Horse care tips

Take your horse's rug off every day to check for rubs or sore spots, then refit it. Check the forecast daily to decide whether a rug is needed at all.

Sticky yellow bot fly eggs on your horse's legs? Scrape them off with a bot knife to help break the bot fly's life cycle.

In wet months, check your horse's lower legs daily for scabs, heat or swelling. Treating mud fever as soon as it starts gives the best chance of success.

When washing mud fever, use warm water and a very dilute antiseptic — never cold water, and never neat antiseptic on the skin — then dry the leg thoroughly.

Barrier creams can help prevent mud fever before turnout — but only apply them to clean, dry skin, never over existing sores.

Thick feathers make it hard to get legs properly dry. For a horse with mud fever, clipping the legs may be needed to clear it up.

To judge if your horse is cold, feel its neck, withers and body — not its legs, ears or face, which naturally run cooler.

Rug for your horse, not for how cold you feel. Over-rugging can cause sweating, discomfort, weight gain and skin problems.

Keep a spare rug so you can swap it if one gets soaked through.

Don't keep a horse rugged 24/7. On dry or milder days, let it have fresh air and sun on its back.

A clipped horse has lost part of its natural insulation. It may need a rug when temperatures drop below about 5°C to stay comfortable and hold its weight.

Getting a horse used to clippers? Go in small steps — noise at a distance, then touch, then vibration — rewarding calm at each stage, over several short sessions.

A nervous horse's first clip can be done in stages over several days. Patchy for a while is better than a frightening experience.