Buckaroo Texan Blog

Guest Post by Dr. Madalyn Ward

Horse Health Care in Heat and Humidity

Horses have difficulty dealing with dry heat, but they have even more
difficulty coping with the combination of heat and humidity. Part of
the reason is that horses can cool off in dry heat through the
evaporation of sweat, but in humid weather sweat just serves to
insulate your horse, making him even hotter. Plus, some horses have
trouble sweating (anhydrosis) during humid weather, which means they
have no way to cool off at all.

Is Your Horse Too Hot and Humid?
Luckily, there are simple ways that you can help your horse stay cool
during hot humid weather. During these weather conditions, the first
thing to do is to calculate the temperature-humidity index (THI):
simply add the air temperature (in degrees Fahrenheit) to the
percentage of humidity.

For instance, if the air temperature is 80 degrees Fahrenheit and the
humidity is 60 percent, the THI is 140. When the THI reaches about
150, your horse may have difficulty cooling off. At a THI of 180, you
should not work your horse and you should take active steps to keep
him cool.

Another method to check whether your horse is getting too hot during
humid weather is to take his temperature. A horse’s normal temperature
range is between 99.5 and 100.5 degrees Fahrenheit, and can reach 103
and 104 degrees during workouts. If your horse’s temperature reaches
105, he is danger of being overheated and can suffer chronic or
permanent damage. Above 105 degrees, your horse will be suffering from
heatstroke and will need immediate veterinary attention.

5 -Ways to Keep Your Horse Cool in Heat and Humidity
Good horse health care during hot humid weather is neither complicated
nor difficult. You just need to be proactive. Here are 5 steps you can
take to keep your horse cool and comfortable.

1. Offer Plenty of Cool Water
Like people, most horses prefer to drink cool tasty water on hot humid
days. For a horse that means having access to plenty of cool (shaded)
water in deep buckets or troughs. In hot weather many horses want to
drink deeply. Drinking plenty of cool water will help your horse stay
cool. A horse at rest will drink 10 gallons or more per day, while a
horse in work can drink twice as much. Avoid automatic waterers, which
only allow horses to sip rather than gulp water. Plus, water from
these automatic devices tend to taste like chlorine, which many horses
dislike.

2. Provide Well-Ventilated Shade
Most horses can cope with hot humid weather in their natural
environment, but stalled horses can often become overheated due to
poor ventilation. To keep these horses cool, provide ventilation with
strong fans. Adding misters that spray droplets of water can also keep
confined horses cool. For pastured horses, offer well-ventilated
run-in sheds if trees are not available for shade.

3. Cool Your Horse Before and After Workouts
Horses in training should be kept as cool as possible before, during,
and after workouts. Before starting a training session, you may want
to hose down your horse with cool water. Keep training sessions short
and to-the-point, as horses worked at higher intensity over a short
period of time are less likely to overheat than horses worked at low
intensity over a long period of time. Finally, wash your horse down
after his workout. Be sure to scrape off excess water after his bath
since water can act as an insulator if left on his skin. Don’t bathe
horses who have trouble sweating (anhydrosis). Instead, sponge these
horses with air-temperature water mixed with a liniment like Sore No
More. This practice also helps horses who are prone to heat rashes.

4. Provide the Right Horse Feed
Don’t feed a lot of hay during hot humid weather since the digestive
process can make your horse feel even hotter. Instead, consider
cutting back on grass hay and adding a flake of alfalfa. In addition,
you can keep your horse’s gut healthy and functioning with probiotics
such as Acidophilus and Bifidus from Simplexity Health, or Pro-Bi.
Offer daily electrolytes in the morning feed if your horse is in work.
Finally, consider adding cooling foods such as blue-green algae,
apples, citrus foods, barley grass, fresh peppermint, lemon balm, or
cilantro.

5. Consider Your Horse’s Fitness and Environment
Horses who are fit and well-conditioned usually adapt to hot humid
weather more easily than horses who are out of shape. In addition,
horses who live in constantly warm climates are also more adaptable to
this kind of weather than horses who live in climates with extreme
seasonal changes. Take these factors into consideration when deciding
how much heat and humidity your horse can stand before his health is
adversely affected.