Photo by Dusan Kostic/Adobe Stock

Start With a Vet Visit

Catherine Donworth, DVM, is a small animal veterinarian in Lexington, Ky. She has two dogs that come to the boarding farm where she keeps her dressage and fox hunting horse. In addition to her own dogs, over a dozen other farm dogs are regulars on the property.

According to Donworth, before you consider introducing your dog to farm life, it’s critical to have a parasite control plan in place.

“You have your internal parasites and your external parasites,” she says. “You want to control fleas, ticks, heartworms, roundworms, hookworms, whipworms, and tapeworms. There are three-month flea and tick products, which you can pair with a heartworm preventative. You can also get a 12-month heartworm preventative injection that takes care of most of your intestinal parasites. Find one you like and stick with it—don’t chop and change.”

In addition to parasites, Donworth says it’s critical to make sure your dogs are properly vaccinated. The No. 1 priority is a rabies vaccine, just in case the dog bites a horse or human. But as with horses, there’s a list of core vaccines that all dogs should receive.

“You’ve got your core vaccines that every dog should have regardless of their lifestyle,” she says. “A kennel cough vaccine is also important for barn dogs because there are going to be lots of dogs at the barn, and kennel cough (Bordetella) is highly infectious between dogs. If one dog comes in coughing, they’re all going to start coughing. It’s not life-threatening unless they’re very old, very young, or have lung disease, but you want to make sure that all your barn dogs are up to date. And depending on where you are in the country, vaccinating against Lyme disease is important.”

In addition to the core vaccines, barn dogs should be vaccinated against kennel cough, and in certain locations, Lyme disease. Photo by Ivan Kmit/Adobe Stock

Injury Preparation

Just like horses come in from the field with new scrapes and bumps, barn dogs may also get occasional injuries.

“The most common injuries are lacerations and dog bites,” says Donworth. “You can’t always stop dogs from being kicked by a horse, and a lot of people have run over their dogs with a small farm vehicle.”

Donworth recommends having a first-aid kit on hand for your dog, similar to the one you have for your horse.

“You should have something to flush out a wound, like sterile saline or dilute chlorhexidine, or a very dilute iodine, like what you would have for a horse,” she advises. “You also need a topical antibacterial wound ointment.”

When wrapping a wound, Donworth recommends a non-stick layer covered by padding, then covered by Vetrap.

Not all wounds can be dealt with on the farm, and Donworth sees a lot of barn dogs at her clinic. She says that if your dog has a full-thickness wound, it’s time for him to go to the vet.

An injury may also require antibiotics. While it might be tempting, you shouldn’t improvise with your horse’s medications.

“You should not give your dog SMZs out of your horse’s stash,” says Donworth. “Talk to your vet before you start administering equine drugs to your dog, and that goes for dewormers, too. I’ve seen dogs have terminal neurological effects from owners treating them with equine dewormer. There are some drugs, such as Previcox, that you can use in both species, but the milligram per kilogram dose is vastly different, so seek advice from your vet first.”

Some barn dog injuries end up being more complicated than simple lacerations. Just like a horse can injure his suspensory ligament or have other soft tissue trauma, so can dogs. While it is tricky to use crate rest (like stall rest for dogs) or keep your canine at home, Donworth says that following your vet’s instructions is crucial to healing.

“If your dog gets diagnosed with a soft tissue injury, like a pulled biceps tendon, and the vet tells you to rest the dog, rest the dog,” she says. “Running around the barn is not resting your dog. A dog is like a horse—if you’re told or horse has a tendon injury and to stall rest him and you don’t, he isn’t going to get better. The same goes for dogs.”

Introducing a New Dog to the Barn

When introducing new horses into a herd, it’s important to consider potential personality clashes and introduce them under supervision. The same goes for barn dogs.

At the farm where Donworth boards her horse, almost everyone has a barn dog, meaning there are new additions regularly. She says that the best way to introduce the dogs varies.

“In general, I would say that the lower key you keep it, the better,” she advises. “Most dogs will be more anxious on a leash with their owner.”

She adds that while it can be tricky for owners to stand back and let their dogs sort out the dynamic, squabbles are somewhat normal.

“It’s a little bit of live and let live—the bigger deal you make of it, the bigger deal the dogs will make out of,” Donworth explains. “Don’t intervene at every opportunity, but do be careful, because there may be reactive dogs or aggressive dogs—who shouldn’t be taken to the barn in the first place.”

Basic Training

To help keep yourself, your dogs, and the horses safe, dogs should have good recall and be able to follow basic commands before coming to the barn. If your dog can’t focus on you and stop when he is told to stop, he likely isn’t ready for barn dog life.

A large risk to both horses and dogs is dogs in fields with horses, where they might be tempted to chase or play with the horses. If your dog can’t follow directions well enough to stay out of fields or listen to you when the temptation of chasing a horse’s tail gets the better of him, it’s best to leave him at home.

“Under no circumstances can you let your dog chase horses in the paddocks,” says Donworth. “The dog is going to get hurt or the horse is going to run through a fence. Don’t bring a dog to the barn that doesn’t have basic fundamental recall and some level of obedience.”

Don’t bring a dog to the barn unless he has a solid recall and is not aggressive toward other dogs, people, or horses. Photo by Rita Kochmarjova/Adobe Stock

Marty Whitehouse, DVM, owns and runs Red Gate Equestrian Center in Nicholasville, Ky., and is also a small-animal veterinarian. She agrees that barn dogs need to have appropriate manners and training.

“There are good barn dogs and there are not-so-good barn dogs,” says Whitehouse. “Even my dog has limitations. He gets tied up because he’s not allowed to run around while I ride.”

Responsible Dog Owners

While some breeds, such as cattle dogs, are common in barns, the makings of a good barn dog are not necessarily breed specific.

“It’s not all about breed,” says Whitehouse. “It’s about demeanor.”

Not every dog is a barn dog, and that’s OK. Some dogs might require additional oversight at the barn, and others are simply inappropriate to have around horses.

“If you have an aggressive dog, he’s probably better left at home,” says Whitehouse. “It’s not fair to everyone else at the barn to have that type of stressor, especially if your dog isn’t friendly with other dogs or barks at horses. It’s hard for everyone to ride when that’s happening.”

When it comes to training, Whitehouse says that other boarders, the barn owner, manager, et cetera can’t be responsible for your dog. Just like you put in time training your own horse, it’s your job to train your own dog.

Most barns that allow dogs have rules outlining what barn dogs are and aren’t allowed to do.

“You have to respect the owner or barn manager’s rules on where dogs are allowed, and if they are allowed to be free when people are riding,” says Whitehouse. “Especially if there is jumping and other ring work going on, it can be really distracting if dogs are running around.”

Does your barn allow dogs in the ring? Make sure to follow all facility rules to avoid unnecessary accidents. Photo by Shoshana Rudski

Even if you have a dog that can’t behave while you are riding, that doesn’t necessarily mean that barn life is entirely out of the question for him. You might just have to adjust your game plan. Whitehouse suggests that trickier dogs only come out to the barn on days when you are cleaning your tack and not riding to help keep everyone safe.

If the farm requires or requests that dogs be contained while people are riding, it’s critical to come up with a plan that works for your dog.

“I’ve seen things happen when people tie up dogs around horses,” says Whitehouse. “I had a friend’s puppy get its neck snapped at a horse show. It was awful.”

She advises not to tie your dog anywhere a horse could reach him due to risk of getting tangled up.

“This could hurt the horse or the dog and cause major injury or mortality,” says Whitehouse.

Riding with Dogs

Part of the fun of bringing your dog to the barn is getting to ride with him, whether on trails or just hacking around the farm.

Introducing dogs to riding with horses is easier with a younger dog, according to Donworth.

“It’s important to start a dog at a young age, and there is a risk to that,” she says. “He has to learn to stay away from the horse’s feet and will probably get stepped on a couple of times, hopefully not severely, but you have to accept that if it’s what you want to do with your dog.”

It may be easier to introduce a younger dog to life as a riding companion as they learn to keep up and stay out from underfoot. Photo by citikka/Adobe Stock

Whitehouse adds that not all horses react well to even the best-trained dogs. This even goes for fox hunting horses, who are accustomed to hounds working around them.

Essentially, choosing to ride with your dog comes with risk, and while the risk can be minimized, it cannot be entirely avoided.

Other Safety Considerations for Barn Dogs

In addition to having a solid training base and keeping a close watch on your dog at the barn, some other precautions can keep your dog safe and comfortable.

“Tracking devices, such as Fi collars, are great,” says Donworth. “Air tags are also good. Your dog should also have a low-tech ID tag with your phone number. It’s simple, but it can result in you getting your dog back. All barn dogs should also be microchipped.”

In addition to tracking devices, she says a light-up collar can keep your dog safer.

“Light-up collars are great on dark evenings and can keep your dog safe from cars and people coming in and out of a busy barn,”
says Donworth.

And while it might be cute to dress your dog up in fun sweaters and coats, Donworth thinks that dog jackets are overused. You don’t want your dog to overheat.

Minimizing Liability

Accidents happen, but taking your dog to the barn can put you at risk for liability concerns. The barn’s rules might be based on their liability insurance requirements, but that doesn’t leave you entirely risk-free.

“It’s your dog, so responsibility will come down to you,” cautions Whitehouse. “If you aren’t paying attention or an accident happens, you’re going to be liable for veterinary payments or for property damage.”

With proper planning, health care, and training, your dog can be an integral part of your barn time. It’s well worth investing the time to keep your dog, horse, and other horse owners safe at the stable.

This article about barn dog safety appeared in the March/April 2025 issue of Horse Illustrated magazine. Click here to subscribe!

The post Barn Dog Safety appeared first on Horse Illustrated Magazine.

Photo by Shawn Hamilton

Here are a few simple tips for taking pet photos that will elevate your results. These tools can be used by all levels of photographers with any type of equipment, from phone cameras to mirrorless or professional DSLR cameras.

Reviewing Your Pet Photos

Modern cameras, both digital and phone, have many advantages over the old film equipment of the past, the most useful being the ability to instantly view your results—no more waiting several days to see if you captured your friend on her horse at the last show without cropping her head off.

You can now study your composition, timing, and focus in the camera before continuing to snap away. This tool can be the key between creating an ordinary photo or an inspiring image that excites the viewer and perhaps wins a photo contest!

By looking at the image in the camera and asking yourself, “How does it look, and how can I make it better?” you can check for proper focus as well as distractions in the background, and then recompose your image to improve its overall appeal.

Here a few key things to think about when taking pet photos, as well as shooting and reviewing the images in your camera.

Selecting a Subject

Good photos start with good subjects. Dirty spots on a horse, tangled and matted hair on a dog, or bold logos on clothing can be distracting and will take the attention away from your subjects. Take the time to prepare your models, if possible, before taking pet photos.

◆ Horse/Dog: Should be well turned out and clean.

◆ Tack/Equipment: Should be well fitting, clean and in good repair.

◆ Rider/Handler: Safe, simple and neat clothing is best; avoid logos and words on shirts. Shirts should be tucked and buttoned.

Background

Avoid busy backgrounds that take the viewer’s attention away from your subjects when taking pet photos.

Choose a simple and clean background and place your subjects a decent distance in front of your backdrop to draw more attention to them.

◆ Blurred Background: Blurred backgrounds can be achieved by adjusting your camera aperture (the opening where light enters the camera) to around f/2 to f/5.6—the smaller the number the bigger the opening, which allows more light in. This is good if you’re in a darker lighting situation or if you want to blur the background. Or you can use portrait mode on a point-and-shoot or phone camera. This decreases the depth of field and will give more detail to your subject, blurring out what is behind it. The farther away your background is from your subject, the more blurred it will be.

◆ Black Background: A black background can easily be achieved by placing your subject in front of an open barn or indoor arena doorway with the sun shining directly into the door. Place your subject just in front of the shadow where the light will hit them, and make sure any lights in the arena or barn are turned off.

◆ Framing: Take pet photos to the next level by using something to frame your subject, such as a doorway, window, or trees. This can add to your image and attract the viewers’ attention even more towards your subject.

◆ Distractions: Watch for things such as fence lines or trees poking out from the top or side of the subject. We’ve all seen plenty of images of a tree unfortunately growing out of someone’s head.

Photo by Shawn Hamilton

Composition

◆ Heroes, Friends and Villains: When taking pet photos, think of your subject as the Hero and everything else as ether Friends or Villains. Friends support the hero and villains distract from it.

Villains should be removed either physically, such as relocating a blue bucket or pile of manure, or by zooming in and/or recomposing your image to take it out of the frame. To recompose your image, try moving a few feet in one direction or another to shoot a different angle so you can avoid things you don’t want in the background.

◆ Rule of Thirds: If you break an image into thirds both vertically and horizontally, the human eye is naturally drawn toward the intersection of those lines. The rule states that something of interest should fall on one of those intersections, as opposed to smack-dab in the center of the photo.

Overall Appeal

◆ Mood and Interaction: Mood and/or interaction can bring an emotional feeling to an image and tell a story. By setting up your shot, reviewing it on the camera, and adjusting anything that needs to be adjusted, you will be ready for that special moment.

◆ Action: Stopping motion is more technical and difficult. Point-and-shoot cameras have a sports mode, which tells the camera that you want to stop a moving target, allowing the camera to automatically set a higher shutter speed.

On more sophisticated cameras, you have shutter priority. This means you select the shutter speed, and the camera will alter the aperture depending on your lighting conditions. Shutter speed is calculated in fractions of a second, and the minimum shutter speed needed to stop a horse or dog in motion is a 500th of a second or higher.

Many higher-end cameras also have continuous focus or continuous tracking, which allows you to track the subject in motion, keeping it in focus at all times. The faster the speed you use, the more light is required, so it’s best to shoot action on a bright sunny day.
Happy shooting!

The post Ears up! Tips for Taking Pet Photos appeared first on Horse Illustrated Magazine.

There’s something about horse people and their dogs. Walk into the aisle of most barns and you’re probably going to find a dog or two accompanying the day-to-day routine of horse life.

But it’s a relationship that doesn’t always work—you might have a reactive dog or a horse that’s terrified by an animal much smaller than him. Here are some things to consider before introducing your dog into your barn lifestyle.

Basic Manners

Think about handling things with your dog the same way you do with your horse. You wouldn’t take a horse that’s not even green-broke to a show and expect to bring home a blue ribbon, would you? The same goes for dogs: without basic training practices, your dog won’t know how to behave when he is introduced to the wonderful world of barn smells, noises and animals.

“Before introducing your dog to a new environment, it’s helpful to train a few basic behaviors,” says Mandy Eakins, a horse lover and dog trainer who runs Manners Matter Dog Training and Daycare in Nicholasville, Ky.

Eakins shares a few things you should work on at home in order to create a solid foundation with your dog anywhere, not just at the barn.

• A strong sit behavior.
• Eye contact with the owner on cue.
• Leash manners: this includes bathroom behaviors on leash, sitting to greet a stranger, and loose-leash walking.
• Crate manners: this makes hotel stays, trailer time and stall time safe, enjoyable, and less stressful for dog and human.
• Having a good recall: If your dog starts to chase after something or goes off somewhere, you want to be able to call his name and have an efficient response. “The dog should respond happily to his name by turning and looking at the owner,” says Eakins.

Leashing the Beast

“Good leash manners are also important because it’s safest to bring the dog into the area on leash,” Eakins continues. “A well-trained focus and attention cue is also helpful to be able to pull the dog’s attention away from horses and onto the owner.”

And while we’re on the topic of being on leash, she reminds dog owners that if there’s a sign stating “All Dogs Must be on a Leash,” you should abide by that rule.

“There are very few occasions I can advocate for a dog being off leash in a public area,” says Eakins. “Not only is having a dog off-leash a safety concern for the dog, but for those around him.

Golf carts, cars, children, litter on the ground, other dogs, people, and horses are all safety concerns for off-leash dogs. By having your dog on a leash, you eliminate the possibly of your dog getting too far away and putting himself in harm’s way. The best advice for having a dog stay by your side is to have him on a leash. There are options for leashes that attach to the body that give you hands-free options for keeping your dog tethered.”

Retractable leashes should be avoided at the barn. “Even with the leash ‘locked’ in, a dog can pull hard enough to break that lock and chase a horse,” says Erin Dean, trainer and owner of Frontier K9 Training in Central Indiana. “The cord can get wrapped around legs and cause burns or even cuts into the skin. My suggestion would be to stick to using a 6-foot leather lead at all times.”

Making Introductions

There is no real timeline for how long it will take to get your dog used to being around horses. For some, it might take one day to know what he can and can’t do. For others, it might take weeks. In some cases, there are dogs that can never be trusted around horses.

Take your time introducing your dog to your horse and the barn area. Be aware of the time of day you bring Fido to the farm. You don’t want to overstimulate him by bringing him out while the horses are running around the pasture because they were just turned out, as that might trigger your dog’s instinct to chase prey.

Keeping your dog on a leash will allow you to have control over how close he can get to the horses. If you have to do something that involves taking your attention away from Fido, place him in a crate where he can watch or in a stall.

“When introducing a dog to horses, it’s important to be proactive in management versus reactive to behavior,” says Eakins. “Setting up the introduction to minimize reaction is important. The key is to create distance between the dog and the horses to allow the dog to slowly acclimate. Using lots of rewards such as treats, praise and a happy voice to create a positive association with the new environment is an important part of introductions.”

You might consider starting the introduction in the barn with the horses tucked safely in their stalls and your dog beside you on leash. Both horses and dogs are curious creatures. Sniffing is all right; just watch your dog’s behavior—are his hackles starting to stand up? Is he starting to growl? Is his tail tucked between his hind legs, or is it wagging side to side? What about your horse? Are his ears pinned or are they pricked forward?

Don’t let your dog get to your horse’s legs or feet where he could nip at them or the horse could strike out and potentially hurt the dog. Keeping distance and being vigilant in your observation is key.

Eakins recommends keeping the initial meetings between dog and horse short and sweet. Allow the dog to sniff the horse, then call him away and reward with a treat and praise, then allow another short meeting between the two. Repeat a few more times.

However, don’t push the meetings—if your horse or dog isn’t feeling the connection right away, pushing it won’t make it better. Take your time in order to develop a positive relationship.

Know the Limits

As a horse and dog lover, you dream of the days you can ride your horse along the trail with your trusty canine sidekick trotting beside you. But the reality is sometimes the two won’t mix.

For example, I have two dogs with different reactions to horses. Dally, my Corgi, is generally very vigilant of the distance between the horse and herself, and tries to maintain that distance. She’ll sit in the middle of the area where I’m riding and watch until I tell her, “OK,” then she’ll run alongside quietly. Because she is a herding dog, her instincts kick into high gear when I turn our horses out in the morning, so she’s locked up in a stall at that time.

Then there’s LaMesa. She is a very reactive Swedish Vallhund who doesn’t know what limits are, no matter the level of training (both of my dogs compete in agility events). The sight of horses causes her to start barking and she wants to nip at their heels. She’s only allowed at the barn if the horses aren’t nearby or they’re in their stalls, and she remains locked in a stall while I ride.

Meanwhile, my sister’s Belgian Malinois listens very well (he’s a retired police K-9). He definitely knows his limits, so he can be around horses any time and isn’t very reactive.

If you keep your horse at a boarding barn, be sure to check with the barn owner to see what the policies are for dogs. And speak with your fellow boarders—just because your horse is fine with dogs, someone else’s might not be. It’s important to respect these concerns so that everyone can continue enjoying the barn, whether human, equine or canine.

About the Expert

Mandy Eakins, KPA, CTP, is a professional dog trainer and dog sport competitor based in Nicholasville, Ky. She has been training dogs for the last 18 years and opened Manners Matter Dog Training and Day Care (www.mannersmatterky.com), serving clients in the central Kentucky area.

Mandy has trained and certified dogs in search and rescue, as well as titled multiple dogs in conformation, agility, competitive obedience and field work. With a background as a veterinary technician and working with several rescue groups, she sees the importance of basic manners and training on dogs to ensure a happy relationship between dog and owner.

This article about barn dogs originally appeared in the July 2018 issue of Horse Illustrated magazine. Click here to subscribe!

The post Barn Dog Basics appeared first on Horse Illustrated Magazine.