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Re: [RC] Horse Management in Excessive Heat - rides2far

I would like to hear other's ideas on this as well.  N. Alabama is 
"on fire".  We too are having consecutive days of over 100 degrees


Am I the only one who has stepped out in this heat and thought this is
what it will be like if they have the WEC in Malaysia? It's easy enough
to imagine it in the winter, but when I step out into this it seems
impossible and even if possible...like something I wouldn't want to do to
a horse.

I'm not sure what the heat index has been, but it's upper 90s, high
humidity and it hits like a wall this week when I walk out the door. All
summer my horses have voluntarily lined up to be put in the barn at 10 AM
where they stand with fans and hay all day. NOT THIS WEEK. It's been so
hot they've refused to come in the barn because the barn has suddenly
become a furnace. What was shade is now an oven. The air coming out of
the overhead fans was superheated and I had to cut them off. I put a fan
at ground level but it still feels like standing in front of a furnace.

The good news is...it's so hot the flies are hardly biting!  The horses
act as if the heat isn't as big of a deal as the flies were. When they
stay out of the barn they really aren't even hovering in the shade,
they're out in the sun grazing. When I checked on them (and it about
killed me to walk out there) they weren't even sweating and didn't seem
concerned.  I do hose them *before* I ride because they feel kind of
sticky. 

I've ridden up till this Sat. but when this wave hit I've left them
alone. It's supposed to get less horrible Saturday. Stepping into the
woods helps tremendously. It's still thick, but no radient heat coming
off the ground. Good ol' deep woods, humid, rain forests, but shady!

I'm worried about how to control the heat for the farrier. Thinking about
bringing the horses into the living room.

Angie


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