Part 2: Prevention of Commonly
Occurring Accidents in Horses
Kept outdoors
Part 1 discussed some of the basic methods that should be used to prevent those frequently occurring accidents and incidents in horses that are kept indoors.
Part 2 focuses on accident prevention in horses outdoors.
Prevention of hazards in yards and paddocks:
Fencing: The yard and paddocks should be kept clean and securely fenced to approximately 1.8m (6ft) high.Fences should be made of material that is not dangerous to the horse on contact, e.g. solid wood, posts and rails with no sharp edges. Barbed wire fencing is not acceptable where horses are kept.Electric tape, if not properly secured in secure position can cause very severe injuries and wounds.If using electric tape reinforcement, the voltage should be monitored on a daily basis.Trimming of trees etc: Regular trimming of low branches of trees or even more importantly, blackthorn bushes, hanging over fences is important as they can cause eye injuries if a horse is feeding near them or galloping close to them. Sharp stones, especially in gateways and paddocks can be a cause of injuries. So stones should be picked up from the paddocks. Biosecurity should be kept to high standards to prevent disease entry and spread. Signage at entrance to premises is important for disease prevention, as well as health and safety of all entering the premises.Hygiene: Thorough cleansing and disinfection of all yards and stables should be routinely carried out. Use an approved disinfectant at the recommended dilution in order to kill any disease threats.The manure heap should be placed as far away as possible from the stable doors and windows. It should be kept as dust free as possible.It is always preferable to have the manure heap located in an area where the general prevailing wind flow is going away from the stables.Gates: Yard and paddock gates should be adequate in height and structure. When horses gallop in a field, they always go towards the gate or exit. Therefore this should be the highest point of the fencing to deter them from jumping it. Gates to the yard and arena should be kept closed at all times.If a horse ‘throws’ a rider in an arena with an open gate, the horse would tend to gallop out the gate and maybe onto the road.Broken gates often have protruding parts which carry a higher risk of causing injury to horses.Hazards such as potholes and rabbit burrows in fields should be filled in as they can cause injuries to horses galloping in the field.Risk assessment:
Any extra risk elements should be noted and removed to a location away from horses, for example, machinery in the corner of a yard or field with sharp edged protrusions, planks or boards with nail protrusions etc. A useful exercise to help identify risks and hazards that have become ‘part of the landscape’ in a yard is to take some photographs in the yard and these risk elements become much more obvious when viewed in perspective on photographs.Baler twine should not be left around the yard or paddocks as horses may tend to eat it, resulting in digestive problems.Baler twine could also become entangled in a horse’s legs and cause injuries.Plastic bags or covers should not be left lying around a yard as horses may tend to eat them.Surfaces of the yard and routes to paddocks should preferably not be smooth concrete or tarmacadam, though the latter is commonly used. A slightly rougher surface containing dust pebbles that becomes hardened into the surface is preferable to prevent slipping and injury risks, especially in frosty weather. Where there are concrete or tarmacadam surfaces, salt should be used on the surface during frosty weather.Feed bins should always be covered to prevent vermin accessing them and causing transfer of diseases to the horses.Furthermore, a closed feed bin will prevent a horse from overeating where it gets out of its stable and accesses it. Overeating will cause colic or may cause meal poisoning in horses. Head collars: Properly sized and adjusted head collars are important.Where a head collar is too tight in a horse at grass, it can cause very serious injuries. This occurs even more commonly in growing foals where owners do not loosen the head collar regularly, to accommodate the growing foal’s head. Regular shoeing is important to avoid foot and leg injuries. These injuries can occur where the shoe twists and some of the loose nails puncture the sensitive part of the foot, or injure the opposite leg when trotting or cantering. Injuries can also be caused by nails where they are not properly clinched. Injuries to the handler can also be caused by these loose nails when holding the hoof to pick out the foot.