Endurance.Net Ridecamp Archives

About the fastest way to cool a horse at the check is to rub the 
underside of the neck - where the two large jugular veins run - with 
ice. Longstreet's one year was held in early June and it was hot and 
muggy. The first loop wasn't bad since it was early. But by the second 
check the temp was cooking. The ice not only got him down fast, he 
seemed more relaxed than if drenched with cold water all over, and 
settled in and eat and drink better.

Cold water will restrict the surface blood flow which can be counter to 
what trying to acomplish. Room temp water 68 deg F is probably the ideal 
temp for sponging.

On the trail Angie is right, move on in the sun and walk in the shade. 
If you find a breeze - move on in the breeze - walk in the still. One 
other thing to consider - the humidity is going to be slightly higher in 
the woods than in the open.

Truman

Ridecamp Guest wrote:

> Please Reply to: mary howell mkhowell@xxxxxxxxxxxx or ridecamp@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
> ==========================================
>
> Just a couple comments to add to Angie's excellent post on keeping big horses cool:
>
> 1. Be careful using very cold water to cool your horse in the VC. Icy water can constrict the outer blood vessels before they can move the cooler blood to the core,  working against your goal of cooling the interior. We experienced this firsthand while trying to cool my horse down at the finish of the 90 plus degree "Summer Breeze" ride in KY a few years back. That doesn't mean its not a great idea to use ice to cool down the sponging water somewhat (USET used to sponsor an event in Gladstone,NJ that gave all entered riders 6 10lb bags of ice to use during holds!), just don't let your sponging water get it much cooler than 60 degrees
> 2. In addition to braiding mane, I also braid up the tail since my guy has a big fluffy one and use a soaker bandana tied around his browband to keep the head cool. 
> 3. For rides with little water on trail, I carry 4 water bottles filled with icy water in my saddle bags and squirt regularly. If I get to a cool water hole, I top them all off.
> 4. At Biltmore once during the hottest part of the afternoon, my friend Jen had the neat idea of tying plastic Wal-Mart bags filled partway with ice and with a few small holes pokes at the bottom to the corners of the cantle so the ice could melt slowly over the stifle area. This works if you're going kinda slow, which we were at that point in the day.
>
>
>  


--

"Mathematics may be defined as the subject in which we never know what 
we are talking about, nor whether what we are saying is true."  - 
Bertrand Russell




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