The phrase horse agistment comes from English law where, to agist, meant to take cattle to graze, for a remuneration. Back when agistment first came into practice it referred to the proceeds of pasturage in the king's forests. But for us, horse agistment basically means when a horse owner keeps their horse on land owned by someone else, for a fee. However, the terms, facilities and services of horse agistments vary widely.

Many horse agistment properties offer excellent care and services for horse and rider, ranging in services from spelling agistment, riding agistment and small group agistment through to agistment with full care. When looking for somewhere to place your horse, you should be sure to consider the following: are the paddocks large enough to accommodate the number of horses, will your horse be kept on improved pastures that are weed free, regularly rotated, slashed, fertilised and irrigated where required. As an extra, are winter active grasses sown to ensure your horse has feed all year round saving you from expensive feed bills. Does every paddock have horse safe fencing that is either post and rail or post and plain wire fencing only and are all well sheltered with either natural windbreaks and shade trees or quality man made structures.

Keeping your horse worm free is another point to consider so some property owners offer this service as well as things like horse dentistry. It is these kinds of services that should help you in your decisions in order to make the process as hassle free as can be. A lot of horse agistment places will also offer the added bonus of organising riding days and social events where owners can bond with their horse, and with other horse owners, while getting the horse out and about and burning off some energy.

It is in your own best interests to actually go out to the places you are considering and do an inspection of your own. This way you can talk to the staff and find out if they are properly trained and qualified. Make sure they are passionate about what they do and you can be sure your horse is in good hands... and again, make sure there are plenty of places nearby like national parks and riding trails to actually take your horse out for a ride whenever you can.

So in conclusion, if you are looking into horse agistment, it does not matter which "side of the fence" you are on, there are plenty of things to discuss when it comes to drawing up the contracts. Unfortunately, these days, contracts are an essential for these kinds of things so make sure both parties are agreed on the responsibilities of each and that all costs, fees and pricing structures are double checked before signing. Not to mention things like contingency plans for natural disasters, like flooding and forest fires, all the way to things like procedures for unexpected illness, diseases and injuries of the animals in question.

Want to find out more about horse agistment? Then visit Michelle Rudge's site on how to choose the best horse agistment property for your needs.

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Heavy duty professional corded animal clipper. Powerful universal rotary motor. 2-speed. 3,000 strokes per minute on low speed and 4,000 strokes per minute on high speed. Compatible with all Oster CryogenX detachable blades...

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