Honey08
Waffled a lot!
Has anyone ever used one for cooling horses in hot weather? Just planning ahead for summer..
Water misting systems
- Thread starter Honey08
- Start date
MrsMozart
Just passing through...
Not heard of them. Do you have a link as they sound interesting 
Leo Walker
Well-Known Member
I didnt know it was a thing either, but now I want one for me never mind the horses!
Welsh Dragon
Well-Known Member
I saw a water mister on demo at the Royal Welsh Show last year. The temperature was 30°c + and it was the best thing I came across all day! I stood under it for about 10mins! ?
I am pretty sure it was for cattle sheds.
I am pretty sure it was for cattle sheds.
DabDab
Ah mud, splendid
They work well to cool down the air in the surrounding area. Don't need anything expensive though, just some small (plant irrigation type) pipe, some misting nozzles and a tap connector/adapter. You can buy full sets for about £20.
Honey08
Waffled a lot!
I think Gawsworth track livery have one. I’ve seen them on eBay, they’re basically hosepipe attachments. I was wondering about fitting them underneath the overhang of my stables, to take the temperature down in summer.
Honey08
Waffled a lot!
Can’t get a pic to load, but if you type in water misting system into eBay you’ll see pics.
Keith_Beef
Novice equestrian, accomplished equichetrian
Bars and restaurants have had these for their outdoor seating areas for years, for customers' comfort; they seem to me to be basically the same thing as is used in greenhouses for increasing the humidity, but have the effect of lowering the temperature when you jet through water from the mains at 12°C..
I've read so often that horses are much better than humans at thermoregulating; why would a mister be necessary for the horse?
I've read so often that horses are much better than humans at thermoregulating; why would a mister be necessary for the horse?
milliepops
Wears headscarf aggressively
Because we often work them to an intensity that they wouldn't choose in the wild. A horse galloping and jumping round xc or doing an hour of dressage schooling gets blooming hot! Surface area to volume ratio works better at dealing with the cold, I think.
I saw them first at the end of the Hartpury 3de xc (runs in high summer) and have hankered after one ever since! I reckon a couple of misters at E and B in our arena would take the edge off, it's a sun trap with no breeze thanks to the hedge of doom!
Lois Lame
Well-Known Member
Mist in greenhouses/glasshouses is used for cooling purposes, not for increasing humidity, and it's only installed for the purpose of plant propagation.
Cuttings of plants must be kept cool (on their tops) and can't be allowed to wilt. They will surely do so if mist doesn't come on every 20 minutes or so on a warm/hot sunny Australian day.
High humidity isn't a good thing. In fact, the glasshouse will be ventilated.
The mist is also not for watering. It doesn't water the cuttings. Watering will be done either by sprinklers or a hand-held hose.
Underneath the pots/trays of cuttings you will find a source of warmth. That's for stimulating root growth.
Lois Lame
Well-Known Member
Agreed.
Morganfan
Well-Known Member
I am in Perth Western Australia and I have one in my stables, it is by Holman, very flexible as you add the misters where you want them, other systems the misters are fixed. Very easy to install, did it in a couple of hours with my daughters help. You can also purchase a timer so they come on and off every few minutes so nothing gets really wet.
Honey08
Waffled a lot!
Interesting thanks.
My horses come in during the day for mid summer to get them away from the heat and flies, but I have wooden stables and they can get quite warm. I have plug in fans at the moment, but I don’t like leaving them unattended as they are a fire risk if they jam (we had a fan in the house do that, and the motor got really hot..) I’m thinking of running a line of misters along the edge of the overhang, as they’re just run off a hose. They seem pretty cheap and also easy to install. I just wondered what the pressure was like. I don’t want the horses or wood getting too wet!
My horses come in during the day for mid summer to get them away from the heat and flies, but I have wooden stables and they can get quite warm. I have plug in fans at the moment, but I don’t like leaving them unattended as they are a fire risk if they jam (we had a fan in the house do that, and the motor got really hot..) I’m thinking of running a line of misters along the edge of the overhang, as they’re just run off a hose. They seem pretty cheap and also easy to install. I just wondered what the pressure was like. I don’t want the horses or wood getting too wet!
Keith_Beef
Novice equestrian, accomplished equichetrian
Useful info, thanks.
I was thinking more of the kind of greenhouses you find here in Europe in botanical gardens (where we don't have such a big problem with overheating, and that can be regulated by ventilation); here, the misters are used to regulate humidity to simulate biomes such as temperate or tropical rain forests.
I had a quick search for cooling mist for outdoor seating areas" and found too many to list here, so just included two that look useful.
https://theplumber.com/the-pros-cons-of-outdoor-misting-systems/
https://www.ofresh.fr/en/atomizer-terracce/
If you search on Amazon for "mist cooling system", there are quite a few fairly inexpensive ones that run off mains water pressure, and look as if they have Gardena compatible hose fittings. If you already have a timer for garden watering, then you should be able to just connect the mister after that timer. Unfortunately, these have the jets put in the line at the factory.
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Bonnie Allie
Well-Known Member
We have them in Sydney as well and they were a godsend in the filthy summer we have just been through with temps reaching 40C+ on some days plus the horrible season we had with fires and smoke.
The two old Cushing horses can’t regulate their temperature plus can’t sweat properly so the mister basically kept them alive.
As the predictions are that we have trashed our planet and summers will continue to be revolting glad we installed it. Keeps the flies away as well.
The two old Cushing horses can’t regulate their temperature plus can’t sweat properly so the mister basically kept them alive.
As the predictions are that we have trashed our planet and summers will continue to be revolting glad we installed it. Keeps the flies away as well.
Honey08
Waffled a lot!
That’s a good article Keith-Beef. Sounds like we might need a pump as well. Anyway I think I will give it a try. Another job for my furloughed husband!!
Morganfan
Well-Known Member
The Holman ones say the more pressure the finer the mist. I am in regional WA so have pressure pumps to run water, I have four stables with two lines in each and they worked fine. I am adding another line in each next summer to get better overall coverage.
Honey08
Waffled a lot!
Do you have them inside the actual stables then? Doesn’t the bedding get wet?
MrsMozart
Just passing through...
I don't have stables (yet), but am wondering if one could make a cool stand area, possibly in the field. Would probably need rubber or mud mats.
Interesting.
Interesting.
Honey08
Waffled a lot!
I can’t see why they couldn’t easily go along a fence Mrs M.
MrsGTL
Member
They may not be a natural occurrence in the wild but our lot certainly enjoy it, especially those who grow very thick winter coats and don’t lose them until later in the spring/summer.
this is the 2nd year of having ours, it cost £12.99
this is the 2nd year of having ours, it cost £12.99
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Honey08
Waffled a lot!
Just an update - we bought one and put it up this week. Although it hasn’t misted quite as much as we’d hoped (perhaps would with a pump) it has still been very useful in this heat. We’ve got one outlet (squirter!) in the middle of the overhang outside each stable door. It is more like fine, very light rain than mist, but the horses seem to like it. They have stood with their heads under it quite a lot (the stables have been v warm). I did wonder about putting them actually inside the stables, but hubby reminded me we’d just had to replace the roof and he didn’t want it getting wet! We might add another nozzle at each door to widen the area getting wet/cool. Oh, and it really doesn’t use a lot of water.
tankgirl1
Well-Known Member
Aren't they just hosepipes with tiny holes in?
Lois Lame
Well-Known Member
You wouldn't get mist from that. Mist is very very fine. If you bend over in it, you'll get teeny tiny little bits in your hair.
Fog is even smaller. Some people have installed foggers in their plant propagation houses believing them to be superior to mist, but IMO they are not. Not for plants. They don't seem as cooling.
Fog is even smaller. Some people have installed foggers in their plant propagation houses believing them to be superior to mist, but IMO they are not. Not for plants. They don't seem as cooling.
Keith_Beef
Novice equestrian, accomplished equichetrian
No, that's a soaker, and you lay it on the ground around your plants and turn on the water at normal (relatively low) mains pressure.
There's a great explanation of different kinds of fogging and misting nozzles on this page. I learnt quite a lot from it, especially the use of compressed air to atomize low-pressure water.
ameeyal
Well-Known Member
My horses have got one, it's fitted at the entrance of their barn ( they are in a track system with access to a barn ) my husband fitted it , it's an attachment from a field sprayer, then attached to the water pipe.
Auslander
Well-Known Member
We had them in the indoor school of the yard I worked at in Germany -they were absolutely brilliant. They also had an automatic sprinkler system that came on when sensors in the surface decided it was too dry. Also great, until you were concentrating on what you were doing, and didn't notice the covers coming down over the mirrors (which was the 30second warning to get out of the school as fast as you could!)
Honey08
Waffled a lot!
Lol @Auslander!
They’re very thin hosepipes with little nozzles that spray out water. When you stand under them it feels like that really fine rain you get on a misty day!
They’re very thin hosepipes with little nozzles that spray out water. When you stand under them it feels like that really fine rain you get on a misty day!
Starzaan
Well-Known Member
I’ve used them a lot, especially when I was a competition groom travelling to hot places with horses.
They’re absolutely fantastic. I’m going to be installing one in my new yard for sure.
They’re absolutely fantastic. I’m going to be installing one in my new yard for sure.
Nicnac
Well-Known Member
The Horsebox Spa has one and was at the XC finish at lots of local BE events last year. Much appreciated along with a lavender cool wash down. Ali delivers an amazing service throughout the year. https://www.thehorseboxspa.co.uk/ if you're in the South East.