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Re: [RC] washing horses - Susan GarlinghouseOTOH, hair doesn't insulate the underlying skin against cold very well when it's dirty, so if it's feasible to safely get the horse reasonably clean, especially if you can get him dry, then it's in the horse's best interest to do so. I realize not everyone has power available, but blow dryers and lots of dry towels are pretty handy at getting 99% of the water out of a horse's coat. And if it's still a little damp---well, wool and polypro are warm even when wet, so bundle that baby right up. I also agree with Sue Greenall's statement that throwing water on the horse didn't cause it to die. If the horse's rectal temp was 106, they might as well have made it barbecue sauce and stuck a fork in him. He had a much longer list of what was going wrong aside from how cold the water was being thrown on him. Also, I wouldn't want this idea to balloon out of proportion and some riders get the idea that they shouldn't wash down their horses on the trail. Extremely cold water is less effective than cool water at removing heat, because the surface cappillaries constrict, allowing less blood flow to the skin to continue heat dissipation. So cool water continually applied and then scraped off can cool a horse *quite* quickly, without shocking anything. For that matter, if memory serves, research from the Atlanta Games demonstrated that ice water IS very effective at cooling core temperatures, applied correctly. I'm not aware of any empirical data demonstrating horses going into shock, unless the horse was already shocky. And if a horse already has a rectal temp of 106, trust me, he was already well on his way to shock and DIC. Susan Garlinghouse DVM ----- Original Message ----- From: "Karen Sullivan" <greymare56@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> To: <Ridecamp@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> Sent: Saturday, October 18, 2003 9:18 AM Subject: [RC] washing horses someone wrote: Wool coolers pull the excess water off the horses hair. After the horse was walked down it was then rubbed/massaged with alcohol and then its legs were wrapped in mud. If they didn't get a bath after the race we bathed them the next day in the heat of the sun before their morning walk. **Sure makes more sense to wait until the next day! It's a big gripe of mine, this tendency on horsecamping trips...to see this rush to get back into camp and get horses hosed down. At Pt.Reyes, for example, certain times of the year, if you don't wash your horse by 3:00, and tie them in the sun,they just are not going to dry by night,and it can be a very cold night. Last time we were there, my daughter and I DID hose the horses, as it was warm and we thought they would dry in time. Other folks came in after the sun was gone...hosed their horses at 5:00, and no doubt they shivered under blankets all night. What is this obsession with clean horses? I would rahter have some dried sweat and dirt on my horses than them cold all night. I might hose legs to get sweat and dirt off, and aid in cooling down the horse, but never on the body of the horse unless I know I can get them dry by nightfall. They are more happy with the opportunity for a good scratch and roll on the ground, than the bath,anyway. I never hose right away either....let them settle down, get some water and mash, and their body temp drop......then maybe go wash them.... Karen =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net. Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/Ridecamp Subscribe/Unsubscribe http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/logon.asp Ride Long and Ride Safe!! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
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