We got past winter.  Yay!

So much of the country had a hard time shaking off this past winter, but everyone is now into summer.  But what happened to spring in a lot of these areas?  My friend in Michigan was still fighting to stay warm and now the heat index is over 100 degrees.  So I guess this becomes my yearly Public Service Announcement.

Horses in different parts of the country are feeling the effects of no spring too.  So what do we do?  Pay attention!

We need to make sure that they have plenty of fresh cool water available at all times.  With the rain and the heat in Florida our troughs do not stay clean.  If your trough is dirty, clean it.  You may think, I just cleaned it three days ago, but monitor it closely, it can turn green and funky real quick.  Everyone enjoys a glass of cool water.  If you look in your trough and you wouldn’t drink out of it neither will your horses.  They will drink enough to stay alive, but not hydrate the way they should.

Make sure they sweat.  A non-sweater is a very dangerous thing.  Horses, like people, sweat to cool their bodies.  As the air passes over the water on them it cools them down.  If all the other horses are sweating, and yours isn’t, do something to correct the problem.

If you ride them and they are over heated, which is another major problem, hose them down until their body temperature drops.  Don’t just rinse them and throw them out.  Hose them until you can feel the difference.  Don’t forget to scrape the excess water off of them.  You may think you are doing them a favor by leaving it on, but with their body heat, it just becomes hot water on their already hot bodies.

If you are planning a ride, hose them before you tack up.  It gives them a head start on sweating and the cooling effects.

Remember the Heat Index.  When the humidity number is higher than the temperature, they can’t cool themselves.  Be mindful.

If they’ve been sweating during the day, hose them off in the evening.  The salt on the hair and skin will irritate them, and what I’m finding is, it will help make their coats bleach, and dry out.

Watch those horses with pink skin, especially on their nose.  Sunburn hurts, I’m sure you’ve all experienced it yourselves.  I had a new horse come in two weeks ago and I noticed a small patch on his nose was getting burned.  I didn’t have a long fly mask to put on him so out comes the zinc oxide (found in Desitin baby butt cream) and I put it on his nose.  I told him he looked like all those buff life guards at the beach.  He didn’t mind it at all.  We used to use it to keep flies away from the horses eyes.  We would paint a circle around the eyes (but don’t put it so close that you get it in the eye) and our horses would look like Indian ponies.

Keep an eye on their feet.  To much heat and dry ground will suck the life out of those hooves and too much wet will soften and cause them fungus or just plain hoof rot.  Watch for white line disease.  Know exactly which product will dry, which one will moisturize, which one will heal, and stay on top of that.

Fly Sprays.  There are so many different ones on the market these days, and there are so many different bugs attacking our horses.  Know which one works for you.  Some say they will work for days.  I’ve never found one that does.  I also alternate between two different ones, a water based natural one and an oil based spray.  If I’m going out trail riding, or the bugs are really bad, and my horse is going to sweat while working, I reach for the oil based.  If the bugs are light and the horses are just hanging in the pasture I go for the water based.  Remember, don’t over use and don’t be stingy.  Watch for any signs that your horse is allergic or gets a skin irritation from the spray.

Fans in the barn – make sure the wiring is safe and the rodents haven gotten to them.  Clean the dust and dirt out of them before using them.  Fires happen and kill horses.  With all the flammable contents in our barn we must be extremely careful.  Get those cob webs down, they burn and help fires to spread.  Our bedding, and our hay makes it an inferno.  Fire extinguishers should be placed by each door, so you can grab them as you walk in.  Halters with lead lines should be accessible.

Okay, now that I’ve totally unnerved you – have a great summer, and don’t forget to stay hydrated along with your horses.