Just moved onto acres with a couple of horses: the first 90 days
Up until now the horses lived somewhere with a manager, a routine and a person who'd done it for years. Now the manager is you, and the place they stand in is yours too. Nothing here is hard. It's just that nobody hands you the list, and the things that go wrong go wrong quietly. This is the list.
The first week — look, don't build
Walk every fence line on foot, with the horses watching you
You're looking for loose wire, a rail that's rotten at the post, a gate that swings open when leaned on, and anything sharp at chest height. Horses find the weak spot before you do, usually at night. Barbed wire is worth planning to replace on any fence they'll lean on; it doesn't have to be this week, but it does have to be on the list.
Find every water point and watch it fill
A horse drinks somewhere between 25 and 50 litres a day, and more in heat. Find the trough, the float valve, the tap that feeds it, and the tank behind that tap. Then watch it actually refill. A float that sticks is the most common way a horse ends up standing at the gate, thirsty, while the trough looks fine from the house.
Do a slow lap for plants you don't recognise
Every district has three or four plants that hurt horses, and a new owner doesn't know which ones they are yet. Photograph anything flowering, anything with fleshy leaves, and anything the horses are pointedly not eating. The state list for your area is on the page linked below, with pictures.
Find shade and shelter, and check they're real
A tree that shades the paddock at ten in the morning may shade nothing at three. Stand where the horses stand in the afternoon and check. If there's no shelter from wind and rain, that goes on the first-month list, not the someday list.
The first month — set the routine, then let it run
Book the farrier before you need one
Feet are trimmed roughly every six to eight weeks. A good farrier in a rural district has a waiting list, and the best way onto it is to ring now, while nothing is wrong, and ask to be put on the round.
Ring a horse vet and introduce yourself
Not every vet does horses, and the ones who do would rather meet you on a routine visit than at midnight. Ask about a general check, teeth, and what vaccinations they recommend for your district. In Queensland and New South Wales, ask specifically about Hendra virus — it's a local question with a local answer, and it's the vet's to give.
Start a worming record, not just a worming habit
The old routine of worming every few weeks on the calendar is out of favour; vets now generally work from egg counts and the season. Whatever your vet recommends, write down the date and the product each time. The day a vet asks "when was she last done, and with what?" is the day a scribbled note in your phone pays for itself.
Rest a paddock before it looks like it needs it
Grass needs time out from being grazed to grow back, and the point to move the horses off is before it's eaten to the dirt, not after. If you've got two paddocks, alternate them. If you've got one, fence off a strip. This is the thing new owners most often don't know to do, and it's the difference between a paddock in March and a dust bowl.
Sort out where the feed lives
Hay and hard feed stored where a horse can reach it is a colic waiting to happen. Feed goes behind a door the horses can't open, off the ground, away from rats, and away from anything that can burn.
The first season — the things that change with the weather
Spring grass and the pony-shaped horse
Lush green growth after rain is rich in sugars, and some horses — ponies, good doers, anything a bit round — can founder on it. Laminitis starts as a slightly odd, careful walk and is an emergency in its first hours. If your horse is one of the round ones, ask the vet now about limiting spring grass, before spring.
Hot days: water twice, shade once
On a hot day, check the trough in the morning and again in the afternoon, and check that the shade you found in week one is still there at the hot end of the day.
Fire danger days change what you do, not just what you fear
On a day rated high or above, don't slash, don't burn, don't weld, and know where the horses would go if you had to move them. The official rating for your district is on the page linked below, and it's the same feed the app watches for you.
Wet weeks: feet and fences
A fortnight of rain softens hooves, breeds thrush in the frog, and rots the bottom of fence posts. After a wet spell, pick out feet daily for a week and lean on every post.
Ring a vet now if
Ring a vet straight away, not tomorrow, if a horse is rolling, pawing, or looking at its flank; won't put weight on a leg; is breathing hard at rest; has pale or blue gums; has a wound near a joint or an eye; or is standing oddly on its front feet as if walking on eggshells. Every one of those is measured in hours.
Write down today: the farrier's number, the vet's number, and the date the horses were last wormed. Three lines. Everything else in this guide can wait a week; those three can't.
The rest of this list turns up by itself
The farrier date, the worming record, the trough check on the hot day, the fire rating on the bad one — the app builds the week for your place and your animals from your own weather, and puts each of these on the right day. Nothing waits on you remembering a guide.
General guidance for someone new to keeping animals on acreage, written to be careful rather than complete. It is not veterinary advice, and nothing here replaces a vet who has seen your animal. Rules about identification codes and tags vary by state and change; check with your state department of agriculture.