The Annual Horse Care Calendar: Vaccines, Teeth, Hooves and Parasites
A healthy horse is the product of a steady calendar. Vaccinations, dental checks, farriery, parasite control and seasonal care — the annual plan in one guide.
Bulut Veterinary Clinic Medical Team
Reviewed by Mücahid Çiftçioğlu, DVM
The most expensive approach to horse health is reacting to problems; the cheapest is a steady care calendar. Behind the big headlines — colic, lameness, weight loss — there is usually a small neglected routine: an overdue dental check, a stretched farriery cycle, unplanned deworming.
This guide gathers a horse's year-round veterinary and care routines into one calendar. Horse owners around Ankara can work with our clinic to turn it into a plan tailored to their horse.
Vaccinations: tetanus is the foundation
Horses are among the most tetanus-susceptible species there are — a small hoof wound or a nail prick can be the entry point. Regular tetanus vaccination is therefore the non-negotiable base of any equine programme. Influenza vaccination matters especially for horses living in yards, travelling and competing.
The full programme is planned annually with your vet according to age, lifestyle (single paddock or busy facility), breeding status and regional risks. Competition horses also carry federation and venue requirements on top.
Teeth: at least one check a year
Horse teeth erupt throughout life and wear unevenly with chewing: sharp edges and hooks form over time, injure the cheeks and tongue and disrupt chewing. The chain of consequences is long — poor chewing runs from weight loss all the way to impaction colic.
These signs say the dental check is overdue: dropping half-chewed wads of feed (quidding), one-sided chewing, slow eating, resisting the bit, whole grains in the manure. Even with no signs at all, an annual dental exam is standard; sharp edges are rasped smooth where needed.
Hooves and shoeing: a 6-8 week rhythm
'No hoof, no horse' — the old saying survives because it's true: hooves are the foundation the entire skeleton stands on. Hooves grow continuously; most horses need farrier care (trimming, and re-shoeing where shod) roughly every 6-8 weeks, adjusted to growth rate and workload.
The daily routine matters as much as the farrier: pick out the hooves every day, checking for lodged stones, foul smell (a sign of thrush), cracks and loose shoes. Heat in a hoof plus tenderness and lameness should be reported to the vet as a suspected abscess.
Parasites: a plan, not blanket dosing
The old habit was dosing every horse with the same product every few months; the modern approach is targeted: faecal testing shows which horses actually carry a burden, and product choice and timing follow the results. This works better and slows the development of resistance to the medicines.
The second pillar is pasture management: regular manure removal, avoiding overgrazing and rotating paddocks where possible cut the parasite load at its source.
Daily and seasonal checklist
- Daily: water intake, appetite, manure amount and consistency, hoof picking, a hands-on scan for wounds, swelling and heat
- Weekly: body condition eye-check (ribs and topline), skin, mane and tail, and checking tack (saddle, bit) for rubs
- Summer: fly control, shade and plenty of fresh water, no heavy work in the hottest hours
- Winter: warming the drinking water (cold water cuts intake and raises impaction risk), more forage, draught-free ventilation in the stable
- Yearly: general veterinary exam + dental check + vaccine updates + parasite plan review — all combinable into a single visit
Frequently asked questions
Where does the farrier's job end and the vet's begin?
Routine trimming and shoeing belong to the farrier; lameness, abscesses, thrush and hoof deformities are veterinary territory. The best-kept horses are the ones where the two work together.
My horse drops feed and eats slowly — is it just age?
Age alone explains little — the most common cause of this picture is dental trouble. Sharp edges and hooks can form at any age and are usually simple to fix after a dental exam.
How often should I deworm?
There is no single right interval; the plan depends on age, pasture conditions and faecal test results. Building the calendar annually with your vet protects against both needless dosing and hidden parasite burdens.
Related services
Let's build your horse's personal annual calendar — vaccines, teeth, hooves and parasite plan in one visit. Get in touch.
This article is for general information only and is not a substitute for a veterinary examination. Always consult your veterinarian about decisions concerning your pet's health.