Local animals are also feeling the effects of recent high temperatures. - NEWS FILE PHOTO RYAN MCCRACKEN
reporter@medicinehatnews.com
If the internal body temperature of any animal becomes too high, heatstroke occurs and, in severe cases, can be fatal. According to worldhorsewelfare.org, it’s crucial to spot “the signs early, and whilst these vary from horse to horse, they can include; excessive sweating, heavy rapid breathing, an elevated heart and respiratory rate, and altered behaviour which can progress from dull/listless to panicky or manic as the condition becomes more serious.”
At Midnight’s Trail out in Ralston, all rides are cancelled when the temperature gets over 35 Celsius.
Owner Jessica Tory, said, “they have shade, they have sprinklers, lots of water, we take them out to sloughs.”
The horses love standing under the falling water of the sprinklers and Tory spends most her day making sure the animals are cool enough, the water is on, and nobody dies.
Looking for heat exhaustion in a horse is similar to that for humans.
“We’ll do a pinch test on the neck,” explained Tory. “If it goes right back in, they are OK, if not, we have an electrolyte mix for horses and if it’s really bad we’ll get the vet out.
“Luckily, we’ve never had a case of that, but I was on clinic once when the horse wouldn’t drink the water because if the water tastes different than it does at home, often horses won’t drink it. The vet had to come out and do intravenous fluids to get the horse hydrated.”
Horses aren’t able to have anything citrus flavoured and there are specific electrolytes one can buy by the pail at feed stores and from vets that are only for horses. Tory said adding a little apple cider vinegar to the water can also help them.
For more information, including a downloadable PDF on how to ensuring horses are properly hydrated when travelling, visit horsewelfare.org.
