Overheating during hot weather

[Luv-My-Minis]

Hi,

I have a 8 yr old dapple grey pinto mare that is shown at our local mini shows. She is kept in the barn during the day to keep her from getting sun burned and she is put out at night when it is cooler out.

My question is:

When she is at shows, in the direct sunlight/humidity, it seems like she starts breathing hard even while in a halter class. Before the driving classes, I try to sponge her down with luke warm water to help her stay cool. Is there any thing I can mix with the water to spray on her that would be more beneficial? A friend had suggested mixing gatorade in with her drinking water. I've done that and she seems to like the taste of it. Would there possibly be a medical problem- such as thyroid? I don't want her to colic or have heat stroke!! What can I do??

Thanks in advance for your help.

Linda

 

[Marty]

As a Floridian who showed, this is another subject close to my heart. I'm very glad to see you were diligent and loving your horse enough to ask and care. Many will do anything for the sake of a horse show.

I've seen horses drop like flies from heat stroke, including one of my own, not to mention the people.

it seems like she starts breathing hard even while in a halter class.

This is one warning sign of heat stroke

Before the driving classes, I try to sponge her down with luke warm water to help her stay cool.

Warm water is not a great idea although some people say to use water warm, I do not and use cool water. When the water hits thier body, it becomes warm immediately so you have to sweat scrape it right off. Also use the horse's cooling off points, between the ears on the poll, and also at the chest neck and knees. Do not cover your horse with a wet towel. That will capture the heat close to the body.

Is there any thing I can mix with the water to spray on her that would be more beneficial?

No, but after wards, I swear by a product made by Absorbine, called Refershermint. You mix it in a bucket with water and sponge it on. Cuts righ through the sweat and the minty smell helps your horse to relax and unwind his muscles.

Never dilute Gatorade. That only errases the electrolytes. You need to use it full strength to benefit from it and also never use a cheap subsitute sport drink. One way I force it straight is to make a sloppy beet pulp mash with it.

All this being said, there have been many times when we had to pack up, scratch our classes and leave a show due to the excessive heat and humidity. No ribbon, no show is worth having your horse out there suffering in the heat.

Here is a good rule of thumb to follow that I wrote for one of my articles:

Do not exercise your horse in extreme hot or cold temperatures. Here is a good rule to go by that will tell you when the temperature is safe to exercise your horse:

Temperature + Humidity = Heat Index

Add your temperature to your humidity to obtain your heat index. The heat index is the measurement of how hot you feel. If your heat index is 130 or less it is safe to exercise. If your heat index is 150 or more, proceed with light exercise using caution. If your heat index is 180 or more, it is too hot to exercise your horse and heat stroke may occur. Do not exercise your horse at all. Cancel your session that day.

I hope this has helped you.

Best wishes for a very happy, successful show season, and a safe one.

Much Luv

Marty

 

[normajeanbaker]

My filly can't sweat, so I am always dealing with keeping her cool during the summer-both at home and at the horseshows. If it's really hot out, she only likes being out a few hours and then prefers to be in her stall and in front of her fan. If we go to a show and it's really hot and humid, she doesn't show. Right now she only shows in halter, so it's not much of a problem with her overworking herself and not being able to cool off(like in driving,etc). We are always sponging her off between classes and keeping her in the shade. My filly will drink gatorade right out of the bottle, so she gets that too at the shows-just make sure it's a light colored gatorade and not red or blue if she has white face markings because if they dribble, it's hard to get out

: My vet told me that putting alcohol in the water and sponging them down will also cool them off. Make sure and scrape your horse after you sponge them down. If you don't scrape them off after you sponge them, it's not going to cool them off as well. If the show you go to has electrical outlets, you can also plug a fan in and let them stand in front of it between classes(although at most 1 day shows, this isn't an option). I know with my filly, as long as we keep sponging her off, keep her in the shade and just offer her plenty of water, she does okay. And sometimes if it's that hot and humid out, you just have to play it smart and ask if it's really worth putting them through it. I'd rather lose out on entry $ then have my horse overheat,etc.

~Jen~

 

[dangerranger]

here in the west, its not unusall to be 110 to 115 for days at a time. but we dont fight the high humidity. so we hose down our horses several times a day. leaving the excess water on them helps cool them as it evaporates. last year we cancelled a show when the weather had been over 110 for 21 days straight. to make shure my horses are getting enough salt I put a tea spoon of table salt on each flake of hay[ for big horses]. and make shure they have free choice salt all summer. if they have to exercise in the heat I give them a shot of electrolites in a 50 cc syringe by mouth. and then all the water they want. the electrolites seem to make them thirsty. I really put them in my place as in "do I really want to be out in that heat?'. good luck DR.

 

[Luv-My-Minis]

Thank you all so much for the replys. My mare doesnot sweat either. I always worry that she is holding all the heat inside of her and is unable to get it out by sweating. I will definitely see if she will drink straight gatorade instead of diluting it in her water. I will also try cold water vs luke warm water to sponge her between the ears and chest. We carry a generator and fan with us to the shows and when its really bad, we hook it up and let her stand by the fan. But out in the ring, she is just not happy!!

How much (rubbing?) alcohol to water? half and half? I have a spray bottle and I could use that to mist her than scrape it off with a sweat scraper. I would like to use the formula mentioned to figure out how warm she really is. I have a horse thermometer in my grooming box. How do I figure the humidity?

Do you think this could have a medical cause or is it that she just has problems cooling herself down and I should use my judgement as far as how much to ask of her? Should I have my vet look at her? What test could be run? What all is involved with heat stroke? Symptoms mild to worse?

I sure do love this girl and don't want anything to happen to her!!

Thanks so much,

Linda

 

[normajeanbaker]

If you Mini truly has the issue that she can not sweat, there is a supplement you can give them called One AC. But, your vet should confirm the fact that she can't sweat. I've noticed most Mini's don't sweat and lather up like the big horses....and for 99.9% of them, it's not the fact that they medically cant sweat....I think it's harder to make them sweat because they are always bodyclipped, as opposed to a full sized horse who isn't bodyclipped every so many weeks. None of my Mini's sweat like my Saddlebreds did. For 6 of them, its just becaues they DONT sweat that much. Only one of them has the issue that she just CANT sweat like everyone else.

Your vet can run a simple test to tell you if infact your Mini really can not sweat. The One AC supplement isn't a perscription, but I'd hesitate to give it to a horse if my vet hadn't confirmed that the horse truly can not sweat.

~Jen~