When your veterinarian comes out to administer spring vaccinations, have him or her also perform a wellness exam and discuss anything that might affect your upcoming riding plans. | Photo: Kevin Thompson/The Horse

You can feel it. You can smell it. Spring is in the air. Oh, to be sure, we aren’t finished with cold weather in many parts of the country, but it won’t be long before we will be ready to head out trail riding or be off on the spring horse show circuit.

It’s time to take a good look at our equine companion or companions and find out if they are as ready as we are for another riding season. If they are show horses, they probably are ready. Today’s level of competition demands that these horses be kept show-ready 12 months a year.

But what about that casual riding horse? Has he gotten that much attention all winter? Or have we been guilty of benign neglect? You know the kind. It isn’t that we don’t feed and water the horses, it’s just that when one leaves for work in the dark and gets home in the dark, it’s sometimes hard to do the little extras, like checking the hair coat, taking a look at hooves, and remembering to deworm on schedule