**Horse Keeping in Hawaii: What You Need to Know**

*Updated May 2026. Originally published 2019.*

Horse keeping in Hawaii is not always fun. On the day I took this photo I had already been searching for my horses for a while, sopping wet because the rain had started unexpectedly and I had gone out without rain gear. I had just about concluded that I’d missed them standing under trees near the barn, when I did one last visual sweep toward the top of the property. You can barely see them in the picture, but the white spot just above center is one of them. They weren’t exactly stuck, but they were reluctant to come down a steep slope. I had to go up, halter the lead mare, and negotiate with her for a while before we agreed on a path toward the barn.

That’s horse keeping in Hawaii on a bad day. On a good day, they come down on their own at feeding time, they’re sound, and you have time to ride!

Pasture vs Stall

Keeping horses at pasture is better for them physically and mentally, and usually works out well for me since they know when to make their way back toward the barn. I only keep horses in when I’m instructed to do so by a vet, and I’m never sure it’s the right thing to do. If I had enough stalls for all my horses, maybe it would be ok, but if some are in and others are out, there’s a lot of stress – which can, of course, lead to colic and can also affect their ability to maintain a healthy weight and condition.

If they’re out and shivering, I sometimes will put blankets on them. The problem there is that I think they’re even more prone to rain rot with blankets on. So then I need to get aggressive about treating for rain rot.

Feed and Supplies

Finding quality horse feed on the Big Island has gotten easier in recent years. Here’s where I shop:

Mauna Kea Feed — the newest addition to Waimea’s horse keeping resources, with a great selection of feed and products. Worth checking out.  They bring in some KER supplements.

Animal Health— also in Waimea, and always reliable and the only place I know of on the island that carries Hawaii Horse Minerals, which I consider essential. Our grasses contain a component that binds with calcium, making it unavailable for horses to metabolize. Hawaii Horse Minerals corrects this, keeping the calcium/phosphorus ratio healthy. I supplement all my horses with this free choice. (I do have some horses that require more, and then I turn to Kentucky Equine Research products.) 

Paauilo Feed Store — a great backup, especially for hay and cubes.

Veterinary Care

We have some talented equine vets on the Big Island. I won’t name specific practitioners because the reality of island life is that it’s always unpredictable who will stay and who will eventually leave — and that information goes out of date quickly. Ask locally for current recommendations.

Make sure you develop and maintain a relationship with a vet you know and trust before you need one urgently.  And then follow their recommended protocols. Don’t assume practices you followed elsewhere, or even here in the past, are going to be sufficient here and now.  A friend recently learned this lesson the hard way – his well-bred colt became seriously ill from a type of roundworm not treatable, at least at the colt’s age, by any commercially available wormer.  Without prompt veterinary intervention the horse probably would not have survived, and certainly would never have developed into the horse he’s hoping for.

My vet tailors his worming recommendations to the horse’s location and health history.  It’s money well spent to get this right! 

 

Where to Keep Horses on the Big Island

Without question, Waikii Ranch is the premier location for horses on the Big Island. The climate is about perfect — cool and dry. There are extensive riding trails, an arena, and a polo field. Getting through the design review process can be challenging and building costs are significant, so if you can find an existing property that suits your needs, that may be the smarter option.

If you’re looking for equestrian properties in the Waimea area, I’d love to help — it’s a specialty of mine and I understand what horse people need in ways that some realtors don’t. Feel free to get in touch.

Judy S. Howard, Esq. is a Realtor Broker with COMPASS in Waimea, Hawaii, and a licensed Hawaii attorney. She has kept horses on her 50-acre off-grid property near Waimea for nearly 30 years. She can be reached at judy@livinginwaimea.com or 808-885-5588.