Summer is the time of year to get outside and enjoy your horse. You and your horse may like to trail ride, compete at horse shows, go on rides with friends or just play around. But summer conditions of high temperatures and humidity present several challenges for you and your horse. Proper working conditions, water consumption and feeding practices will keep your horse healthy and able to perform to the best of its ability.
Working Conditions:
Ride early in the morning or later during the day, which are the coolest times for both horse and rider.
Take frequent breaks.
Fresh clean water must always be available and offered. Average size work horse consumes about 25 gallons a day. Lack of water can increase chances of colic. Keeping a horse well hydrated will maintain sweating for a normal body temperature and fight fatigue.
After exercising, cool your horse off with a cool rinse to wash off dried sweat and dirt. Dried sweat attracts more flies!
Feeding Practices:
Supplement electrolytes to hard working horses or horses that aren’t drinking enough water. Electrolytes are provided to the diet to replace the minerals that are lost due to sweating and to increase water consumption.
Don’t feed too much protein. When large amounts of protein are fed in a daily feeding, the excess nitrogen increases fluid loss due to higher urine output. Try our Front Runner 10% Pleasure
Make dietary changes gradually. Dramatic changes in amount and type of grain or hay especially during the hot summer months can disrupt a horses digestive system. When switching over from one product to another replace 25% of each meal with the new feed for three days, then replace 50% for three days, 75% for another three days, then on the tenth day you have completely switched over to help prevent digestive disturbances.
Store feed in a cool, dry, airtight container to keep your feed as fresh as possible and to keep flies and rodents out. Hay should also be kept out of the sunlight because the sun can bleach out nutrients.
A hay analysis and/or pasture analysis will give you valuable information about your feeding program.
Provide free access to salt, so your horse can regulate its own salt intake.
