How to Raise Work Horses on a Small Farm

Raising work horses is similar to rearing those meant for riding, except they have additional nutritional requirements and require training specific to the work they will be doing. It is necessary to start working with the horses during their suckling ages to prevent having to halterbreak adult horses. Much of the ground work training can be completed as a weanling before advancing to pulling plows or carts in their adult life.

Things You'll Need

  • Fencing supplies
  • Pasture
  • Shed
  • Hay
  • Grain
  • Halters
  • Leads
  • Harnesses
  • Working equipment
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Instructions

    • 1

      Build a fence around an appropriately sized pasture. Yearlings will require 1.5 to 2 acres of pasture per animal, while adult working horses will need 3 to 5 acres per horse if they are to meet the bulk of their nutritional needs. Tie pieces of cloth every 15 feet along the fence around the pasture to help the horses recognize it. There should also be a shed inside the pasture, or another form of shelter.

    • 2

      Work with the foals and colts three to six times a week in short sessions during the suckling phase. Teach an animal very basic concepts, such as getting used to wearing a halter. Allow the young horse to wear the halter for several hours a day while staying with its mother. It is also helpful to teach the foal or colt to lift its feet when asked. Grab its leg just above the pasterns and gently pull up until it lifts its foot. Try to keep its hoof suspended for 15 seconds at a time. Reward the animal when it lifts its foot or lets you put on the halter by rubbing its neck and offering words of encouragement. It will also help develop a bond between the young horse and the owner.

    • 3

      Teach young work horses to lead when they are three to four months old. Place halters and lead ropes on both the young horses and their mothers, leading the colt or foal behind the mother. After several weeks of sessions, teach the young horses to lead on their own. Get the animals used to being tied up by securing the leads to a solid object and letting them resist against it. Do this in 20-minute increments several times a week until the young horses no longer resist.

    • 4

      Wean all work horses at four to six months of age. This can be done gradually by separating the mother and foal for several hours and increasing their time apart daily.

    • 5

      Complete the ground work involved in training a work horse from six months of age to two years. This involves getting it used to walking in various types of environments, lifting its feet for the farrier, stepping on tarps, walking into trailers and having harnesses on its body.

    • 6

      Train your horse for the work it will be doing at about two years of age. Start slowly by getting it used to the equipment it will be wearing. Allow it to move on its own with the trainer holding the reigns behind it, and then with other horses joined to its harnesses. Do not attach the objects it will be moving, such as plows or carts, until it is comfortable working with other horses while attached to the equipment.

    • 7

      Feed the work horses appropriately. Work horses should eat about 2.5 percent of their body weight on a daily basis. Most horses can have all of their nutrition supplied by pasture, but work horses should have one-quarter to half of their feed come in the form of grain, depending on the amount of work they do.