Things You Can Do to Help Your Horse Beat the Heat
There is nothing quite as enjoyable as taking a horse you own out for a ride. As the owner of a horse, your main goal needs to be keeping your animal happy and healthy. Higher-than-normal temperatures is something people all across the world have to deal with during the spring and summer months. It is important to understand that exposing your horse to heat for long periods of time can have an adverse effect on their health if you do not take the necessary precautions.
If you are going to be taking your horse on rides frequently this summer, whether you are going on a horseback trail ride, taking a horseback riding lesson, or simply riding your horse in the arena for fun, you need to find ways to keep them cool on these equestrian journeys. Below are some things you might want to try when attempting to help your horse beat the heat.
Be Mindful of Your Horse in Pasture and/orTurnout
Turnout time in the pasture is usually something that most horses look forward to. This is the time when horses are allowed to roam around outside and get some of their playful horsey energy out. During the hotter months of the year, you have to be careful regarding when and where you schedule these turnout times. Putting your horse outside when the weather is too hot can be detrimental to their health if you do not take the appropriate precautions.
The last thing you want is for your horse to become dehydrated or overheated, which is why you need to properly prepare the turnout area/pasture for your horse. Here are some things to take into consideration when preparing a pasture for your horse: Make sure your horse has unlimited access to a fresh and clean water source at all times, provide free choice salt and essential minerals for your horse to encourage drinking while also keeping their electrolytes up, one of the most important things to ensure your horse stays healthy and comfortable is to make sure your horse has plenty of shade trees and a shelter in their pasture so that they can get out of the direct sunlight. Also, if your horse does not live in pasture full time, and instead is turned out daily, try to schedule turnout times either early in the morning or later in the afternoon. If you are using a third-party boarding service for your horse, be sure to ask them about how they alter turnout times for the horses during the spring and summer months. With this information, you will have peace of mind knowing your horse is being cared for properly.
Properly Positioned Fans Come in Handy
When trying to keep your horses cool during the spring and summer months, you should consider using fans. One of the main things you need to avoid when positioning these fans is blowing hot air back on your animal. Re-circulating hot air with these fans will only make your horse more uncomfortable. This is why you need to position your fans where they are sucking the hot air out of the space where your horse is being kept. Make sure to use fans that are meant to be used in an equestrian barn and keep them clean to reduce fire risk. Using fans in the summer months also helps keep those pesky flies off of your horse.
Another thing you could consider investing in is a misting fan for the area where your horse is being stabled. These fans not only blow cool air on your animal, they also release a small mist of water that helps your animal beat the heat.
Provide Your Horse With Fresh Water
As mentioned above, keeping your horse hydrated year round is very important. You need to make sure that your horse has multiple areas where it can get a drink of cold water. Providing your horse with extra salt and minerals is also important when trying to avoid dehydration. We at Saluti Equestrian Center use Salt Blocks and Mineral Blocks in every stall and every pasture to ensure that all of our animals have access to all of the minerals they need at all times, we clean clean all water troughs multiple times per week to prevent algae build up, and we place all of the animal’s water troughs in the shade to help keep the water cool and refreshing for all of our four legged furry friends!
Use the Proper “Cool Down” Techniques After Riding
After riding your horse, make sure to follow all of the proper techniques so that your horse is sufficiently cooled down and ready to be put away. Here are a few of the main techniques that we at Ocean View Stables use to ensure our horses are properly cooled down after each ride: After your ride, check your horse’s respiratory rate, walk your horse out slowly on flat ground until their respiratory rate is within a normal range ( About 10-12 breaths per min.), remove all riding tack, and walk your horse over to the wash rack, carefully hose your horse off with cool water, starting with the legs ( at least 3-5min per leg), slowly work your way up to the belly, then the chest, continue to slowly work your way up the horse’s body until they are fully hosed off. You want to avoid spraying water directly on your horse’s back before they are cooled all the way down, as doing so could cause your horse’s muscles to “tie up” which is very painful for the horse. After rinsing your horse, scrape all of the access water off of your horse’s body and let your horse rest in a shaded area with access to drinking water until they are fully dry. Once dry, groom your horse and put them away.
By following these tips, you should have no problem keeping your animal cool and healthy all spring and summer long.
Learn More About Horse Care
If you would like to learn more about how to properly warm your horse up and cool your horse down before and after each ride, please visit OceanViewStables.com and book a lesson with one of our professional horse trainers. We at Ocean View Stables would be happy to teach you everything we know about proper horse care!