Re: Steam rising from hot horses/Hot/humid weather.

["claudia Spears" <claudiaspears@hotmail.com>]

Interested in your comments:  I frequently hose off pasture horses, during
the hot humid days. I keep our mares, foals, yearling and weanings together
and in the afternoon we have all have a refreshing shower. ( and I do mean
all, esp. me :-) ! ) The horses love this tradition and all get into the
action. It helps the babies over come any reluctance for bathing and I have
a herd of  "water babies who love to drink out of the hose". We have sandy
loam  ( I would never do this in clay soils for the obvious reasons) so they
go and roll and then try and get back in line for another dosing until time
is up... I have heard that this does not serve to cool them down and could
in fact,  heat their body temps up-when I do not scrape them. However, they
go and roll , covered with sand, then shake off the sand and  seem happy and
refreshed. Not much different after  a rain.  I often towel dry their faces
and ears-which is also part of the lesson- working with their heads, ears
and poll.
?:  How does it work in endurance when going through streams and using other
methods of dosing with water to bring down the body temp?  Any articles on
this I can peruse -say from the Olympic Research. i.e.?  Where is the most
critical and important area on a heated horse to cool?  Could one use an ice
cell pack to bring down the temp (assuming it could be carried without
melting)?
ClaudiaSpears
DiamondCrestArabians
----- Original Message -----
From: <EquesB@aol.com>
To: <bpeck@together.net>
Cc: <ridecamp@endurance.net>
Sent: Friday, September 10, 1999 1:34 PM
Subject: RC: Steam rising from hot horses/Hot/humid weather.


In a message dated 9/10/99 11:32:39 AM Eastern Daylight Time,
guest@endurance.net writes:

<< What do you guys in the South do (i.e. Georgia & Fla. etc.)
 to monitor cooling on the hot days you ride? >>


Well there is not much cooling going on...;-), but. I use a 32 oz scoop to
pour on the water and have  a hand-held scraper to take off the warm water,
then add more cool water.  I try to take water from the flowing part of the
creek or the bottom of the water trough.  Then more scraping, brush the coat
backwards,,, a few weeks ago I even picked a palm frond to fan my horse
with,
it was just so hot.  I have always though that if one is going to compete in
the heat, then one  needs to train in the heat.  Is this right?

As long as we are discussing heat/humidity,  what are the ramifications of
an
inverted pulse/respiration?  On a training recent training ride all horses,
in the group, were inverted even after a short 2 mile trot.  The air temp
was
about 96 that day and the humidity was high. We started at 9:am and didin't
finished until 3:PM, about 24 miles, lots of water stops.  The horses drank
well; it just happens to have been the hottest day of the summer!

I know some of you have a hard time realizing our humidity here in the SE,
beleive me it is a drain!

Thanks,

Jackie Baker
Central Florida


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