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 Sweating Summer- What you should know about Heat and Horses
It has been a long day, and your horse it not responding as well as you wish. He is moping along without a care in the world. It is ninety degrees outside and all you want to do is get home to the air conditioner. You kick him into a gallop, but he wont budge. You try again, nothing. He isnt acting that strange, but you notice maybe hes breathing a little heavier, is sweaty, and his tail has foam underneath it. So you decide to check him out back at the barn, but you really dont think you have anything to worry about; after all it is hot out.
At the barn you unsaddle him, check his temperature, and pulse. His temperature is high and so is his pulse. If this sounds like something you have experienced, call the vet immediately because your horse may
have heat stress. Heat stress can also be called heat exhaustion and heat stroke. It is brought on by hot, humid weather, overexertion, excess loss of body fluids, and poor ventilation. If you dont get your horse cooled down, his blood vessels will dilate with the result being circulatory collapse, shock, or even death.
To get things back to normal, you need to re-hydrate your horse and bring his body temperature back to normal. You can do this by taking buckets of water and washing him down, taking a hose and gently spraying him off, or putting ice packs on his head and legs. You need to remove the sweat from the horses coat, by combing him and keep replacing it with cold water. This will gradually cool the horse off. You have to do all of this immediately or the horse will die. If the horse has a severe case of heat stress he may need an IV, which will replace the fluids he lost through sweat and respiration. Once the horses body temperature has gotten below one hundred and two degrees you should stop full body baths, and limit the amount of water sprayed on this horse. This could result in shock. You want your horse to be cool, but not too cold. Keep a close watch on the horse; because once the horse has experienced heat stress, he may be more susceptible to it. There are ways you can prevent heat stress.
To help prevent this, ride your horse when its cool out, either in the morning or evening. Do not ride your horse in the dead heat of the day, or you are asking for trouble. Make sure your horse has water around him at all times. A horse requires eight to twelve gallons of water a day, so he wont get dehydrated. Salt blocks may be beneficial, too.
Avoid putting your horse in a hot, musty barn. If you have to put your horse in a barn, make sure its ventilated. Leave windows open, fans blowing, or anything you can do to make the barn cool. When you have to ride your horse and its hot out, monitor its vital signs. This will give you a good idea how the horse it dealing with the heat.
Give your horse an electrolyte replacer one to two hours before hard performances. This will keep your horse hydrated better. If you have a horse event coming up, get your horse used to the humid weather. Work with your horse a couple hours a day in the cooler heat, to get him used to it. That way when you take him out the day of your event he wont be in such a shock with the heat. Hell be used to it.
Make sure you cool off your horse before putting him away, scrub him down, or even spray him with the hose. Avoid hauling your horse anywhere in hot weather. If you have to haul him do it during the cool hours. Avoid weaning the foal, breeding or any social event that may cause stress or excitement. This can get a horse riled up, making the body temperature rise.
Schedule any vet procedures during the cool hours of the day. The veterinarians office can be stressful and not well liked. Try to schedule a visit in the morning or evening so the horse doesnt become overheated in the process.
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