With the upcoming heatwave, there is an increased chance of overheating and colic. Here are some tips to care for your horse during the upcoming hot weather.

Always have fresh, clean drinking water. Clean buckets and troughs can also improve drinking. Horses require, on average, at least 10 gallons of water a day, more when it is hot.
Provide a shaded area with the breeze blowing on your horses. If there is no shade tree in the pasture for the horses, keeping them in the barn with open ventilation and fans blowing on them can work well.
Horses cool off by conduction and evaporation. Giving a cold water "shower" for 5 minutes helps cool by conduction, and then sweat scraping off the extra water allows the horse to raise their hair and cool by evaporation. Conduction and evaporation work together to cool the horse.
To increase water consumption, make any grain feed into a "soup" by adding water to the feed and soak the hay.

FOR MORE HYDRATION TIPS CLICK HERE.

Feeding electrolytes will help for three days; after that, the kidneys will excrete the extra electrolytes.
Have a white or Himalayan salt block available in pastures and stalls.
Do not work your horse in extreme heat.

To help monitor your horse check the following:

Temperature. The normal horse temperature range is 99.0 – 101.5.
Heart rate: Normal heart rate range is 28 – 40 beats per minute
Resting respiration rate: Normal resting respiration range is 8 – 12 breaths per minute.
Excessive sweating or lack of sweating.
Eating, drinking, urination, defecation, and overall attitude.

If your horse is not drinking, has any elevated vital signs (heart rate, respiratory rate, temperature), is not sweating or sweating too much, or is dull or depressed call on the emergency line as soon as possible.

Dr. Janine Wilson DVM, CAC

Oregon Equine Inc

503-631-4100