Keep your horse cool in hot weather

As the hot weather approaches horse owners need to be aware of a strategies to prevent heat stroke in horses.

• Provide ample fresh, clean water. Check daily that buckets or troughs are not contaminated with bird droppings, insect larvae, chaff or algae growth. Try to keep the water cool. Horses may not want to drink warm water. Ponies and foals may have trouble reaching the bottom of a shallowly filled trough.
• Sponge or hose down the large blood vessels along the inside of the legs, belly and neck. Don't spray the horse's face or get water in its ears - sponge them down gently.
• If you must work your horses hard, try to schedule your session for early morning or late evening when it is cooler.
• After riding or driving in hot weather, cool your horse down slowly. Loosen girths or belly bands immediately after a work out. Offer sips of cool (not cold) water and walk the horse slowly. Muscles are more apt to stiffen if the horse is allowed to stand, and moving muscles dissipate heat better than stationary ones.
• Consider using electrolytes if your horse is sweating hard, such as when the combined humidity and air temperature exceeds 40 degrees celsius or when your horse will be working hard (a long trail ride or competition). Electrolytes replace salts lost in sweating. They are similar to human sport drinks. You can put electrolytes in the horse's  feed, or use a large-ended syringe to squirt into the mouth. Use electrolytes made for horses. Electrolytes made for other livestock may be unsuitable.
• Make sure there is a place for your horse to avoid the sun, either a building or shade tree.
• Apply zinc oxide cream to horses with pink noses to prevent and treat sunburn.