Training / working in the heat

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wingnut

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So I'm working with 4 of my horses right now on various training issues. It's not so bad as I can't overwork the yearling or the overweight 6 yr old, and the two 5 year olds I'm not working more than 30 minutes at a time either.

But it's July and with that comes the onset of the summer heat here in mid-Atlantic. Certainly there are hotter places in the US right now but 90+ degrees at 6pm is darn hot for us! LOL!

I should go out there and work with three of the 4 that I wasn't able to work with this morning. Am I really thinking of the horses or myself in thinking I should leave it for the morning, that it's just too hot to work them right now.

What do you do in the heat when it comes to training? Do you do all training in the early a.m. only before the heat builds up? Do you spray them down with cold water after a session?

Thanks in advance
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In the hot Summer months in Australia working horses in the morning is really the only option. I always hose them down after working. Especially around the girth area.

It can heat up to extreme temperatures by mid morning. I don't work any horses after this time.

I will often go outside during extreme conditions just to stand there and spray the horses with the cold water in the hope it gives them some relief from the heat.

They seem to enjoy it
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I try.... TRY to get up early in the morning. It's usually light enough by 5:45, so I try to get to the barn at 5:30. Now, that doesn't always happen. & on the days I don't get up early, I find something more mentally strenuous to work on if it's hot, or else wait until 8 that night to start working out. As for if it's for the horses, or for me??? I think it's for both. I tend to get overheated, then see double, then fall over.... that's not a positive workout for either of us, so I try to make myself comfortable so I am sharp & able to keep it positive for the horse. Plus, if I'm sharp, I can tell if the horse is struggling and stop!
 
Well, I just came in from driving our almost all black mare who is insulin resistant and also has anhydrosis (can't sweat). With her it is a very serious matter, but I figure I might have to show her in the heat so we have to figure out how to deal with it. Shade helps immensely! I can drive in the shade in the early morning and also work them all in their sand ring in the shade in the late afternoon. Hosing down or sponging off after a workout is a must for the non-sweater. I listen to her - this morning she would perk up in the shade and drag in the sun so we stuck to the shade as much as possible and only did obstacles in the sun. The others might get some training in the heat because they will have to show in the heat and I figure if this old body (not very heat tolerant any more) can handle it, so can they). But that would be brief. Our 4-H sessions are late afternoons. The horses also have access to a fan and stand in the shady stall under the fan during the heat of the day.

It is a bit frustrating that after a workout I am sweating like a pig and Princess is dry as a bone but I know that is dangerous! I am looking into making her a cooling vest like they use for children with Down's Syndrome, some of whom apparently also have trouble sweating.
 
I have healthy younger horses. We still workout. I can only get to the barn around 5 pm, so that's what we do. They have 23 hours a day in the shade, the 30 mins to an hr I work them they can 'suck it up.'

I'm not saying we do marathon sweat sessions, and the really nasty days we practice 'less physically demanding maneuvers such as pivots, backing, side passing, etc.

After every workout I soak them to the skin too with cool water. Helps with bath time brattiness too - it feels darn good!
 
Thanks everyone! I appreciate the input. I did wimp out and skipped the session yesterday evening. Tonight I'm going to suck it up and get out there. One issue I have is that my husband goes to bed at 8pm (works construction so he's out of the house by 5:30am). So I really need to be done by 8 in order to take a shower in a timely manner that doesn't keep him from going to sleep. He watches some TV for about 15 minutes and that gives me just enough time to get my shower.
 

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