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September
is here, which means there is about one more month of serious heat
before the cooling effect of October comes our way. The cool of autumn
will be very welcome. Most people and their animals are ready for
it.
When
the cooler days come, obviously there will be relief from the extreme
heat, for this has been an unusually hot summer. It also will mean
relief from the flies of the summer, which have been the requested main
topic for my summer articles. The changing of seasons is not quite
here though. The words "a long, hot summer" start to sound
ominous when it is 100 degrees in the shade, and you know there is no
relief until the autumn months.
How
then do we and our horses hold up for the remainder of the summer heat?
Dr. Jason Coe of the Oneonta Animal Hospital has some advice that will
be helpful to those trying to beat the summer heat for their horses
during the last month of the season.
First,
make sure your horses have adequate access to shade during the daylight
hours. The best source of protective shade is, of course, a barn or
shed for them to go into, but even big shade trees will do. They just
need to be able to get out of the heat of the direct sunlight.
Second,
make sure they have ready access to water. They need to be able to drink
at any time on hot days because their bodies will be sweating out so
many electrolytes and so much fluid that they could easily become
dehydrated without constant access to water. Dehydration, of course,
could lead to some type of heat stress or possibly even mild heat
stroke, both of which could kill a horse if not treated quickly, so this
is serious.
Third,
your horse will need access to an electrolyte source such as a salt or
mineral block. Keeping a couple of salt blocks in the horses’ shady
area is a good idea. They will munch on the blocks more because of the
heat, so you want to make sure they have them right there in the shade
so they do not have to go back into the heat of the day to consume their
salt source. The combination of consuming more salt and the heat will
cause them to drink much more water than usual. This is good because the
intake of replacement electrolytes and fluids will keep them hydrated
and healthy.
Fourth,
if you are blessed with a barn or shed for your animals, then it is a
great idea to keep fans blowing in the aisleways or stalls. This extra
draft will help to keep your horses cooler and more comfortable, and
make them less likely to develop any kind of heat related illness. (I
know a breeze blowing on me when the heat is high feels really, really
good!)
Fifth
is fly control! Not only are flies a nuisance, but they can drive horses
out of the cooler shade and back into the blazing sunshine and
heat. There are many good products that you can purchase at your
local Co-op that will help with the fly problem (by treating your horse
and/or your barn), but the best remedy to diminish the fly population is
keeping the barn area and pasture as clean as possible. As stated in a
previous article of mine on fly control, there is a nationally respected
entomologist (a professional bug man) named Jim Arends, who just happens
to own horses, and who has a "Fly Checklist" for keeping flies
at bay. The checklist is:
*Muck
stalls daily.
*Spread
manure away from horse facilities and harrow it into the soil.
*Chain-drag
pastures to break up manure.
*Scrub
water troughs weekly.
*Spray
rafter and ceilings with residual insecticides.
*Cover
feed containers.
*Clean
up hoof trimmings.
I
list this again because it so important that we keep these pests at bay
so that our animals will not cause themselves damage by going into the
heat of the day to get away from them.
This
being said, Dr. Coe also recommends keeping your horses on a regular
deworming program to help with eliminating flies from the equation. Your
local Co-op has many good deworming products that will work very well,
but always check with your vet to make sure you have your horses on the
best program for them.
If
we heed Dr. Coe’s advice, our horses should stay healthy even in the
heat of the south’s long, hot summer. Just in case, it is wise to know
how to recognize heat stress or possibly even mild heat stroke. If your
animal appears to be overly tired, stressed, breathing heavy, or maybe
even panicky, it could be heat stress or mild heat stroke. This is very
serious, and you should hose your horse down completely with cool water.
Continue to keep the cool water on them, and try to keep them as quiet
and calm as possible. Call your veterinarian immediately.
Once
again I would really like to know what horse people want and need to
know about their animals. Please feel free to send suggestions,
questions, and comments to the mailing address: Cooperative Farming
News, P. O. Box 2227, Decatur, AL 35609-2227 or fax
256-560-2605 or email jima@alafarm.com.
Janet
Bryant is a freelance writer from Oneonta.
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