The Summer Survival Post

This time of year, “normal” people (as in not horse people) are heading to the beach (or my preference, to the mountains!), cooking on the BBQ, sipping daiquiri’s by the pool and sitting in the cool comforts of an airconditioned house during the heat of the day, while horse people are checking water temperatures, hosing horses off, sporting those unfortunate tan lines that prove you are a horse person, showering multiple times a day (of if you are fortunate to have a pool, you jump in it to cool off) and you are making your plans for the 4th of July to center around the well-being of your horse!

If you are in the south or happen to be experiencing a wicked heat wave at the moment, it is critical to keep your horses comfortable, especially if they are older, have Cushings or have any other health issues. Living in Florida, I have become pretty adept at handling horses and heat, grumbling the whole time. This past spring, we added more fans to the stalls. After last summer, which was beyond brutal, it was evident that the ceiling fans were not enough, despite the sprinklers we have on the barn roof. Plus, Chance, our latest addition, only had 2 metal fans in his stall instead of ceiling fans. After much research, my husband decided we would add heavy duty metal fans that he found at Harbor Freight, which put out 7600 CFM. Chance was given 2, and we kept his fan on his stall door, which he LOVES, and the donkeys and Gabe each got a new fan, in addition to their ceiling fans. I can honestly say that it feels like a tornado is brewing with all that air flow! We had an electrician install the fans with switches, so there are no exposed wires.

My crew is ready to come in for a rinsing off and a lunch time mash of Hallway Handi-Mash by 1:00 and to spend the next few hours sitting under their fans, mane blowing in the breeze and munching on their hay or dozing, until dinner time. As long as it isn’t storming, they can go back outside for a few more hours until dark, when they are ready to come back inside.

At one time I was a proponent of night turnout, until I realized how much I was torturing my draftx, Tucker, who had major allergies. After flooding from a tropical storm meant they had to forego night turnout for a week, I was shocked to discover how much his skin cleared up…and have felt guilty ever since for leaving him outside at night where he was so uncomfortable. At our farm, we are also surrounded by woods, and have had issues with poachers, and we have all kinds of wildlife, with reports of panthers in the area. And living in Florida also means we have horse thieves who butcher our horses for their meat. Shortly after moving here, we did have an incident with someone in my stalls late one night, so I find it works best for my situation to keep everyone stalled at night, with access to their runs and I let them choose where they prefer to be.

HORSE HEALTH

So much about keeping your horse comfortable involves water!!

• The most important thing you can do is to ensure that your horse has cool, clean and fresh water in front of them all the time! This may mean dumping and refilling buckets and tubs several times throughout the day. I prefer to use muck buckets instead of big troughs as they are easy to dump and to fill, as well as to clean. I check the water temperature of my buckets every hour during the day and usually dump and refill on average 2-4 times in the afternoon (welcome to Florida in the summer.) TIP: Fill buckets half-way so you are not wasting water

• Water buckets and troughs should be clean with no algae, so it is important to keep the buckets clean

• Horses drink on average between 8 and 15 gallons daily. This need will increase with exercise, heat and humidity

• Horses prefer cooler water temperatures, between 65- 68 degrees

• Insulated buckets! This past winter, I wrapped insulation around my buckets when our temperatures were dropping into the low teens. I decided to keep the insulation on the buckets to see if they helped in the summer. So far, the results are YES, they definitely do help keep the water cooler. Chance’s stall is located where his buckets get warmer faster than the rest and he has one bucket that is wrapped and one that is not. I plan on doing a formal experiment with a thermometer, but just by dipping my hand in the wrapped bucket, there is a noticeable difference in temperature between the two buckets!

I am amazed at how many barns that I visit where I see dirty, slimy and hot water. I ask the barn manager if they don’t want to drink out of their horse’s buckets and troughs, then how can they expect their horses to do so?

Other ways to keep horses comfortable with water include:

• Hosing off hot and sweaty horses. Horses coming in from the pasture should be hosed off, not put away hot and sweaty.

• Installing sprinklers on the roof. This has been one of my favorite projects that we did to our barn. It drops the temperatures in the barn within minutes. In addition, when our careless neighbor burns his enormous pile of brush, I can turn the sprinklers on and wet down the roof, hopefully preventing a fire from a wayward ember. TIP: Add gutters and downspouts and collect the runoff with a rain barrel.

• Wet mashes. I give soaked mashes every day for lunch, so my horses are used to this. In the summer, I use cool water mashes. In the winter, I add warm water. In addition, consider adding water to regular meals as well.

• Adding salt and/or electrolytes will also encourage your horse to drink

In addition, adding fans to stalls will also drop temperatures and keep horses cool. Box fans should NEVER be used in a barn setting. They are not approved for outdoor settings and have been the cause of barn fires. Use approved outdoor-rated fans that have an enclosed motor and have them installed by a professional, licensed electrician. They should be cleaned and inspected often.

Cooling sheets and neck covers will aid in cooling off a horse that is overheating and may be worth the investment to have on hand, particularly if you live or compete in hot environments. One should follow the heat index when considering riding. Heat strokes can occur in horses and rarely do horses recover, so it is imperative to take all precautions when riding in extreme heat.

RIDER HEALTH

It is important that the rider stay cool as well. Drinking lots of water, taking breaks and eating healthy will help to ensure that you are able to perform your best and to be there for your horse. Cooling pack inserts are available to put inside your helmet to keep your head cool when you ride, as well as cooling towels and vests. Don’t think twice about dunking your head under a hose to cool off! I am fortunate to have a swimming pool, and the heat is measured by how many times I jump into the pool to cool off.

I prefer to ride in long-sleeve sun shirts. I was skeptical at first, but now I live in these shirts and I find them to be cooler than a t-shirt. The sun is not baking my skin and I don’t need to slather the sunscreen on my arms either.

Hats are a necessity for doing any kind of barn chores, to keep the sun’s harmful rays off your face and to keep cool.

I try to finish all of my barn chores early and get my ride time in before late morning. I am fortunate to have large trees on my property, which helps keep my riding area shady and cooler. For days when it is just too hot to ride, I pull out my copy of No Bored Horses by Amanda Coble and find a fun and engaging activity for everyone, including the donkeys. Ground work can be just as stimulating and rewarding for a horse and is a good break from riding.

July is also a good time to wrap up your summer farm chores. If you are unsure what to do, here is a link to my past blog on the topic: Summer Chore List

Independence Day is one week away! Do you have a plan for your horse? Have you ordered sedatives if your horse needs them? Unfortunately, fireworks are not going to go away and it is our responsibility to make sure that our horses are able to survive the holiday…which being on a weekend means that the celebrations will probably last 3 days, especially with this year being the 250th! Have you asked your neighbors what their plans are? Will they be shooting off fireworks for hours at a time? Ask them to not aim them at your property and explain nicely to them the reasons why some horses don’t do well with fireworks. Playing loud music and fans will also aid in reducing the sound of fireworks (luckily, my new fans will definitely be helpful in drowning out the noise!)

Have a Safe 4th and Stay Cool,

and as always,

Don’t Forget To Hug Your Horse!

Lori