Can we talk about working horses in the winter time?

[Sanny]

Those of you that work your horses and drive a lot in the winter, what do you do?

We worked and drove two horses this week that have full winter coats and though they were not worked that hard, both of them were soaked and sweaty in a very short time. I'm wondering if part of the problem was that we were in a heated (above freezing temp, anyway) indoor arena and whether that may have played a part in how hot they got? I didn't expect them to get so sweaty and be actually steaming wet. I'm wondering about how long to take cooling them down gradually, getting their winter coats completely dry and whether or not to keep the horses blanketed the day they are worked and whether to consider doing a trace clip on the green horses that will be driving a lot the next couple of months. I already decided I need to make room for a stall in my tack room - which can be heated - to keep them in at least long enough to not get a chill and to be sure to dry out their coat completely. The sweating and getting hot can't be good for them and then going back to the -20 temps outside concern me.

What about trace clipping too? I know if I do that I need to commit to keeping them blanketed for the rest of the winter, which I'd like to avoid, but if it makes it easier to get them dry and cooled down again, it might be the right thing to do. Any thoughts or suggestions for me? Please share your experience.

 

[hobbyhorse23]

I would definitely think the heated arena had something to do with it. I had a lesson yesterday with a horse who has been absolutely FINE driving for 40 minutes at trot and gallop out in the open and he was panting very heavily by the end of the lesson. He acted tired, hot, ready to go cool out. I took him outside where I was immediately chilled (the arena hadn't felt warm to me, it was only enclosed) and he perked up right away as the wind stole all that excess heat out of his coat. Within a few minutes he was bombing around the cones course at an all-out gallop, completely refreshed and ready to go. It had taken him at least ten minutes in the arena to stop panting from a walk/slow trot, and it took him maybe four to recover outside from an all-out gallop for an extended period of time. He was clearly much more comfortable working in the cold!

I can't blame him, I get the same way. I put on a coat and go outside and I'm freezing, then by the time I've cleaned the stalls or groomed the horse I'm warmed up and perfectly comfortable. If I go back in the house or continue to work with the coat on I soon become overwhelmingly warm and feel like I can't breathe. All my energy disappears. I just want to pant. But take the coat off and I'm fine until I cool down again and suddenly I'm freezing.

If I were keeping my horse in training up at that barn I would trace clip him now based on yesterday's experience and simply bundle him up well for limited turnout. But because he's still doing most of his work outside and only having occasional lessons I feel if I clipped him now he'd become chilled far too easily and unfortunately most blankets do not cover the belly well enough for me to not feel guilty about sending him outside "naked" at this time of year.

It sounds like you've got even more of a problem as your warm is apparently quite warm and the cold is certainly VERY COLD! :Cold-Scared Also, if they are adjusted to the temperatures outdoors even a simple enclosed space is going to feel hot. Unconditioned horses are also going to sweat more than one that is in shape. I know it wouldn't be pleasant for you, but can you leave doors open in the indoor so a cold breeze blows in? That will probably help them feel a little more comfortable. Work the horses over longer periods of time for shorter bursts of high-energy work so they don't get so heated. Lots of walking with short periods of trot, stopping before they get to puffing too hard. Cool out at a walk, then repeat. If you trace clip consider doing it with the hair and using a blade like a 7F or a 5, maybe even a 4 or 3. Do the least amount possible, like a little "T" between their forelegs and where the girth goes and maybe a small patch inside each of their hind legs. Like putting cool water on a pulse point that should cool the blood that runs by those patches without freezing the overall horse. I've been known to run a cool damp cloth over my furry horse's chest and between his legs before I start working him on a warm day so he's already evaporating and cooling before he starts to overheat. It seemed to help.

As for drying out a horse who is already soaked with sweat for safe turnout, there's a few things you can do. First of all, and I know this is counter-intuitive, wash them off down to the skin with at least a warm wet rag everywhere they are sweaty. Water dries much faster, cleaner, and less itchy than sweat! Then towel them off and put a cooler on them. Let them eat small amounts of hay after they are completely cool to stoke the internal furnace and keep the small muscles moving so they don't stiffen up. The single biggest shortcut I've found this year is one of those vac-and-blow machines for animals. Oh m'God!

I bought one of those after using Clickmini's on my horse and seeing how well it cleaned the deep down dirt out of that 3" winter coat but now I use it more for cooling out than anything. My Arab runs himself sweaty when I take the mini out to work- fine, I come home, put the mini away, and turn the dryer on the Arab until he's fluffy. It works really well on that sort of residual dampness that takes so darn long to dry and it leaves the hair nicely fluffed for good insulation instead of dried in whorls and clumps. And since it isn't hot air it doesn't seem to incite itchiness or other skin problems like a human blow dryer might. I love that thing! I got mine for $150 from Double Diamond, one of the Double K ChallengAir ones. Best thing I ever bought.

Once your temperatures rise I'd go ahead and do a regular trace clip, blanketing with a polar fleece belly wrap and a waterproof outer layer for turnout. Edited to add: Before clipping I would not blanket them once they are dry and happy unless they are in for the night as it will simply flatten their natural coat and prevent them from being able to regulate their own temperatures. Use a cooler and blanket until they are dry, then pull it off, fluff the hair, and let them run.

Good luck!

Leia