach to water:

One of the effective ways to keep the water clean and free of algae is to put 1 or 2 drops of bleach into the water. The chlorine contained in bleach is capable of disinfecting the water.

With the help of sunlight, chlorine in bleach will act as a deterrent to the growth of algae. By using bleach, you can be confident that the water supply for your horse is completely clean.

Although doing this can affect the taste of the water, you don’t need to worry because your horse will adapt to it soon!

2. Use goldfish:

Goldfish is very helpful for keeping the water clean. Raising a few goldfish is a good idea as it can help remove mosquitoes and reduce algae as well. Because goldfish can eat algae, so you don’t need to feed them.

Because fish can’t live in water that contains chlorine, so be sure you don’t do these techniques at the same time.

3. Cover your waterer

By covering the top of your waterer, you are able to reduce the amount the sunlight approaching the water.

As one of the main causes of dirty water is algae, reducing the amount of sunlight means reducing the growth of algae because algae need sunlight to grow.

It is not difficult to design a cover, and you need is only a piece of wood. Therefore, find a piece of wood that fits your waterer and do the waterer cover now!

Which Best Automatic Horse Waterers should I buy?

Nowadays, there are many products available for you to choose, but it is not easy to narrow down the excellent ones. Therefore, the list of 5 best automatic horse waterer is really helpful to you

We are hopeful that after reading articles, you are able to pick up the most suitable product for your house by considering the pros and cons of each product.

Don’t forget to let us know which the most effective automatic waterer is by leaving a comment below!

>>> See more: Best Barn Fans for Horse

Buyer guide for A Good Horse Grooming Brushes?

As you know the importance of grooming brushes to a horse’s appearance and health, you now understand why it is worthwhile taking time to consider what is the best horse grooming brush.

The market is loaded with countless products, and going there without the slightest idea of important factors that will lead to a waste of time and money.

Therefore, we have summarized a list of what you need to take into consideration when it comes to buying a good horse grooming brush.

Bristle Length

If you want to remove dirt on the horse’s hair quickly and easily, you should go for longer bristles. Meanwhile, short bristles are only suitable when you have already brushed the hair and removed all dirt. The primary purpose of short bristles is to add more polish to the hair.

Bristle Thickness

In general, bristle thickness is proportional to the amount of chunk removed. Thin bristles only help you remove tiny specs on the hair.

With this in mind, the recommendation is to get several different types of brushes. A thick brush helps you remove clumps and mud, while a thin one aims at fine dust.

Synthetic or Natural

Another important question that you need to ask before buying horse grooming brushes is whether you want synthetic or natural bristles. Typically, natural bristles will be dense, soft, and effective.

On the other hand, if you want to use the brush for several strokes, a metal curry comb can work effectively to release anything you get.

The brushes with synthetic bristles usually come from plastic and are harder. They can be useful to help you clean horse boots, saddle pads, or dirt which appears on your pants.

Comfort

The horse is quite a big animal, so you may want to be more careful with grooming.

A lot of people spend more than an hour to brush the horse properly. This means that you may have to hold the brush for a quite long period, and if the brush does not make you comfortable, you are likely to end up with fatigue or worse, injuries.

Wood and plastic handle usually appear in inexpensive brushes. They are hard, causing harm to your hands, especially when you have to squeeze the brush. For the wood handle, it is essential to check whether it is sanded or polished; otherwise, you may get a splinter.

High-quality brushes will have padding around their handles, which you should aim at to avoid any kind of problems.

Style

Brushes have different kinds and purposes. For example, some brushes are designed to take care of specific areas. As a result, you should research before choosing what to buy.

The idea is to have several kinds of brushes for different purposes.

Budget

Cost is an important factor when you buy anything; however, for horse grooming brushes, it may be quite insignificant as they do not usually cost a huge amount of money.

Even though you may need several different brushes in your kit, you can purchase them over time, instead of buying all at once. It is affordable, so make sure that you get high-quality products with better durability and functions.

FAQs about Grooming Brushes for Horses

Have you got what you need after reading our reviews? If you have any further inquiries, you can always send questions to us by commenting.

But before that, let’s check our FAQs section to find out whether your questions have been answered here or not. Below are several commonly asked questions related to horse grooming brushes.

Do horses like being brushed?

There has been no conclusion on the issue of whether horses are interested in being brushed or groomed or not. However, it depends much on the tool and how you do it.

When you use a comfortable grooming brush with sensitivity, it is highly likely that your horse will show great enjoyment. You can say so by watching their neck stretch out, their eyes roll back, or their upper lip extend. These indicate that your horse is excited.

Even in case, your horse shows some anger or anti-behavior during your grooming, you should think about how you did it and make necessary changes. Since brushing is so important to the horse’s health, and you cannot ignore it only because your horse is against it.

How much do horse brushes cost?

The price varies from $5 to $30, depending on the material used to make the brush. You should identify your preferred type first, and then make a decision on the price.

How do you clean horse brushes?

After grooming your horse, you may want to clean the brush to remove any dirt on it. The process is simple, with several items included, such as dish soap, towel, and warm water.

• Collect all brushes to clean at one time
• Remove long hairs, or you can use a rubber curry over its bristles to remove dirt. Do so outside so that you don’t make your house dirty
• Clean the brushes under warm water
• Use a little dish soap or shampoo
• Start with synthetic brushes first and then real hair ones. Brushes with wood handle should not stay in water for long
• Rinse them with water again to remove soap
• Let them stay in dry places

Source: https://bit.ly/2ZmIrkh

Best horse racing binoculars Buying guide

Size

When it comes to size, that means I’m talking about the size of the objective lens. And there are three main types, including:

• Compact: 21 mm and 28 mm
• Midsized: 32mm and 36 mm
• Full sized: 42mm and more

Some like the compact binoculars because they are lightweight and easy to bring around. However, they might be inferior to the others if considering the field of view and light-gathering ability.

Hence, choosing the size depends on every demand.

Choose the right binocular’s size

Style

Based on the type of prism used, the style of binoculars is also divided into two main kinds.

Roof prism

This type is more solid than Porro prism products with the similar lens size. Its internal design is simpler as well.

But you soon recognize that it is quite tough to attain proper alignment of the prisms. Moreover, this design uses expensive coating, which increases the binoculars’ price high.

Porro prism

Since the Porro prism design has the objective lens further apart, it provides a larger view and high-quality stereoscopic image. Of course, it is cheaper than the proof style above.

However, if you like something lightweight, this is not the one for you. Besides, it is not water-resistant and dust-proof well.

Magnification

A good horse racing binocular means to offer a better picture of the action taking place on the field.

But REMEMBER that the higher the magnification is, the lower the field of view (FOV) is.

Let me explain it clearly!

• The high magnification with low FOV allows you to see close-up details yet less the whole picture.
• Of course, you will meet difficulties to get steady images since any small movements are progressively magnified.

That’s why the magnification between 7x and 10x is enough for watching horse races. Meanwhile, the 12x is ideal in case you are going to far away from the action.

Field of view

The field of view (FOV) is the width of the image that can be seen from the binoculars. Hence, if the FOV is wide, it allows you to see as much of the action at once without moving the binoculars too much.

The FOV often indicates the measurement in feet for the distance of 1,000 yards, now 1,000 meters or sometimes as an angle.

For instance, a FOV of 315 feet at 1,000 yards with 60 will be the proper choice.

But in this case, the wider is, the better is.

So, if you cannot decide between two models, you should check the one with the widest FOV.

Source: targettamers.com

Eye relief

Eye relief is the distance from the lenses where you can see the full field of view. And the eyecups on the binoculars assure that your eyes are put at the proper distance.

However, if you wear glasses, you have to lessen the distance so that you can see the full view without catching any vignette on the sides.

That’s why you need to select the product with a longer eye relief (at least 15mm) in order to see the full image.

The only downside to the long eye relief is that it often reduces the field of view.

Hence, if you are far-sighted or near-sighted, you can apply the binoculars without glasses since their focus will compensate. In case you have astigmatism, it is best to wear glasses.

FAQs

#1 – What do the numbers on binoculars mean?

There are two numbers on the binoculars. The first one is referred to as the power of zoom while the second is all about the lens size.

10×25, for instance, means 10x magnification and 25mm lenses.

#2 – How much zoom do I need for horse race watching?

The more zoom you have, the more detail you can see.

But KEEP IN MIND that high magnification binoculars are difficult to stabilize handheld, especially when you stand up in the races. Try to imagine that any small shake of your hand will be magnified, leading to unstable images.

As outlined above, the higher magnification is, the narrower the field of view is. That means you can meet difficulties when following the fast-moving horses.

Therefore, the best thing is to get the lower magnification yet a broader field of view binoculars. 7x, 8x or 10x is ideal for horse racing binoculars.

#3 – What is the best lens size to choose?

Big lenses are designed to assemble more light. And this allows you to get a brighter image, which means you can use in low-light conditions like fog, dusk, or even nighttime.

Since horse races often take place in the daytime with good light around, you don’t need to opt for big lenses. Also, they make your binoculars heavy and cumbersome.

That’s why I suggest you should choose the lens between 20mm to 36mm.

#4 – Which brand and how much you can spend?

There are many good binocular brands on the market.

If you are interested in high-end binoculars, you can consider Swarovski or Zeiss. But their prices are often expensive (more than $1000). Or you can check the binoculars from Nikon, Fujifilm or Olympus for the high-quality products with the lower price.

Or in case your budget is under 100, most of the models above are suitable to select.

Overall, it depends on your personal choice

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How To Put Ear Plugs In A Sensitive Horse?

For horses that are sensitive to sound, earplugs will be a great solution. However, putting the earplug in and taking them out without hurting your horse could be a problem.

Learning to put the earplugs requires practice, but it is not too difficult. The hardest part is getting your horse cooperation and training him to accept earplugs.

Some horses do not care about having earplugs put in, but some are very shy. In either case, you need to be patient, work slowly, and make it a part of your horse’s life.

Start with the basic ear handling during grooming, lingering on the ears a little longer than usual. Then, you slowly put earplugs in the horse’s ears and fix them. During putting in, if your horse gets resists or nervous, stop right away. And, give him carrots at the end.

Remember that some horses seem perfectly fine when you put the earplugs in, but keeping them is another story. Some of them will continuously shake their head to get rid of unpleasant earplugs. Be patient and continue schooling your horse until he accepts the procedure calmly.

Do Racing Horse Wear Earplugs?

Yes, of course.

As we mentioned above, horses have a wider range of hearing sensitivity than humans. While we often hear from 20 to 20,000 Hertz, horses can hear out to 35,000 Hertz. A lot of sounds humans cannot hear, but horses can.

On the track, the horse needs certain alertness for the best performance; however, cheering fans, cracking whips, etc. — all create a noisy sound. Your horse becomes nervous, loses focus, and could not perform as well as expected.

So, racing horses need to wear earplugs. These earplugs will reduce noise, helping the horse focus on the race.

Source: https://horseislove.com/best-horse-ear-plugs-on-the-market-review/

Best Horse Fly Sheet Buying Guide

There are some important factors you need to consider when choosing the perfect fly sheet for your lovely horse.

Choose the product with light color

There are many researchers who say that flies have a tendency to get drawn to dark colors, so if you want to protect your horse from flies, make sure you choose the fly sheet with light color.

Suit for the activity level of your horse

If your horse is quite active during the day, it is advisable for you to get a hard, PVC fly sheet to catch up with the activity’s level of your horse.

Choosing the unsuitable one can result in damaging or tearing the sheet and you will have to spend money buying a new one, so make sure you consider carefully and picking the appropriate fly sheet so as not to waste your money.

Choosing the right size

Most of the fly sheets on the market are made for medium size horses. If you have a large or small horse, you must be careful with the size when buying.

Some Important Criteria According To Experts

Protection

One of the reasons why fly sheet was invented is that it can help keep insects like flies, mosquitoes,… away from the horse.

Fly sheet covers a large proportion of horse skin so there is no need to worry about insects.

Another purpose of producing fly sheet is to protect the horse from the UV rays. Horses spend most of their life outside and the UVA and UVB rays are extremely harmful to their health. By using fly sheet, you can rest assured that your horse is perfectly protected from the sunlight.

Apart from the sunlight, fly sheet is also capable of protecting your horse from the rains or the cold when winter comes.

These reasons above have proved why protection is the most important criteria.

Fit

There are various sizes of horses, but the industry has not produced a variety of sizes for the fly sheet. So it is vital that you choose the product with the suitable size for your horse.

You can measure your horse before buying by measuring from the center of its chest to its tail. It should be measured in inches. Then you look for the measurement table on the product page

Getting a fly sheet that is too small or too large can make your horse feel comfortable, so ensure you know its size before choosing one fly sheet.

Value

The value of the product is very crucial because you can waste a lot of money if unluckily finding a bad-quality product.

You should read the review as well as the detail information of each product carefully before buying to make sure that you get the best deal.

The product with a cheap price can attract you. However, it can be made from low-quality material and easily damaged after a few days of use.

On the contrary, a higher price product can make you feel hesitate to buy but it will worth value for money. The expensive product provides top quality material and it is promised to give you a good experience.

Everyone desires to use the best product, so be certain that you read the top 5 best fly sheet reviewed above and we are hopeful that you can find the perfect one.