|
|
Post by cutiepiepmu on Jul 29, 2009 15:09:18 GMT -5
his is my words of advice to all you horse owners.... I have been on 2 calls today already where horses are down and very very ill from heat stress. Cold hose your horses, make sure they have salt and shade. Add ice to water troughs and keep an eye on your horses - if they are not sweating properly, if they seem disoriented, if they are not pooping and not drinking - you need to start cold hosing and call your vet. Unfortunately for one horrified horse owner it was too late to help her horse today and it was one of the saddest things Ihave seen. So - please - check your horses. Make sure they are ok!! Heat is deadly! Sara  |
|
|
|
Post by michellep on Jul 29, 2009 15:28:19 GMT -5
Even though our horses have lots of trees for shade I have still been cold hosing them at night when I get home. Same for our dogs, they have shade, but that cant hurt getting a cold water bath at night. I just read that its 104 in Graham........Dear god, if I wanted heat like this I would go Arizona!
|
|
|
|
Post by TashGaia on Jul 29, 2009 16:23:50 GMT -5
106 right now in Redmond and it is still 3 hours away from the supposed hottest time of the day. Good grief.
|
|
|
|
Post by swissgrl on Jul 29, 2009 16:36:19 GMT -5
yep, melting here in San Diego. We have a little wading pool that we fill up for the dogs,and they love to sit in it. It's under a tree so partially in the shade anyways. I try to hose off who I can. Arrow will just plant himself in front of the hose, and not move, unless I move the hose, then he moves with it. But the young ones don't want to have anything to do with the hose. I have a salt block outside, but give them salt at night with their goodies as well.
Is it just me, or does it keep getting hotter and hotter every year?
|
|
|
|
Post by rodeo51 on Jul 29, 2009 17:10:06 GMT -5
It's 103 by Edmonds High School...not too far from my office. Thank goodness for air conditioning in my office.
I don't ever remember it being this hot around here and I grew up here. This is terrible!
|
|
|
|
Post by icehorse on Jul 29, 2009 18:44:08 GMT -5
It's 108 here on the CA/OR border...all the critters, self included, are pretty miserable
|
|
|
|
Post by countrygirl on Jul 30, 2009 2:32:40 GMT -5
Sara, What advice do you have on how to get our horses to drink more?
|
|
|
|
Post by cutiepiepmu on Aug 6, 2009 20:44:46 GMT -5
sorry I didn't see this sooner - as far as drinking more. If you have a non-drinker - put half a tube of paste electrolytes down them in the AM when it is cold. That should stimulat them to drink and help keep them hydrated. As far as things to add to the water - FIRST thing that stimulates them to drink is to keep the water clean and very cold. Block ice can help this. Also - some horses like flavor. Do seperate buckets/troughs of water and add a few cans of grape or strawberry soda or a couple of big bottles of gatorade. You can also add instant jello to the water to add flavor or peppermint extract  Test the flavors on your horse before adding to water to figure out what they like. BUT, always have plain cold water available. Make sure tanks are scrubbed WELL, rinsed and filled several tmes a day and keep the water nice and chilly I take salt blocks away during heat or limit access to them to supervised time. Many horses will go bonkers for them in the heat and end up consuming way too much salt,ending up with salt toxemia - which can be deadly. I do measured electrolytes along with additional salt in the feed daily and do leave out a salt/mineral loose mixture in safely measured amounts. Also - during hot weather I make a mush dinner of either beet pulp or hay pellets that are wll soaked that I add more water to just before feeding. Sara |
|
Test the flavors on your horse before adding to water to figure out what they like. BUT, always have plain cold water available. Make sure tanks are scrubbed WELL, rinsed and filled several tmes a day and keep the water nice and chilly