Young Writers Society

Ever had questions about horse related things and didn't know where to start? Are you writing an historical fiction story and need to know just what exactly a stablehand would do in their day to day life? How does one ride a horse anyhow? What do horses eat? Well, look no further!

I've been riding/caring for horses for 11 years at this point and am currently studying to be a Certified Veterinary Technician (CVT). I'm possibly looking to later earn my specialty credentials in Equine Nursing (VTS-EVN). I currently own 2 horses (Tess and JR, 9 and 25 respectively) and work for a local barn while attending school. I've ridden both English and Western but have more experience in the latter. Ever since I was teeny I've been obsessed with anything horse. I guess you could call it a passion of mine.

I'm particularly interested in the branch of Natural Horsemanship (pardon the ill-defined marketing term there) used by the trainer Warwick Schiller. Many of his techniques have helped my relationship with Tessa, who definitely had some issues when I got her. I may want to train one day but that'll have to wait till I'm out of school. For now I'm having fun doing liberty and smaller tricks with Tess. I'm also interested in equine nutrition, but sadly there's not a veterinary specialty for it (yet!).

I'm not an expert by any means, but I guess you could say this isn't my first rodeo (ba dum tss). Hopefully, I can answer your questions and/or point you in the right direction!

This might be a bit of a clueless question - but how would someone go about caring for a horse when living off the land/away from stables and all that stuff? What kind of supplies would they need to travel with for horse care? How long could they go traveling w/the horsie before they'd need stuff you can't really get just in ye olde nature?

@soundofmind It would depend on the breed of horse. Back when people travelled long distances on horseback, they couldn't carry grain for their horses or any other type of feed really. Most of these horses used for travel tended to be a little underweight because of this. They could graze whenever they weren't being ridden. Horses back then were hardier and smaller and bred to be thrifty. They didn't need as much feed as their modern descendants. Many roads and trails went by or near water so travelers could water themselves and their stock. Food and water would be your biggest concern.

For horse care? Most people didn't bother with too much grooming on the road. They might have herbs and things in case of a small injury or scratch but that's about it. They probably didn't have much in the way of blankets, brushes, hoof picks, or other grooming tools. A stone could be pulled from under a shoe with a knife. A handful of dry grass and sticks can be used to groom a muddy horse.

How long you could travel depends on how healthy the horse is. A horse will undoubtedly become too thin if ridden hard every day and not given the chance to consume enough calories to meet that need. Often horses after long journeys needed time to rest and recuperate. In areas that became more civilized, people developed a relay type of travel where riders would get fresh horses whenever they reached another town. This applied to carriages too.

If you're travelling and living off the land with no access to civilization, the travel would need to be much slower. Horses would generally be perfectly healthy living a nomadic lifestyle along with their hooman, since that's how horses live in the wild. But if you're talking very fast travel, the horse will burn more calories and need more food in a shorter period of time. Today, many horses can live off grass just fine if they're not ridden a ton, especially if they're only walked. But performance horses who're ridden in races and shows consume MASSIVE amounts of calories to keep up that energy.

So in the end it just depends on 1) how far and how fast you're going and how long it takes, 2) the horse's breed, age, and health. Hope that makes sense.