This is how you save your four-legged friend from annoying summer ailments. Find out now!
The sky is blue, the atmosphere in the stable is exuberant and an evening ride in the mild air is imminent: Oh, summer with a horse can be wonderful! Nevertheless, the warm season also brings pitfalls for horse and rider. It doesn’t matter whether it’s persistent heat, over-trained four-legged friends or annoying pests in the form of insects such as flies, mosquitoes and horseflies: there are a few things you should pay attention to in summer to protect your darling. What does that mean exactly? You can find tips and tricks for the perfect horse summer in our article.
These dangers are lurking for your horse in summer Even if horses are known as so-called “climate resisters ” Cope well with cold and heat, they are made for the biting cold rather than intense heat. North horse breeds in particular, such as Norwegians, Icelanders or Haflingers, often cause problems in hot and humid temperatures. Even for old or sick horses, the heat of summer can quickly become torture. If your darling is exposed to hot temperatures over a longer period of time, there are dangers lurking. These include, for example:
Heat stroke and sunstroke in horses Regardless of their breed, horses are sensitive to prolonged exposure to direct sunlight. In the worst case, sunstroke or heat stroke can even threaten! But where is the difference?
A sunstroke manifests itself with Silbermond, Amadeus and Co. mostly through symptoms such as apathy, increased sweating, circulatory problems and staggering around. If your horse suffers the even more dangerous heat stroke, his whole body overheats. The consequence? A lack of oxygen in the tissue and a metabolism-related overacidification of the horse’s organism. If your darling is affected by heat stroke, he will begin to sway and appear dazed. Unlike sunstroke, horses suffering heatstroke do not sweat. The body temperature can rise up to degrees. The risk of heatstroke is particularly high during great exertion on hot, humid days or in poorly ventilated stables.
What should you do if you notice or suspect heatstroke or sunstroke in your darling? Now the most important rule is: get out of the sun and into the shade! In the next step, you should definitely offer your horse cold water. In addition, the following applies: Contact the veterinarian you trust immediately. Until it arrives, you can also carefully cool the head of your four-legged friend with a damp cloth or ice.
Insects as annoying pests Hand on heart: Nobody really is a big fan of insects buzzing around in the pasture. It gets particularly annoying when mosquitoes, horseflies, flies and the like don’t leave your horse alone and are only busy with them to land on his body. Even horseback rides can quickly become a torment for the little pests in summer. But apart from the fact that insects buzzing around are particularly annoying in summer: They also pose a danger to your darling. Because they prefer to land on horses’ eyes and any wounds that may be present. There they can not only cause nasty conjunctivitis, but also acute wound infections. In addition, mosquitoes are considered to be carriers of the dreaded equine infectious anemia or the West Nile virus.
Cool tips for hot days You can do a lot in summer to protect your horse from (too) hot temperatures. This includes, for example, creating sufficient shady areas on pastures and in outruns. Because on hot summer days, your darling must always have the opportunity to “move” into the cool shade. Fresh water should always be freely available. A salt lick is also a good addition so that your horse can absorb the sweated minerals again.
Furthermore, training in the midday heat is taboo! More suitable times are, for example, early morning or late afternoon. Also make sure that you carefully hose down your four-legged friend with water after the work is done. This not only washes the sweat out of the fur, but also has a cooling effect. If you want to give your horse an extra cool down before the shower, our clay paste is perfect. Applied cold to the skin, it gives your darling exactly the cooling it needs after a tough summer training session. After the exposure time has elapsed, simply rinse everything out with cool water. Cool!
Well protected during the summertime Bye mosquitoes, horse flies, black flies, flies and Co.? With our insect stop for horse and rider, this dream becomes a reality! Because you can also do something against the little tormentors. Even naturally. Our spray contains highly compatible ingredients such as eucalyptus oil and the proven active ingredient Saltidin®. You can simply spray the spray sparingly onto the horse’s fur – done!
Beyond the bug repellent spray, there are other things you can do to keep pesky bugs away. For example, you can put a mesh fly blanket on your darling. Make sure that the blanket fabric is not too thick. Otherwise the risk of sunstroke and heat stroke increases. You can also protect the horse’s head against “air attacks” with the appropriate equipment. This works, for example, with special ear hoods or fly masks. In this way, the most sensitive parts of the head in particular remain protected from annoying pests such as mosquitoes, horseflies and the like – and summer can come.
