Sweaty horse - how do you deal with one?!

L

lucky7

Well-Known Member
Joined
15 May 2011
Messages
598
Visit site
Sweaty horse! what do you do?
Just interested to hear what you do with your sweaty horses?! i always sponge off and cool down but i know some people just stick them straight out sweaty (hate to see this in the summer as i think it attracts the flies!) also i know everyone has there own methods, using coolers or even thatching !

So scenarios:

A) Horse isn't hairy, cold weather, horse is unrugged - comes back from a ride sweaty
B) Horse clipped, cold weather, comes back from a ride sweaty
 
I'd never just stick them out sweaty - but in summer I have been known to sponge off and then stick them out to roll. They love it - even if it does mean a hippo waiting for me later!

I would always sponge off at the very least - except possibly for post hunting when I might if the journey is short just stick them on the trailer and wash them properly when I get home. The weather and what I want to do next will then dictate if they go stand under the infra red drier thingy for a bit, or go on the walker for a bit or go stand in the stable with a haynet under a good wicking rug. Or indeed pop out and roll. I haven't thatched a horse since I was a kid (long time ago now!) - and don't bed on straw now anyway. I very rarely towel off manually - except coblet's legs because he is prone to mud fever so we dry his legs thoroughly whatever.
 
In summer we hose and then stable for a while unless it's very warm and still .
For A I would sponge off then put on a thermatex and stable till dry .
For B the same .
Except Tatts who sweats up in the stable after work he gets sponged off walked round then turned out unrugged of not clipped if clipped he wears a no fill with a thermatex underneath for a while .
After hunting I bath them and put on thermatexs .
 
Mine is clipped all year round and she cannot stand in a stable so I will use either a hose at home or I've got a pump action shower for shows and wash her off. Sweat scrape and rug on the way home and she will be dry and turned out straight away when I get home.

If I'm at home she will be rugged and turned out.

I have a vast array of expensive wicking turnout rugs for this purpose.
 
FfionWinnie said:
Mine is clipped all year round and she cannot stand in a stable so I will use either a hose at home or I've got a pump action shower for shows and wash her off. Sweat scrape and rug on the way home and she will be dry and turned out straight away when I get home.

If I'm at home she will be rugged and turned out.

I have a vast array of expensive wicking turnout rugs for this purpose.
Click to expand...

Which are the best wicking turnout rugs in your experience I would not mind spending a lot for a really good one .
I wish thermatex made a outdoor version .
 
In summer they get hosed off, scraped then either turned out or kept in depending on the individuals routine.

In winter horse A would get a sponge off then either turned out if the weather was good or kept in a while but if it was regularly sweating during work it would soon get clipped to reduce it and make it more comfortable.
Horse B would be washed off then stabled with a cooler until dry enough to rug and go out but again if it was coming home from a normal ride, not hunting or schooling, very sweaty on a cold day I would think either it required more clipping off or there was something amiss as my horses walk at least the last mile home and should come back cool, dry and relaxed.

I have several different weight coolers and thermatex rugs to use for different scenarios, thatching I have done for a sick pony to reduce the weight of rugs on her back when she had pneumonia and her temperature went up and down it was better than having several rugs on and allowed her to sweat without the rugs becoming too wet although they still required changing many times a day for a few days.
 
They would both get sponged down with warm water, scraped, and if there was still turnout time they would be rugged and turned out. I have Rambos and Bucas rugs. Generally prefer the Rambos.
 
Goldenstar said:
Which are the best wicking turnout rugs in your experience I would not mind spending a lot for a really good one .
I wish thermatex made a outdoor version .
Click to expand...

I mainly use Rambos with liners but I really really want a bucas multipower turnout for her. Those have the benefit of being silver to reflect the sun on those days in Scotland when its snowing one minute and 20c the next!

I just bought a shires medium weight which claims to wick, I haven't tried it out fully yet and the stitching has come undone on the neck with hardly any use (however they admitted that was a fault and are going to refund me and let me keep the rug so I am not too concerned about that if the rest works!).

If the shires one is any good I had planned to buy a few different weights to have a whole set rather than the bucas one. Luckily both my horses are 6ft3 so anything that's no use for the Princess cob can be used on Cinderella Cob ;)

This will be my first full winter trying to keep princess cob healthy outside, fully clipped out and in hard work (she has PSSM hence standing in a stable after working is a massive no no).
 
ihatework said:
They would both get sponged down with warm water, scraped, and if there was still turnout time they would be rugged and turned out. I have Rambos and Bucas rugs. Generally prefer the Rambos.
Click to expand...

What makes you prefer the Rambos if you don't mind me asking? Also how do you find bucas are size wise compared to Rambo?
 
At the minute I've been washing newbie off and putting him straight back out as he was stressing in the stable. Hes unclipped and normally rugged. However being new he hasn't yet got a very good selection of rugs so if warm hes out naked til dry then rugged. If cold I put a fleece under a turnout and remove that layer later.
 
FfionWinnie said:
What makes you prefer the Rambos if you don't mind me asking? Also how do you find bucas are size wise compared to Rambo?
Click to expand...

Size wise very comparable.

The Bucas stay dry lining is similar in texture to fleece - I find it holds hair a bit and just think it must be a bit itchy/scratchy for them.
 
I had Tatts clipped and hunting from the field all last winter .
I bathed on return turned into a deeply bedded stable for a naked roll and then left him a short while them brushed off the shavings and rugged .
I found the thermatexs slipped back what ever I did when under an out door rug .
A slightly to small fleece was the least bad option with a one weight lighter rug than normal.
But I still think there must be a better option .
I thought about buying and old thermatex exercise sheet or rug and trying to stitch it to something like a no fill rug .
Or find a old fashion cotton string vest type sweat rug .
 
Goldenstar, Mark Todd do a coolex turnout. The coolex is not dissimilar to a thermatex. Never tried one myself though
 
ihatework said:
Size wise very comparable.

The Bucas stay dry lining is similar in texture to fleece - I find it holds hair a bit and just think it must be a bit itchy/scratchy for them.
Click to expand...

Do you think the wicking properties vary from Rambo? Thanks that's really helpful to know.

She seems to shed all year round so that could be annoying (1mm cob hairs sticking in you is highly annoying. I know this lol)
 
At the moment I chuck out my unclipped mare wet the weather is warm enough that she wont get a chill. if clipped she is dry before I get off-the whole idea of clipping is to take off enough so drying off is not an issue. By the time the weather is cold enough for her to get a chill she will be clipped-again that is the whole idea of clipping.
 
Hose down and put out if it's warm... As others have said I do come back to a hippo later!

Both scenarios I would stable with a sweat rug on then come back up later :)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top