Scraping when hosing - not outdated after all?

[Tiddlypom]

The 'to scrape or not to scrape' discussion comes up from time to time. I thought that the old practice of scraping when hosing off a hot horse was supposed to be outmoded, but was interested to see that the BHA racecourse vets still recommend scraping.

https://fb.watch/eQST_22JmM/

I was brought up to scrape, and it always seemed to me like a good practice to continually remove the heated water and replace it with cold.

What are we all doing? Assuming for this discussion that there is no water shortage or hosepipe restrictions.

 

[PinkvSantaboots]

I scrape while I hose always have done.

 

[Elf On A Shelf]

It depends on the horse and what it's doing.

Bathing -yes I scrape so I can rug up.

Wash down after exercise - yup scrape so horse dries quicker on the walker.

After race in winter - yup scrape then pop a cotton sheet on to help prevent a chill.

After race in summer - I scrape for the first wash down, if a second is required then no I do not scrape the water off and let the horse drip dry as we walk round the stable yard.

Whilst trying to cool down an overheating horse no, never scrape, keep the water flowing

 

[milliepops]

not a scraper here, unless i want the horse to dry faster such as in winter. if you're working alone you have to stop hosing in order to scrape so it just seems like a waste of time to me, if i was trying to cool myself down i wouldn't keep stopping the flow of water.

 

[humblepie]

Not scraping when it is for cooling. That is buckets of water not a hose. If you see then at the end of a race in the really hot weather they throw water over the horse often whilst jockey still on and on the course and that isn't scrapped off.

 

[ycbm]

Only scrape if I want the horse to dry.
.

 

[Steerpike]

Only scrape if I have bathed the horse or its the middle of winter.

 

[AntiPuck]

Only scrape if I'm trying to dry the horse off more quickly

 

[sbloom]

Evaporation, not even keeping the water running over them, is a really rapid way to cool them, far better than scraping. The water does get hot, but it's evaporating cooling the skin underneath.

 

[Elno]

I always scrape after a bath ?

 

[Follysmum]

I have never scraped , if cold I just sponge off the bits that are sweaty

 

[Ample Prosecco]

Running water continuously over the horse until cool and then leaving wet to evaporate is the most effective way to cool. There may be other reasons to scrape but enhancing cooling is not one of them.

 

[ponynutz]

Only scrape if they're going in the horse box or after a bath when I want to rug up.

 

[ihatework]

I always scrape unless I need to aggressively cool in which case, don’t eff around with a scraper, get water water water on

 

[Bernster]

Not a scraper when I’m cooling them, unless it annoys the horse when I take off the worst under the belly. I don’t tend to bathe in the winter but would scrape then as it’s for cleaning not cooling.

 

[fidleyspromise]

Nope, I hose off and throw out in field for horse to roll/dry off. I only hose in warm weather.

 

[Lois Lame]

The 'to scrape or not to scrape' discussion comes up from time to time. I thought that the old practice of scraping when hosing off a hot horse was supposed to be outmoded, but was interested to see that the BHA racecourse vets still recommend scraping.

https://fb.watch/eQST_22JmM/

I was brought up to scrape, and it always seemed to me like a good practice to continually remove the heated water and replace it with cold.

What are we all doing? Assuming for this discussion that there is no water shortage or hosepipe restrictions.

If I ever ride a horse enough to make him hot and sweaty, I'll be hosing and scraping. The hotter he is, the more times I'll hose and scrape. End of. (As you poms say.)

 

[dogatemysalad]

I hose long enough for the horses body temperature to drop. The water quickly becomes warm on the horses body unless you use enough water to reduce the heat. I lightly scrape enough to stop annoying trickles of water running down the horses belly.
A quick, short splash with the hose can cause the horse to become hotter.

 

[TheMule]

I hose long enough for the horses body temperature to drop. The water quickly becomes warm on the horses body unless you use enough water to reduce the heat. I lightly scrape enough to stop annoying trickles of water running down the horses belly.
A quick, short splash with the hose can cause the horse to become hotter.

No, it can’t!
The water heating up works the same way as sweating- the water transfers the heat away from the horse's skin (and, subsequently, the blood vessels under the skin) as it evaporates off. It feels hot, but that is because it is doing its job

 

[Ample Prosecco]

If I ever ride a horse enough to make him hot and sweaty, I'll be hosing and scraping. The hotter he is, the more times I'll hose and scrape. End of. (As you poms say.)

The more times you stop to scrape the more time you waste while he stays hot. Cool water displaces warm water far faster than scraping does.

 

[Lois Lame]

Cool water displaces warm water far faster than scraping does.

Yes, if you have the hose still running. Sometimes there are times when there aren't enough hoses.

 

[scats]

Whenever I see a FB post about hosing horses off, I just wait for David Marlin to pop up… ?

I tend to scrape lightly simply because mine twitch at the dripping water on their belly, not for any other reason.

 

[Ample Prosecco]

If water is in short supply then leaving water on the horse to evaporate cools them quicker. This myth has been thoroughly debunked over and over again - and it’s just basic physics. We all know how it feels when you get out of the sea and there is a breeze. Water evaporating is very cooling. Scraping is fine if you want to stop the horse dripping for whatever reason - unless aggressive cooling is needed - but there are simply no circumstances in which scraping aids cooling. Though even experienced horse people continue with this myth. I mutinied as pony camp mum as it was my job to tell the kids that the layer of water would ‘cook’ their ponies if they didn’t scrape every last drop off. I refused but there will be a generation of pony clubbers growing up believing utterly that water on a horse heats them up. It ridiculous nonsense. Normally trivial but occasionally life threatening.

 

[Ample Prosecco]

ETA there is plenty of criticism underneath the BHA clip TP shared from other vets (and of course David Marlin) just despairing that the BHA is so out of date.

This myth just won’t die. That vet was probably a pony clubber who grew up terrified she would boil her pony and has never quite got over it!

 

[Tiddlypom]

Scraping while hosing and scraping after hosing are two different things? I do the first with a hot horse, but I leave the cooled off saturated wet horse to drip dry afterwards in hot weather. I'll scrape to finish in cooler weather.

Transcript of what the BHA vet had to say about cooling hot horses in the above clip in post #1, which was filmed at a race meeting at Leicester Racecourse. She is recommending scraping.

'These evidence based methods of cooling hot horses quickly through the application of iced water to the major muscle groups, scraping it off, then applying til the horse is cool.'

ETA crossposted with AE's post re the BHA method being criticised, but the BHA vet is saying that scraping is evidence based.

 

[dogatemysalad]

No, it can’t!
The water heating up works the same way as sweating- the water transfers the heat away from the horse's skin (and, subsequently, the blood vessels under the skin) as it evaporates off. It feels hot, but that is because it is doing its job

Cold showers increase core temperature which actually makes the horse hotter. You need to reduce the horses core temperature, not the skin temperature. A quick sprinkle with the hose on a hot, sunny yard and returning the horse to a hot, sunny field is going to make it even hotter, particularly if there is no shade or breeze.

In an ideal situation, you'd shower with tepid ( not cold ) water for long enough to reduce the horses temperature and put the horse in a shaded area with a breeze or cool stable.

 

[Chianti]

Whenever I see a FB post about hosing horses off, I just wait for David Marlin to pop up… ?

I tend to scrape lightly simply because mine twitch at the dripping water on their belly, not for any other reason.

He must get pretty sick of this question.

 

[SpotsandBays]

If I’m trying to cool down the horse, no scraping. But if I’m just giving them a general bath then I scrape (in hopes to dry them quicker so that when I put them back out and they roll the dirt might not stick so well ?)

 

[Fieldlife]

Cold showers increase core temperature which actually makes the horse hotter. You need to reduce the horses core temperature, not the skin temperature. A quick sprinkle with the hose on a hot, sunny yard and returning the horse to a hot, sunny field is going to make it even hotter, particularly if there is no shade or breeze.

In an ideal situation, you'd shower with tepid ( not cold ) water for long enough to reduce the horses temperature and put the horse in a shaded area with a breeze or cool stable.

Nonsense.

If a person jumps in pool / in cool shower and then get out. Are they warmer or colder?

Evaporation removes heat.

 

[milliepops]

i also think it's difficult to draw parallels between how people shower and how horses are showered, aside from their particular adaptations for cooling , for the most part people dry off after hot or cold showers whereas we usually leave horses to dry by evaporation.