Hot weather can wreak havoc on horses and their health. That’s why it’s important to have guidelines to follow to ensure their safety. Being in the heat all day can drain a horses energy level. Here are some summer safety tips for horses you should follow.
Summer Safety Tips for Horses
- How Much Water: Always have 10 to 12 Gallons of water per horse per day. Other horses such as work horses may need more.
- Water Tanks and Buckets: Never leave warm water or water that has collected dirt, grass, or hay in water tanks or buckets. Replace with cool, fresh and clean water.
- Shade: Give your horses the chance to get out of the summer sun by providing either a run-in shed or plenty of trees for shade. If you must, make sure barns are well ventilated with ceiling fans.
- Electrolyte Supplements: Just like people, horses also need to replenish nutrients lost during sweating in the heat. Be sure to provide these supplements at least once a day.
- Early Morning Exercises: Make sure to exercise your horse in the morning when its cool.
- Cool Down: Be sure to hose down your horse after exercising with cold water and then scraping the water off. Do this until repeatedly until your horse has cooled off.
- Fly Sprays or Fly Nets: Keep your horses comfortable and rid them of pesky flies with fly sprays and fly nets. Be sure to clean stalls to reduce flies.
- Sunblock: Many horses get sunburn on their face and muzzle. Be sure to use sunblock or a fly mask to prevent overexposure.
During the harsh summer heat, many horses need extra hay because summer grass has thinned out. Be sure to get the right feed with rich protein and nutrients that will help restore your horses’ energy levels back up. Stampede Premium’s Pellets and Hay Cubes products have the right amount of those nutrients needed.
Stampede Premium offers the best quality equine hay and equine products since 1995.