As a horse owner, I’m sure you try to do your very best to take care of your beloved animals. What is more important than keeping them happy and healthy? We all know the importance of feeding them properly and making sure they get enough exercise. You also practice good barn management practices. You may think you have it all covered but are you overlooking the safety of your pastures?

You may think your horses are safe and out of harms way as they are out on the pasture grazing peacefully. The truth is unless it is properly maintained they can full of serious dangers. Here are a few ways you can make sure your pastures are horse safe and friendly:

The most obvious concern when it comes to having a safe pasture is proper maintenance of fencing and gates. Never overlook the importance of fixing exposed hardware, loose wires, unstable posts, and broken and splintered boards. Not only are they a risk to your horse, they can also allow your animals to escape. A horse is a smart creature. You can almost guarantee your horse will test out the fencing to see if can roam somewhere else. On a fairly regular basis, walk the lines of your fence and be on the lookout for damage. If you find any, repair it.

Take the time to remove any toxic plants. This is an important one. A horse can be nonchalant about eating different plants. Often, eating the wrong type of plant can make the horse become ill, sometimes seriously so. I like to keep a well-illustrated book of toxic plants handy so I know what to look for next time I’m out on the pasture.

After you’ve dug up and collected all these harmful plants, how do you get rid of them? In most cases you can simply pull the poisonous weeds out and treat it with an herbicide. Weeds are usually in various stages of growth; so be sure to walk around the pasture every two to three weeks and spot treat the offending areas again. Getting rid of all your weeds will take about a year to do, but once they are gone, they tend to be gone for good.

The next big thing to do is to remove as much manure in the pasture as you can. Besides your horse’s flesh, there is nothing flies and parasites love more than a pile of manure. Unless you want your horse wearing horse fly sheets all the time, be sure to remove the manure regularly.