How are you keeping your horses cool?

[WildFlowerBees]

It's hotter than Hades today! We've brought ours in as there's no shelter in the field but the stables are also very warm.

I've been sponging them down, fanned them with my handheld fan (yes I did) given them a little bit of ice cold watermelon.

What are you doing to keep them cool?

Horses regulate temperature quite well. I think there comfortable range (ie at what point they feel to hot or too cold) is much broader than ours.
Just make sure there is plenty of access to water

We've built sunshades in all our paddocks. The horses love standing under them

How have you done this? The powers that be (planning) won't allow a field shelter or a lean to. We need something our poor old girl was really sweating in her stable.

Three tall posts concreted into the field. Triangular sails hooked from the tops of the poles when it's hot. We put them up when a hot spell is due and take them down as soon as it gets below about 24. So easy. Never had any complaints about them as they are temporary structures.

Field shelters come on "skids" so they can be moved, hence not permanent structures. That's how you get round planning 😉

Some planning depts literally make you move mobile shelters every few weeks, which is a pain and wrecks your land (from the hoof prints not the dragging).

Ourscome into the stables during the day, but they’re wooden and get hot (horses still seem to prefer it as it’s out of the flies) We have fans in the stables, a water misting system in the overhang and I sponge them midday.

I would recommend if building again roofing in fibre cement, it insulates against heat and no condensation in winter. I have a shelter on a south slope in full sun which stays cool. No windows in roof as dark keeps flies out, big open door with pen around it for air circulation also and so they can use it/ leave when they need it. Water and hay inside so they don’t need to leave. Consider an Aussie allrounder rug, keep it clear and put it on wet if needed. Those are the things I do….

We put those car windscreen reflector panels over the roof skylights in summer to keep the sun out. I do like the roof lights in winter as it seems to somehow dry the beds a little, and is better on the occasions we have to close the top doors in blizzards (few days a year).

@Honeyroar that is a good idea

DD is doing PG along with approx 7000 horses at Lamotte this week and its touching 40C.

Frequent showers and draping wet towels seem to be doing the trick

The horses are coping better than the humans tbh!

Mine actually stands in the shade cast by the shelter as the shelter itself is rather hot. On the hottest days I sponge him off in the evening. There are lots of trees just outside one side of his field, so he stands under them also. Flies are my biggest concern ATM, but we seem to be managing them ok.

Nothing different, really.

The one I care for has a huge field and access to natural shade (trees) as well as his barn which is nice and cool.

I have given him an extra bucket of water inside so he can be shaded and have a drink but he seems quite happy with regular dirt and dust rolls to cool down

Hosing mine down regularly and not using the sweat scraper, particularly focussing on tops of legs and behind elbows where there are pulse points.

Bringing in during the day, luckily American barn type stables which are lovely and cool with a nice breeze blowing through them.

Not exercising unless it’s the crack of dawn. So basically not exercising as that involves getting teenagers up 😂

We're doing night turnout; during the day they're in with fans on in the (American style) stable block. Was supposed to be competing this week but that's all been pushed back!

Trees!?

I’ve just been out to check mine and they’re standing in the sun 🤷‍♀️ - they have shelter and shade so they obviously don’t mind it too much! I’ve changed the water as it was almost too hot to put my hand in - temp is around 36 and due to get a bit hotter so I’ll check it again in a couple of hours as I can’t think of anything worse than drinking hot water at the moment.

Where mine is some of the little ponies are free range. They have so much choice - they could go in the woods, or in the shade of a hedge or trees, or in a stall, or in the barn, or even in a tack room (they are fairly often found in a tack room looking for stray treats). They ALL stand in the full-on sun. They’re all in their 20s so I can only assume it works for them…

We've just had 10 days of 43c+ in Portugal - the horses are choosing to stand in the sun as they are hassled by flies in the (many) shady areas. The only thing we're doing is adding a heaped teaspoon of salt to their feeds in addition to the salt licks by the water stations as they are sweating a lot. Tried watering them down but, bar one who loves a shower, they all ran away!

I don't think they mind the heat as much as we do!

I care for a lovely 27 year old boy who lives out but has free access to a lovely
cool barn as well as trees in his field - 99% of the time when I arrive at the yard, he's standing in full sunlight and doesn't appear remotely bothered - while I'm there sorting his food and making sure he has fresh water and sweating like a pig 🤣

I have 3 20+ ponies - one has access to a shelter but doesn't appear to have used it during the heatwave. The other 2 have access to lots of shady areas (trees/very tall hedges) but seem to be quite happy out in the sun. All have plenty of water, plenty of fly spray and don't seem remotely bothered by the temperatures. This morning I brought them frozen blocks with carrot and apple - they have ignored them and wandered off to graze the crispy bits of grass that have survived the heat.