I wasn't sure about what was going on, except that he was hot. The
most curious thing about that was that I had shaved most of his body
earlier in the day, and with these cold nights, I fully expected to be
coming out to switch the cooler for a warmer blanket.
Anyway I walked him for about half an hour with no change in the sweat
pattern. I then called the vet who said she often had a similar experience
with her horse when excercising in the late afternoon this time of year.
She described the situation with him being cooled on the outer surfaces,
but still overheated at his core. The biggest concern with the situation
was that when he finally cooled down, he was going to be freezing with
all the wet.
So I put a fleece blanket on him and left him. I came back about an hour
or two later, and he seemed a little drier. I switched to a second,
dry fleece blanket, and left him for the night. And (of course) he was
just fine this morning. In fact he was perfectly unperturbed last night,
and was eating and drinking and questioning why we were out walking
the lane in the dark!
My question (for those of you who have read this far - thanks) is how
can I have known that he was still that hot? And what can I do about
helping him cool down faster? Is cold water warranted even
considering the outside temperature? Lastly, is this a problem in
condition or a result of his body type - QH (but not so bulky as the
halter-types).
Pam.