We are in the middle of a potentially record breaking heatwave here in the UK and most of us have had to make changes to our horses routine to help them cope with the heat.
Early last week we moved a few horses around into different fields. Some of our fields don’t have great shade. They all have some shade, but as the sun moves throughout the day, some fields don’t have shade all day, just at certain times. We wanted to move Jo and baby Hendrix as their field had very little shade at Midday. They have moved into the front half of another field where they have plenty of tree cover and a field shelter.
This left Scottie by himself in his normal field. So he has been lucky and moved into the spare field what has plenty of shade options throughout the day. Since it is the spare field, it also has the most grass as all of our fields are looking pretty brown and dry! Trio’s field also doesn’t have much shade, so he is now buddied up with Scottie sharing the spare field, which they are both quite happy about.
Our stables can get pretty warm. So over the weekend we made the decision to keep any horse what can cope with staying out, out. So virtually our whole yard is staying out during these hotter few days. The only horses coming in are the ones who tend to get a bit stressed and silly when it is time to come in. We think it is better for them to come into slightly warm stables than to stay out and stress about being out.
Scottie & Trio are coming in for showers in the evening to help cool them off. But I was pleased to see that Scottie hadn’t sweated up in the field yesterday. He is quite a hot horse and it doesn’t take much for him to start sweating, especially in a warm stable. So for him to come in yesterday evening with no signs of him having got sweaty in the field was very good! He was also snoozing in the shade when I left this morning, so he is obviously being sensible!
How to help your horse cope in the heat
It is easy to worry about your horse in the heat. But as long as you supply them with plenty of water and consider making a few small changes, your horse should have no problem coping in this heatwave.
Checkout all our tips for helping your horse cope in the heat.
Last Updated on 19/07/2022
