Around the Farm - Keeping you and your horse cool in the summer heat

[Happy Horses - Happy Riders]

The summer sun is shining full force, and the heat is affecting all of us. Here are some useful tips for keeping you and your equine partners cool and comfortable in the summer heat. Feel free to add your own!

-Use common sense! The coolest parts of the days are early morning and late evening. Schedule your strenuous rides and laborous barn-chores during these hours if possible. Switch your stalled horses to night turnout and offer shade to those outside.

-Practice proper management - always have clean, fresh water and salt/minerals available at free-choice.

-Sponge and scrape your horse before and mid-way thru workouts to encourage their body temperature to stay low

-Keep your picky drinker hydrated by adding flavored gatorade to water (offer fresh, clean water also), or by soaking hay for at least 30 minutes prior to feeding.

-Be creative! Consider cooling and despooking your horses with a sprinkler in the pasture so they can cool off at will (be sure to carefully despook them first - this is NOT for every horse!).

-Keep air moving by using fans in stalls and aisleways (you farrier will thank you!). Be sure you carefully plan where your electric wires will be hung to avoid water and curious mouths.

-Apply zinc oxide cream to horses with pink noses to prevent and treat sunburn.

-Insects irritate us all! Use lightweight/lightcolored fly sheets, fly masks and flyspray to help your horses deter the buggers! (see our blog post on homemade fly spray for some inexspenive, less chemical-y options!).

-Keep an eye on your horses condition. Hot temps mean less grass growing so be sure to supplement with hay if needed.

-Ice water and towels in a cooler can be your best friend. Add some essential oils to the water for an energizing, mid-day pick-me-up. Cool towels to your face and your and your horses neck are a great way to cool off.

-Know the signs of a horse over-heating:
*Elevated respiration in an inactive horse (normal range is 4 to 16 breaths per minute).
*Elevated pulse in an inactive horse, pulse that does not drop after several minutes, or climbs once exercise has stopped.
*Profuse sweating or no sweating at all.
*Elevated body temperature above 103F.
*Irregular heart beat known as ‘thumps.’
*A depressed attitude.
*Dehydration. Test for this by observing your horse’s flanks. If they look caved in, he is probably dehydrated. Pick up a pinch of skin along your horse’s neck. If the skin snaps back quickly, the horse is sufficiently hydrated. If the pinched area collapses slowly, the horse is dehydrated.