by Gail Kavanagh

Created on: November 08, 2009

While the front page opens with a picture of two adorable donkeys, horseadvice.com is actually a well organized and comprehensive site for horse owners, and those who care for other equine animals. The website was created in 1994, and in that time has become one of the largest sources of equine information on the web. With more than 3000 members, horseadvice.com has the added benefit of being edited by Dr Robert N Oglesby, an experienced veterinarian, trainer and breeder who does not sell advertising space on the site.

It is not free to join, but it offers good value for money if you are looking for advice on horse care. The basic $4 a month membership allows no posting to the forum, but it does access to all the site's resources. This price is a special offer as of the end of 2009, and the normal price is $14.

If you want to post to the forums, and share knowledge with other horse owners, the full membership price is currently $7, usually $21, per month. The veterinarian advice alone may be well worth the entry fee. Dr Oglesby and his wife Janette have run the Stokesdale Veterinary Hospital since 1985, as well as the Coldwater Horse Farm, where they breed Paso Fino horses, a light gaited horse primarily used for trail rides. Today they have almost 10,000 articles on the site which started as a hobby in 1994.

So what can horseadvice.com do for the horse owner looking for information on the web? Look under the Diseases tab on the left of the home page, and you will get some idea. The first folder on the list is First Aid Kit, where Dr Oglesby discusses the items needed in an equine first aid kit to deal safely with minor injuries and ailments at home, and to minimize damage from more serious complaints while waiting for expert help.

You will also discover that articles can be purchased instead of full membership. The First Aid article is $7, which seems a small price to pay for expert advice and peace of mind, but it also indicates that full or basic membership is a wise choice. Other articles under the Diseases tab include taking a horse's temperature and pulse, and checking the respiration, giving injections, treating wounds and first aid for colic. The original Diseases tab also has a number of tabs to click on that deal with various aspects of disease and anatomy in more depth.

Trainers should look under the Training and behavior tab, which offers advice on a range of training issues, from modifying behavior to training to harness; the Horse Care tab offers advice to new horse owners as well as the more experienced on a vast range of subjects, from general nutrition to bringing a malnourished horse back to health. There is really too much information to list, and of course, for full members there is the forum, where horse owners discuss various aspects of horse care.

Being a subscriber only site means that the Oglesbys don't have to seek advertising dollars, and so the advice offered has no bias, but is just purely the latest and best advice in the equine world, the site owners say. This certainly seems to be the case, and for any horse owner, taking up membership seems to be a good option.

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