Wil Howe articles10

Horses . . . Howe and Why
By & About the Howes

Wil Howe Ranch Newsletter - Summer '99

Summertime Tips

With Summer going into full swing don't turn your back on your horses you have turned out to pasture. This time of year on the rich green grass they can fatten up over night and can be very susceptible to foundering. To check if a horse is getting to fat keep an eye on the crest of his neck, which can become tight and hard. Also, a roll of fat will appear behind his shoulder, of course a big belly and a pudgy, fat roll will fill in around the base of the tail. To limit the time your horse spends on green grass is your best bet for weight management. We find that turning your horse out to pasture at night and dry lotting them in a corral during the day works best, because horses eat less at night as they are more nervous and alert for predators, consequently they are on the move more and can't consume as much feed.

Another summer tip for those of you who are concerned about your horses hair coat condition. After working your horses if they are hot and sweaty don’t let them stand in the sun as the salt from the sweat will burn their coats making them dull. Give them a cool out bath/rinse (thoroughly rinse all sweat out) and be sure that while they are wet that they are out of the sun until dry. We tie our horses in our tie stalls in the barn or box stall while they dry before turning them out. The wet hair will burn if left in the sun. Also, horses out on pasture with sprinkler systems that they stand under during the heat of the day will get rough looking burnt coats if they’re not kept from the sprinklers.

Most important to remember as a trainer is not to work your horses in the extreme heat of the day. Early mornings or evenings when the temperatures are cooler will allow your horse to accept what he is being asked to do more willingly. The idea is to keep your horse comfortable during training sessions, because when a horse gets hot they can get mad and lose all desire to work for you and you may end up losing ground in your training progress. If you have competition dates you are working towards you can’t afford to lose time on your horses. Especially stay away from schooling your horse on cattle in the heat. Both will work better in the cooler time of the day. We normally shade up during the hottest part of the day, feed earlier, in the afternoon and start up again when the Sun goes down often riding til late in the cool evenings.

Have a great Summer . . . Happy Trails & Turn Arounds!