This is a very serious problem and as the Heat and humidity rise it can be
fatal. Ice is your best bet to cool the horse. A good stiff breese on a wet
horse is best but hard to find. Now at the vet check, hold one nostril of
the horse as the vet takes the resperation. This forces the horse to take
deep breaths and half as many. The vet can not watch the head and the flank
at the same time. NOW you have NOT corrected the problem just fooled the
vet. You still need to cool down the horse. You have now taken over the
responsibility of your horses care use it wisely. See my homepage
http://www.endurance.net/hollander. This all discussed in my book "Endurance
Riding From Beginning to Winning" $17.45 including shipping from Green
Mansions Inc. P O Box 100, Redmond, OR 97756.
Hope that helps
Lew Hollander
At 08:59 AM 5/28/96 -0600, you wrote:
>I have a 1/2 quarter horse that has trouble dissipating heat (because of his
>big old QH muscles). He pants, so I am anticipating difficulty getting him
>though the P and R this summer on the hot, humid days with no breeze. On
>these days it is a problem on CTR rides as respiration is checked. Any
>suggestions? Will it help if I make a real effort to condition on the hot
>humid days? What about stopping at every stream and just drenching the
>horse and resting him 2 or 3 times more than I would normally. I do pull the
>saddle, try to face him in the wind and fan. and since being on the list, I
>have learned to pour water on him while I am moving. My horse's pulse drops
>so I think I have a fit horse in humid weather and its not an inversion
>indicating my horse is in trouble. After reading Lew Hollander's new book, I
>am going to take his temperature so I have a better idea of the relationship
>of the heat and panting. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. We
>need a 24 respiratory rate to not loose points.
>Betsy O'Shea and Afterglow
>boshea@magic1.org
>Paola,Kansas
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