Tips for Keeping a Safe Horse Pasture
First of all, there should be plenty of acreage in your pasture for your horse to exercise in. You should have at least one acre per horse. If you do not have enough room in your pasture, your horse may accidentally hurt himself while trying to run around.
You should also have a safe fence enclosing your pasture. The fence should not have any broken wood sticking out anywhere, or any sharp metal that could cut your horse. The fence should be safe enough so that your horse will not be injured if he kicks at it, runs into it, or tries to jump over it. If your fence is low enough that your horse could jump over it if he wanted to, buy an electric rope fence to line the top of the fence with. You can buy electric ropes at most tack shops that are safe enough horses. You also want to make sure that there are not any large gaps in the fence that your horse could get his head stuck in(horses often stick their heads through a fence to eat the grass on the other side if they can).
Also, make sure that your pasture is clean of any nails or scrap metal. If there are any nails in the pasture, your horse could step on one of them and it could puncture his frog(sensitive soft spot on the bottom of his hoof). If his frog gets punctured he could become lame and be in a lot of pain. And if there is any scrap metal in your pasture, your horse could get cut by it.
You also want to make sure that there are not any holes in the ground in your pasture. If there is a hole in the ground, your horse could accidentally step in it and injure his legs. Or even worse, he could step in it while running and break his leg. To get rid of any holes in your pasture, just get some extra dirt and fill them in.
Make sure there is nothing in your pasture that could potentially hurt your horse. By keeping a safe pasture, you are making your horse’s home more comfortable and will be preventing injuries to him.
