Nicole Tough Too good not to share! Remember your horse is an athlete and your partner not an object!
This morning, despite every precaution, I 'cooked' my beautiful horse????. Despite getting 'Hydrosing Agent' supplement, to promote the sweat glands; despite riding at 5am under a roof; despite wetting him at the beginning of his session, stopping frequently for breaks, and wetting him on every break.... I still managed to put him into respiratory stress. The thing I did wrong was an additional canter exercise.????
On finishing the session, sweat that was there, had dried up and he was panting, and in respiratory stress????. We put ice boots on immediately, including 2 ice packs along his back. He drank 2 buckets of molasses water, was hosed down for 30 minutes, and under a fan for 20 more minutes. He is fine, but probably won't sweat again this summer????.
We all need to be very diligent training in the summer months, if we are to ensure the health and well being of our equine friends. They are not our slaves....
It is not my hope to offend, but I don't think competing in summer is fair to our horses at all... Likelihood is, it is going to be too hot to ride/compete between 7am and 4pm.
Event organisers simply don't cancel and riders are not scratching when they should. I judged the dressage phase at a One Day event last summer, and 3/4 of the field were not sweating at all in 35 degree heat.... They were going cross country at noon. At the completion of their tests, I pointed out to the riders, the problem with their horse, and none showed concern! AND access to a wash bay was not an option!????
Recently an International Dressage event was held in the Melbourne heatwave of 39 degrees, and an Eventing competition was held in SE QLD last weekend in 36 degree heat.... On the 27th/28th January during the heatwave, 16 horses tragically DIED from respiratory distress on The Spirit of Tasmania on the 11 hour crossing from Tasmania to Melbourne.
When will we pay attention to our horses? Competition entry money cannot come before our horses. I took every precaution (next to not training at all) this morning at 5am and in 28 degree heat, and I put my horse's cooling system into distress (Anhydrosis)... We took every step, post session, to ensure his body temperature dropped to a safe level.... But how many other people are not doing this?
Please.... Let's be responsible trainers????????, and think about our horses more.
#twohearts
Dressage Queensland
Equestrian Gold Coast Club - formerly NADEC
Equestrian Australia
#ridewithus ... See more
