Re: Lathered Sweat

["Linda S. Flemmer" <bluwolf@earthlink.net>]

Kimberly Price wrote:
> Questions:  (foam vs sweat)
> 
> I just read mentioned about horses foaming instead of sweating?   Rumors I've heard are:: a good foam
> between the legs means hes working his rearend well (true / false?).
> What else? How do you tell the difference between foam and sweat?  What
> is bad about one or the other?

The last that I had heard from the Univ. of Fl vet school, the "foam" is
a surfactant (something kind of like a soap) that accumulates in the
sweat glands and pores, especially if the horse is worked infrequently. 
The sweat foams up into a lather if there is enough surfactant built up
in the pores..

As the horse is worked more frequently (and therefor sweats more often),
the surfactant is washed out faster than it can be generated.  This
makes the sweat look thin and clear.

As the horse becomes more efficient in his work, his body does lose less
salts in the sweat - combo of hormone production and kidney function.

Regards,

Linda Flemmer
Blue Wolf Ranch
Bruceton Mills, WV