I have horse practice tonight but I'm worried it's too hot. It's about 112 degrees and the horses are used to 100 being the highest. She's a healthy 8 year old but a lot of horses in the group are about 28 years old. I really wonder what the leader is thinking. Staying outside for hours with out air conditioning at 112 degrees? With a lot of old, old, horses that should be retired.. and excuse me but I really don't want to do that. What do you think?
I would be concerned more for the senior horses then younger ones. But making sure you stay ontop of things such as plenty of available water sponging down with mixture or water and rubbing alcohol is great for cooling down a horse. They should provide a fan tent for horses this is where large party tents with huge fans are placed for horses to go under. Also helps to have mists on the fans. Make sure horses have electrolites. I would use paste form more so then just in the water that way you know they are getting enough. I used to soak bath towels in cool water and lay it over the rump and shoulders while resting my horses. We raced horses in extreme heat but always took steps in care during and after.
It's not just about the temperature, but also (and sometime even more) about humidity. We had mid 90-th this week, which doesn't sound too bad, but with the very high humidity it was impossible to ride even in eve or early morning.
However 112F is very high even with the low humidity IMHO. Especially for the older horses.
What TRR said haha
Just make sue they have plenty of water and the electrolyte paste is a godsend. I personally like it better because my horses can be picky about water and they wont drink it with the electrolyte in it (even the ones with no flavor ;P picky picky haha)
Make sure theres plenty of shade for all the horses and plenty of down time to cool off.
Just be very vigilant and hopefully things will be okay.
I personally believe if I am miserable, my horse is too. Take it easy, plenty of water, shade, paste electrolyte, and if the horses start showing signs of heat problems, it may be time to get off. Posted via Mobile Device
