Protecting horses from extreme heat and annoying insects in summer
While summer gives us more daylight hours for riding and spending time with our horses, it also brings with it an abundance of biting, disease-carrying insects, as well as intense heat and humidity that can create serious health risks for your horse.
Extreme heat and humidity can lead to heat exhaustion, heatstroke, and dehydration in horses, which can result in poor performance, lethargy, colic, kidney damage, collapse, and even death.
Meanwhile, flies bite and annoy our horses and also transmit diseases such as pigeon fever, vesicular stomatitis, equine infectious anemia, and influenza.
In addition, they can trigger allergies, dermatitis, and eye problems, and constant kicking can lead to joint problems and other impact-related injuries and even weight loss.
To protect your horse from intense heat and annoying insects and ensure that he remains happy, healthy, and at his best throughout the summer, follow these smart management tactics and veterinary recommendations.
Dealing with heat and maintaining hydration August 2024 was the hottest month ever recorded, according to NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration of the United States, and above-average temperatures are forecast for much of the United States this year.
When the weather gets hot, it is very important to make sure your horse does not suffer from heat exhaustion or dehydration.
How horses cool themselves In addition to humans, horses are one of the few mammals that cool themselves by sweating in hot weather and during exercise or stress.
Duncan Peters, DVM, MS, former head of the Hagyard sport horse program at the Hagyard Equine Medical Institute in Lexington, Kentucky, explains that when your horse’s core body temperature rises above the normal range (99 to 100 degrees Fahrenheit), his brain sends signals to the sweat glands to start producing sweat.
As the sweat evaporates, heat is drawn away from his skin and his body temperature decreases.
During intense exercise, your horse can lose 3 to 4 gallons of fluid per hour through sweat and water vapor lost during exhalation.
Fluid loss can also depend on weather conditions; on hot, dry days, sweat can evaporate almost as quickly as it is formed.
Peters said: “So be aware that even if sweat is not running off your horse, he may have lost a significant amount of fluid in dry conditions.
Horses may also replace these fluids slowly, because the nature of their sweat delays the thirst response.
” During intense exercise, your horse can lose 3 to 4 gallons of fluid per hour through sweat and water vapor lost during exhalation.
©Amy K.
Dragoo She explains: “When humans sweat, they lose mostly water.
This water loss causes an electrolyte imbalance that triggers thirst.
But horses’ sweat contains a higher concentration of electrolytes (key minerals such as sodium, chloride, potassium, calcium, and magnesium).
Therefore, it takes longer for them to develop an electrolyte imbalance and feel thirsty.
” Unfortunately, in very hot and humid weather, a horse’s sweating and breathing cooling effects may not be enough to lower his body temperature.
If heat stress is short-term, it may not be very harmful; for example, if you work him for a short period and he has enough time to cool down.
But Peters says that if the stress continues during strenuous exercise such as cross-country or long transport in hot weather, heat can build up in the horse’s body.
Humidity can worsen heat stress because when the air is saturated with moisture, sweat cannot evaporate quickly to remove the horse’s body heat.
He keeps sweating, but that does not help cool him.
To prevent overheating in hot and humid weather, limit exercise.
Pay attention to the heat index.
This index combines air temperature and relative humidity and shows how hot the air really is.
(You can find the National Weather Service heat index calculator here.
) Work your horse during the coolest time of day, namely early morning or in the evening, depending on where you live.
Always cool your horse thoroughly with long walks, cold baths, and the use of fans.
When he is outside, make sure he has access to shade or take him out at night.
If your horse is sensitive to insects and needs insect protection, be sure to use a lightweight, well-ventilated mesh covering.
During the hottest hours of the day, keep him in the stable with adequate airflow and fans.
Encourage your horse to stay hydrated.
Peters says that even a 3% loss of hydration is enough to affect your horse’s performance.
Always provide clean, cool water freely.
At shows, give him water at least every hour.
Pay attention to your horse’s overall behavior.
Pay attention to his attitude, body condition, appetite, willingness to move freely (when outside), and muscle relaxation to see whether he may be experiencing heat-related stress.
As fitness increases, horses get better at regulating their body temperature during exercise.
Peters says, “By adapting their bodies to use energy more efficiently, they produce less heat, sweat faster, and their sweat becomes less concentrated and they lose fewer electrolytes.”
Heat danger signs for any horse: the buildup of body heat leads to fatigue and can have serious health consequences.
The combination of prolonged hard work and hot, humid weather can be especially deadly.
If your horse cannot regulate his body temperature, he will become heat stressed and may even suffer heatstroke.
(In heatstroke, the horse’s sweating mechanism stops working and his body temperature rapidly rises to 106 to 110 degrees Fahrenheit.
) If a horse sweats too much, he is at risk of dehydration, which disrupts key functions such as circulation and digestion and can damage organs.
In severe cases, dehydration can be fatal.
Here are five signs that your horse may be at risk of heat stress: he is breathing heavily and this continues.
Peters says rapid, shallow breathing after exercise in hot weather is normal, but it should quickly return to a normal resting rate, which for most horses is 20 breaths or less.
If your horse’s breathing rate remains high, he may even be panting to cool down.
The body temperature remains elevated for a long time.
A horse's body temperature during intense work can reach 106 degrees Fahrenheit, but if it does not drop by one or two degrees within 20 to 30 minutes, you should be concerned.
He appears tired or depressed.
He may refuse to eat.
When horses become dehydrated, they usually do not eat, but they usually seek water.
However, severely dehydrated horses may also refuse to drink water.
His skin does not have elasticity.
Test by pinching a fold of skin in three places - in the middle of the neck, above the shoulder, and below the shoulder.
If he is well hydrated, the skin will quickly return to normal; if there is a lack of fluids, the skin will remain folded for a few seconds and then slowly smooth out.
His gums are dry and pale or white.
(It should be moist and pink.
) His eyes and/or flanks appear sunken.
His intestines are silent.
You should hear bubbling and gurgling; a lack of sound or no sound at all indicates a problem.
A horse's intestines normally contain a large amount of water, which his body uses as a reserve.
When he becomes dehydrated, intestinal movement slows, which can lead to digestive problems.
If your horse shows any of the above signs or you suspect heat exhaustion: rinse your horse with cold water.
Water helps lower his core body temperature back to normal and relieves heat.
After rinsing the horse, be sure to use a sweat scraper to completely remove excess water and let him dry completely in the shade or in the stable with a fan before putting him back in the sun.
Otherwise, even a thin layer of water on his coat, especially in humid areas, can act as an insulator and trap body heat.
Always provide access to clean, cool water.
Hydration is essential to prevent heat exhaustion, so encourage your horse to drink as much water as possible.
Peters says: «You won't harm your horse by giving him some water after exercise.
It is almost always safe to let your horse drink a small amount of water - up to a gallon - walk him for a few minutes, and give water again.
If you allow him to alternate and drink a gallon of water at a time, you may get ahead of dehydration.
» Replace lost electrolytes.
Electrolytes are available in pellets, powder, and paste and can replace vitamins or minerals lost through sweat, which can help prevent dehydration and regulate muscle function and other bodily processes.
Electrolyte supplements can also encourage your horse to drink more water, which helps rebalance his fluids and ensures proper digestion.
Provide salt: adult horses need at least one ounce of salt per day.
Since hay, grass, and grains contain very little salt, horses often lack this key mineral.
Salt is essential for healthy nerve and muscle function.
It also helps with fluid balance and encourages hydration, especially in warm climates.
You can add table salt to your horse's grain (although some horses do not like the taste of plain salt) or provide at least a salt block.
However, most horses do not get enough salt from blocks or licks.
If your horse does not like the taste of it, there are flavored salt supplements that many horses find tasty.
When should you contact the veterinarian?
This depends on the severity of the symptoms and your horse’s overall condition.
Peters says: “If his vital signs are improving and he is alert, drinking water, and interested in grass or hay, you can probably manage the situation.
If he seems dull or confused, refuses food or water, or has not cooled down despite your efforts, it is better to contact the veterinarian.
He can assess your horse’s condition, administer fluids through a stomach tube or intravenously, and provide other supportive treatment if necessary.
” Smart fly control Unfortunately, flies are part of horse management, and you cannot eliminate all of them.
But there are several effective management strategies and fly-control measures you can use to reduce their impact on your horse.
Flies are annoying pests for our horses, but they can also transmit diseases, trigger allergies, cause skin problems, and other health issues.
©Alana Harrison Management: the first line of defense Keeping the environment clean and dry is one way to manage flies.
Flies are attracted to wet areas, where they drink and reproduce.
Eliminate standing water in low-lying areas of the pasture and any container that has standing water.
Creating effective drainage around the stable, repairing any plumbing leaks, and ensuring that stables are dry is also important.
Also, wet and decomposing feed is an ideal place for stable and house flies to breed.
Make sure the feed room is dry and place waterers in areas with proper drainage and away from the horses’ feeding area.
Dispose of waste properly and keep grains, supplements, and other feeds under airtight covers.
Cleanliness in stables and pastures also helps keep flies away.
Manure is the house fly’s favorite food, and the more manure there is around your stable, the more flies you will attract.
Remove manure from stables every day and from pastures at least once a week.
If possible, move it to an off-site location or cover it with a heavy tarp and process it on site for later removal.
Also, change your horse’s stable bedding once a week and use shavings and sawdust.
Straw tends to attract more flies.
Manure is the house fly’s favorite food, and the more manure there is around your stable, the more flies you will attract.
Remove manure from stables every day and from pastures at least once a week.
©Amy K.
Dragoo There are several other tricks for dealing with flies in the stable.
Prevent flies from entering the stable by placing fans to create downward and outward airflow.
For horses in the stable, large fans can create strong airflow to keep flies away from their targets; for horses kept in pasture, make sure they have access to open, breezy spaces.
Adding netting around feed and equipment rooms, as well as the stalls, can significantly reduce flies, and residual insecticides that are specifically designed for use on walls, ceilings, and beams (as opposed to products designed for use on horses) can keep insects away from the stall.
You can also place traps around the stall that use fly bait to attract flies to a sticky surface or to a chamber where they become trapped and die.
You can also combat flies by using fly parasites outside the stall.
These small, weak-flying wasps use fly pupae as hosts to kill developing flies before they emerge and prevent new generations from maturing.
Simply release the eggs near manure piles, water sources, and other fly breeding sites, and they will emerge in about five days as active wasps.
(They do not bite or sting humans, horses, or pets.
) And if possible, do not graze horses near cattle or other livestock.
Cow manure especially attracts horn and face flies, which are more aggressive.
Fly control equipment In addition to smart stall management, you should strengthen your own defensive equipment to deal with flies so that you keep these health enemies as far away from your stall as possible.
Protective barriers such as fly sheets, masks, and boots provide external insect protection and are made from lightweight mesh fabrics to keep the horse ventilated and cool during the hot fly season.
These covers protect horses from the shoulder to the croup, and many of them also provide protection for the neck, chest, and belly, which is very useful for horses that are sensitive to sweet itch from insect bites (see the “Main Culprits” section below).
Fly masks protect sensitive facial areas, and some have ear and muzzle coverings, and fly boots, usually made of lightweight mesh, protect the sensitive skin of the lower legs and can be useful in dealing with stable flies that are interested in biting horses’ legs.
Topical products are also another essential ammunition for dealing with flies.
In addition to fly spray, these products are also available as roll-ons and wipes, and contain natural and synthetic insecticides to kill or repel flies on contact.
There are also insecticide-free products that use citronella, essential oils, and other plant-based ingredients to repel insects.
Newer sprays combine ingredients such as pyrethrin and permethrin with fatty acids to disrupt flies’ sense of direction and reduce the likelihood of them landing on your horse.
Fly sheets, boots, and masks can protect your horse from annoying, disease-carrying insects during the summer.
With regard to WeatherBeeta, feed-through products can provide another line of defense.
These products contain ingredients that pass through the horse’s system into the manure to prevent the growth and hatching of larvae and pupae.
They are usually given from early spring to late autumn along with the horse’s grain ration and work best when used together with fly traps and topical products.
However, remember that feed products will not be effective if they are not given in the right amount to all the horses in the group.
Supplements formulated with ingredients such as garlic and apple cider vinegar help repel insects by making the horse less attractive as a fly host.
Some of them also contain diatomaceous earth, which is passed through the horse’s system into the manure, creating an unsuitable environment for fly larvae.
The main culprits are several hundred species of flies that bother horses, but the following six species are the most common: there are six major species of flies that are annoying to horses.
©Amy K.
Dragoo Bot fly: Bot fly lays sticky eggs on the coat, muzzle, jaw, lips, throat, and inside the legs of the horse.
The larvae hatch in the horse’s mouth and migrate to the stomach and intestines.
This can lead to serious health problems and even death.
If you suspect the presence of Bot fly, contact your veterinarian.
Face fly: The female Face fly feeds on secretions around the horse’s eyes and nostrils and on the blood from wounds and insect bites.
Their tongue is like sandpaper, and by scraping the tissue around the eye, they stimulate tears, which can lead to infection and even blindness.
Gnat: Also known as "no-see-ums" or "midges," Gnats are most troublesome at sunset and sunrise.
They have painful bites that can cause sweet itch in some horses (persistent skin eruptions that lead to severe itching).
The resulting wounds can be painful and cause horses to rub themselves.
Horn fly: These flies pierce the horse’s skin and suck blood like the stable fly.
They prefer cattle but also attack nearby horses and can fly up to 10 miles.
Housefly: Houseflies have sponge-like mouths and mainly feed on manure, garbage, or bodily secretions.
They do not bite, but they like to suck secretions around wounds, eyes, and nostrils.
Stable fly: These flies suck your horse’s blood by piercing the flesh.
They are attracted to horses’ legs and cause stomping and tail swishing.
For more information about heat and flies: For more tips on how to manage in the summer and guidance on finding the right sheet, mask, and boots for your horse, click here.
You can find tips for managing horses with anhidrosis in extreme heat here.
Source: Practical Horseman – Health