Warm weather brings sunny days and soaring temperatures. More energy is expended in order to keep our bodies cool, and it is the same with horses. This doesn’t mean you cant ride or participate in your horse activities. Having a heightened awareness of the heat is crucial.
Knowing the signs of heat stress allows the rider or participant can then gauge how much activity they would like their horse to do based on any symptoms of distress the horse may begin show if overheated.
Common sense is a key factor in determining how much physical exercise both you and your horse should do during warm temperatures.
We as humans exert less energy when its hot. We want to retreat to cooler temperatures, jump in a pool, or head for the shade.
Keep this mindset for your horse. Keep strenuous activity in full hot sun and high temps to a minimum. Horses enjoy a cool rinse after a hot ride, particularly in a shaded area.
Offer some shade in every area of the horse’s environment. Take a break under some trees, and have a shaded area in their stall or pen they can rest under.
Dehydration
Dehydration can lead to heat stress and heat stroke. Dehydration occurs when horses cannot drink enough to replace all the fluids they have lost.
On extremely hot days, horses sweat more ESPECIALLY if they are being ridden or worked. Many horses drink enough water to recover, but sometimes their water intake cannot keep up with their fluid loss.
Do you think your horse is dehydrated? Try grasping a small fold of skin on the horses shoulder. When release the skin should immediately fall back into place.
The longer it takes for the skin to smooth back into its original place, the more dehydrated your horse is. This is known as the “skin-pinch” test.
Also, dark urine can be an indicator of dehydration too. Offer your horse shade, fresh, clean water, and electrolytes to help re-hydrate.
Extreme cases of dehydration will need a veterinarian and possibly some IV’s in order to hydrate the horse to ward of heat stroke and dehydration. Soaking hay can also help increase water intake.
Heat Stress
Heat stress is also known as heat exhaustion. Heat stress has some serious red flags that can be easily identified. Watch for signs such as:
panting
heavy sweating/lather
irregular heartbeat
lethargy
high body temps
fatigue
muscle spasms/cramping
dry/tacky mucous membranes
reddened or dry gums
Heat stress occurs when a horse gets too hot- usually above 102 degrees and cannot get its temperature back down. A horse sweats, but if the heat buildup gets too high, the horse cannot sweat enough to help cool down and heat stress begins to set in.
Heat exhaustion can happen when the exercise is excessive, the horse is not conditioned well enough to handle the work load, the outside temperatures are excessive, or the horse is overweight and cannot recover quickly enough to ward off heat stress, or a combination of these factors.
Heat Stroke
Heat stroke or hyperthermia can happen two ways. The first is when heat stress/exhaustion is not addressed and the strenuous activity and the continuation of a horses core body temperature continues to escalate.
The second way is when a horse that is pushed very hard in very hot weather. This can cause the horse’s body to “skip” the signs of heat stress and go directly to heat stroke.
Overweight horses that are pushed into extreme activity when it is very hot are good examples of horse that are more prone to heat stroke. They are not conditioned and the extra layers of fat make it hard for the horse to cool off or replenish enough fluids.
Heat stroke can impair the central nervous system. Horse may stagger,collapse, or even stop sweating during phases of heat stroke.
Get your horse in the shade, offer limitless clean water and electrolytes, and cool them by using a wet sponge or towel. IV fluids can be administered quickly to avoid serious damage to your horse.
There is nothing better than glorious summer rides on your horse. Keep in mind that some summer days may be too hot to do extreme exercising.
Take breaks and head for the shade and offer your pony electrolytes during the warm summer months.
Knowing and watching for signs of heat distress can let you know when it may be too much for your horse this summer. Keep cool and drink lots of water – both horses and humans!