Management of Horses and very hot weather

[SEL]

I've refined the horse wetting procedure to optimise time vs effectiveness. I now fully dunk the fly rugs in a trug of water, leave for a couple of mins, then heave the heavy dripping rug out and haul it straight onto the horse. The rug and the horse stay wetter much longer, and it uses less water than hosing off 3 neds.

The flipside is that I'm regularly getting covered in rug dunking water and I can't be bothered to fully wash and change in between each dunking session, I just wash the worst bits off. So I'm a bit horsey stinky, but what the heck.

I did that this morning - it's covered in yesterday's sweat so stunk and so do I! But given I'm at home feeling like I'm in an oven my standards have dropped pretty low. Don't think dove deodorant was tested at 39 degrees ?

 

[that_eventing_ connemara]

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Hi, I wondered what everyone is planning to do with their horses over the very hot weather period as I’m a bit concerned for my two elderly mares that live out.
I will be removing their fly rugs and just leaving fly masks on and ill give them a good spray. I have wooden stables but I was thinking of bringing them in during the morning when I know the stables are in the shade and cool, then hosing them down and popping them out when the stables heat up. I’m lucky that they are at home and I have plenty of trees for shade. My bay horse has ems so can’t really go out for long in the grass field but he is muzzled and can go in his chipped patch which has a big tree and I’ll put his water and hay there to keep him out of the sun and can hose him down from there which he will hate.
im sure they’ll be fine and I’m worrying about nothing but I’d be interested to hear what you are planning in case there is anything extra I can do to make them comfortable. I have a big bath on wheels for soaking hay so I might just sit in that until it’s all over.

i put my horses in my stables during the day with hay and plenty of water. i come out later in the day to redo their water so it’s cool and hose them off and pop them back in. then around 9/10pm i put them out in the field. i also have given them a frozen veg tub. you freeze a carrot and apple etc.put it in one of those curry/indian tubs and fill it with water then leave it in the freezer overnight. then just pop it out into their feed bowl. hope this helps.

 

[Gloi]

I'm sponging between the legs too (front and rear). I see the forecast is now saying 40 for us, so the SI rug will have to come off. She'll have heat stroke, otherwise.

Don't take it off, just hose it as often as you can.

 

[tulla100]

My Belgian Draft lives out. She has access to get under the hedge for scratching/shade etc. Hosed down in the afternoons. 3 large containers of water. Fly sprayed. Salt lick + a container of Pringles crisps which she loves for salt, although she has a Himalayan saltlick tied to the fence, and 2 bags of Aldi's wonky carrots and soaked Hayledge and access to neighbours Walnut Trees at night. Not sure what else l can do in this heat.

 

[CanteringCarrot]

Surprisingly horse was not at all hot or bothered today. I was also amazed that he did not rub! The shampoo that I used yesterday among with 3 different bug repellents must've worked! I don't know how long this luck will last though!

Fly sheet will likely go back on tomorrow night, but I do think he's been cooler without it.

Gave him a good rinse and a nice mash. None of the horses seemed bothered.

 

[claracanter]

Left my 4 out in the end as there was a breeze in the field but nothing in the stables. We took buckets to the water troughs and chucked water over the horses. They loved it, just stood there without head collars on. Second time we went down they all ambled over for their showers. We did it 4 times. Hoping that’s the end of the boiling weather now.

 

[Auslander]

My lot (14 of various ages, sizes and types) all coped absolutely brilliantly with the heat. A few sweaty pits, but no-one was distressed at any point, and none of them used the available shelters.
The only one that struggled was me!

 

[dorsetladette]

My lot (14 of various ages, sizes and types) all coped absolutely brilliantly with the heat. A few sweaty pits, but no-one was distressed at any point, and none of them used the available shelters.
The only one that struggled was me!

Same here. All fine. Sheep a bit uncomfortable. B the black cob positioned himself in the door of the shelter and everyone else was in and out as normal. Registered over 40 at work yesterday so pretty pleased with how everyone coped. Feels like its going to rain today too.

 

[Tiddlypom]

The horses did fare rather better than I feared. They are all crashed out having a post breakfast snooze after I brought them in to feed this morning, though! Making the most of the cool. I was on my physical limit yesterday dealing with them.

This is the state of the fly rug dunking trug this morning . It would have been anti social to completely replace the water with fresh in between dunkings, so I just topped it up. It'll be used for plant watering now.



OH has identified a couple of 16" wall mounted fans which we'll install and trial in one stable. The stables were too hot to use as they are yesterday, but the horses did use the north facing field shelter much of the day, which gets more air.

 

[Chippers1]

Buzz was also fine, only sweaty in his girth area again. There was a strong breeze, but it was hot! I was out in it for about 20 mins checking the horses and filling the water buckets and it almost killed me off, and i'm normally great in hot weather
The hamster on the other hand..

Melted on his little ice pack!

 

[maya2008]

It’s such a relief now it’s gone! Ponies relaxed, no longer clustered around the water trough (4 small ones drank half of a 2m long metal trough between them yesterday!).

 

[Widgeon]

after bathing bb yesterday he got bitten straight away before he dried, this is mine, I have about 10 over my body! And srill on antibiotics lol

Oh my goodness BB - that looks terrible. You have my sympathies :-( I hope it settles down soon and doesn't get infected.

 

[Widgeon]

The hamster on the other hand..
Melted on his little ice pack!

We gave our rabbits frozen water bottles in a sock - the big floppy one avoided hers like it might go off, and the small violent one dragged his inside one of his cardboard boxes. According to my OH there were "savaging noises" and we haven't seen the bottle or the sock since So not an unqualified success there....

 

[Chippers1]

Both cats avoided their frozen towels, despite looking like they were melted into the carpet! Just can't help some can you...

 

[Surbie]

Our horses were left out and coped so much better than I thought they would. We did extra checks and I emptied a carton of apple juice into a full bucket of water for my horse each time I went up, to make sure he was drinking enough. He thought that was awesome. They were firmly in the shade most of the time.

I did take his SI rugs off as I wouldn't have been able to wet them, and am hoping it's been breezy enough that I don't pay for it now with rubbed out tail, face and mane.

 

[Pippity]

Horse was fine with the heat but was driven crazy by the flies. Fly rug, fly mask and spray, and she was still grazing for thirty seconds, trotting a few strides, grazing, trotting, repeat ad nauseam. I've never seen her that badly affected.

Cat fought her way through the thermal, blackout curtains to lie on the windowsill and absorb as much heat as she could. She is a foul fiend from the depths of hell, so it was probably just like home.

 

[Sealine]

I've been keeping my horse in during the day. The horses were checked by liveries every couple of hours over the last couple of days. At no point did my horse sweat and there didn't appear to be any flies either which really surprised me. He does have a brick built stable which probably helps and he was hosed off before he came in and early afternoon.

My elderly GSD was more of a worry as he really didn't know what to do with himself. He won't sit on his cooling mat (waste of £34) or in front of a fan. My husband made him a paddling pool in the shade which we did manage to coax him into a few times.

 

[vickie123]

My elderly mares were fine in the end. The breeze helped and they were out in the middle of the field at the peak of the heat. They were glad to have their fly rugs back on today and I’m hoping we catch one of the passing showers just to take the edge off as it feels quite muggy today. Hope everyone coped ok. I feel for the people who lost their houses to the wildfires, puts my moaning about a bit of discomfort into perspective.

 

[maisie06]

I'm looking after a little herd for a couple of weeks and they have coped very well. Fly spray applied, they have lived out and had access to shade in the form of trees, hedges and a shelter, but they were basking in the sun when I arrived yesterday! They did enjoy a roll in the dust after our very brief - 2 mins spell of rain though.

 

[that_eventing_ connemara]

Not sure what you mean?

you use a lead rope and clip it either side of the door as like a rope so they can’t get out, saves closing the door as it’s hot