Surviving the Heat - Horses and Humans

What prompted this post is the heat wave that many parts of the country is facing right now. Here in West Texas, after weeks of mid to high 90's in May, we are now experiencing 102 to 109 degree temperatures with no relief in sight. This of course poses the danger of dehydration and heat injuries to humans and horses alike. To horses there is not only an increases in the chance of colic, but kidney failure as well.

Dehydration happens when the horse or the human loses water and electrolytes, normally through sweating, and fails to replace it. The average horse owner can tell a horse may be dehydrated by excessively dry manure or even a lack of manure; general lethargy of the horse; decreased capillary refill of the gums; decreased skin elasticity; and a lack of saliva especially if you are riding with a bit that would normally help the horse salivate.  Horse can appear to be drawn up where their barrels met the haunches. You may not recognize it as dehydration, but you'll know something isn't right.       

I have a hard time telling the color of the gums or how fast the gum's re-fill after removing pressure with my thumb but I do use the skin pinch test. I'll use my thumb and fore finger to pinch loose skin on the neck (some prefer the back) and see how fast it lays back flat. If the loose skin fold stays tented it means the horse is dehydrated.

Another thing to look for is how often your horse urinates and how clear the urine is indicating the level of hydration. Just like human's yellow tinged urine can be a result of mineral or vitamin supplements if you feed those, but certainly your horse is having hydration problems if the urine is more darker than clear and appears to be thicker.

The key to preventing dehydration, and potentially a serious heat injury, is prevention. The horse needs access to fresh water 24/7. Fresh water is not just a stock tank with water - it is relatively dirt and debris free water. When I ran a large horse barn, the most common interaction I had with owners was the lack of adequate water for the horses they boarded there.  All horses are different in what they consume water wise in a given day, but is doesn't take long to figure out what is normal for each horse. 

Many like the automatic waters. Ritchie is the most common name in automatic waterers. I don't use automatic waterers as I prefer to be able to gauge the amount of water my horses take in each day. But these devices can certainly save time and are easier to clean than a large stock tank.

Horses also need at least a white salt block to replace the lost sodium. This is a very cheap solution as one $5 or $6 salt block will last a horse for along time.   For some horses, a mineral block is a better solution, although most of the cheaper mineral blocks are mostly salt. My horses won't lick these mineral blocks, so I keep a couple of salt blocks available to them free choice. If you are concerned about your horses getting the proper minerals then there are a couple of good choices on the market in the form of solid blocks: Redmond Rock advertises 60+ minerals in the Redmond Rock. ADM Alliance offers their Moormans Grostrong (Mineral) Quad Block which comes scored into fourths so a quarter can be broken off and placed in a horse's feeder if you have horses that are fed separately.

After abundant, clean water and at least a salt block is provided to the horse, I believe that to give a horse a fair life, a shelter where they can get out of the Sun (and rain) from time to time is necessary. It makes me angry at owners and sad for the horse when I see them day after day in pens without overhead cover or anything to provide shade, and especially so when these pens are small and cannot provide adequate room for exercise. In fact, that's a slow death for a horse - to be placed in a small pen, again day after day, and only have contact with another living being once or twice a day when the owner can be bothered to throw feed to the horse.

One more thing I do if I going to riding in really hot conditions is to let the horse eat water soaked hay out of a bucket.  Maybe you can't make them drink, but if they are hungry they will the wet hay getting a substantial amount of water. 

Humans need to be concerned about dehydration as well. Most of us wake in the morning in a state of slight dehydration. Drinking a diuretic like coffee then doing chores in the hot Sun without water creates a susceptibility for a heat injury. Some people, either because of embarrassment or maybe their horse are too tall for easy mounting, will actually reduce their water intake as they don't want to have to dismount and pee some place. These riders need to be aware that dizziness, headaches, fatigue, dry mouth, darker urine and/or decreased urine output are all signs of dehydration - you better then some water into yourself pronto.  I suggest drinking 8 - 12 ounces of water when you wake up, before your coffee.

And don't save your water for later.  If you want to ration something, ration your sweat and your direct exposure to the Sun.  Drink your water - it won't do you any good otherwise. 

Even in the winter time, I never head out on horseback without a canteen. And there are options other than the canteen looped around your saddle horn. Saddlebags are a good option to carry water bottles and a Camel-Bak or other hydration pack worn over your shoulders backpack style are good things to do to ensure you carry water ,.....now all you have to do is drink it. In fact, Camel-Baks are great since if you get throwed or if your horse runs off on you, you'll still have your water supply with you.