06/16/2022
KEEPING HORSES COOL IN THE HEAT
With the high heat indexes coming this next week, we hope you are all planning to stay cool in some air conditioning! While it would be great if we could all bring our horse’s inside our houses, there are some things that you can do to help your four-legged friends beat the heat!
The biggest two threats to equine health when the heat indexes spike high are dehydration and overheating. Most horses, if given appropriate shade and water access will do just fine, especially if already acclimated to the weather. When things get out of whack, however, these two problems can rear their ugly heads in a hurry. So how do you go about preventing them, and keep from having to add a vet bill to your weekend plans?
Hydration
Remember the old saying, you can lead a horse to water but you can’t make it drink? Yeah, that applies here. Especially in hot weather, many horses are going to be conserving energy and number of steps, so having easy access close to run-ins and sheds helps them not have to utilize much energy to consume the water they need. Additionally, adding a teaspoon of non-iodized salt to grain rations can help to stimulate drinking (think eating potato chips or popcorn for us, and how thirsty we get!). Additionally, the use of electrolyte paste, or powder can help stimulate drinking as the horse will want to increase water consumption to bring the concentration of those electrolytes back into normal in the body.
If you think your horse is slowing down on their water intake, you can also attempt to make some “sweet teas” for them. This is a technique that we often use in the hospital for horses that are reluctant to drink the water due to differences in taste from their home water. Adding a handful of sweet or senior feed, some applesauce, or molasses to a bucket of water can change the flavor profile enough to make the horse interested in taking in that water. Always remember to provide a bucket of fresh, unchanged water along with your ‘teas’ if you try to encourage drinking. That way the horse has something to go back to if it doesn’t like any of the ‘teas’ you make.
Overheating
As we said above, most horses can regulate their temperature just fine if given a space to get out of the direct sunlight. Occasionally, though, a horse that has an underlying medical issue, or one that simply spent too much time out in the sunlight, can lose control of this regulation and overheat. If you suspect your horse has overheated, there are a few steps you should take. First, immediately get the horse out of the sunlight and into the shade, trying to keep the horse as calm as possible. If they are buddy bound, bringing the friend with is good too! The use of fans can create evaporation on the skin to help draw some of the heat out of their body. A sponge bath with cold water over the jugular furrow on both sides of the neck, behind the forearms, and in the groin can decrease temperature, and increase evaporation in a breeze to help cool the horse down. Be sure to scrape off excess water to help the evaporation process go faster. Finally, if you have isopropyl (rubbing) alcohol you can also use that to pour over the horse. The alcohol has a lower evaporation temperature, so it evaporates more quickly than water, drawing out the heat faster than a traditional bath.
Remember, through all of this, your veterinarian can be a big help to you in getting your horse back on tract. High heat and humidity can be one of the worst triggers of horses with breathing issues, or other systemic compromise, and can lead to colic and acute respiratory distress. Having unexpired banamine or phenylbutazone on hand can also help with these situations but be sure to always consult your veterinarian prior to giving any medications.
With a little luck, you and your horses should get through the heat just fine. Always remember, we are just a phone call away to answer questions you may have or to help with your horses in an emergency at 763-441-3797 (after hours Ext 1).
