Q: What can I do to help my horse during the drastic weather changes? The summer heat seems worse than usual and I have already heard that our winter is to be long and colder than usual.
Adjusting to extreme weather to maintain horse health
Extreme, unexpected and extended weather changes have a significant effect on a horse's physical and emotional health.
© 2006 by Louis
Cavallo President Carole Herder shares her advice….
A: Like all living beings, horses are snared in the net of climate change. Hot summers hail in the smoky fire season. Not only are the pastures, barns and fences at risk, but our animals must survive through high heat. Then we soon trade excessive heat for floods and unseasonably cold temperatures.
Their world is becoming more vulnerable every day. Fortunately, there are a few ways to lessen the impact of temperature highs and lows. Prevention and preparation are our friends.
Here are five ways you can help your horse through all changes of weather and climate:
Too much change
Extreme, unexpected and extended weather changes have a significant effect on a horse's physical and emotional health. A drastic change in the environment elevates horses’ levels of stress. Their survival instincts are triggered, and threatened survival is stressful! You can tone it down by keeping the things you can control consistent.
Regular feeding times, immediate living environment, exercise intensity and regimes as well as turn-out schedules provide your horses with something to count on.
Too much sun
Dehydration, water shortage, poor air quality and too much dust are just some of the issues that come with excessive heat. Providing shade is significantly essential. There's not much to be done when the air quality plummets irretrievably. Fire is a force that's hard to reckon with. Nature provides trees and foliage which help air quality tremendously. Trees absorb carbon dioxide and other toxins, help cool the environment and emit organic compounds that help form ozone and carbon.
Plant some trees. When seeding your fields, choose drought-tolerate turf and ground cover for grazing.
Too much water
The rain won't stop…there are channels of water gushing where they don't belong, and the water troughs are overflowing. If this is your area, you'll need to make sure your horses can get out of the mud and moisture. Excess moisture in the hooves can lead to a multitude of problems. The hoof starts to act like a sponge. It expands and becomes soft and mushy, prone to infectious diseases like thrush.
I have seen soles deteriorate entirely. You must provide an area for the hooves to dry out. Build some drainage. Standing water is a haven for insects. Apple cider vinegar is an excellent natural insecticide and can be used both internally in the feed or water and sprayed externally on the horse or insect breeding ground.
Consult with your trimmer and make her aware of the conditions, so she can monitor hoof changes and make any adjustments. Protect those hoofs and help them maintain their integrity and strength by using your Cavallo Hoof Boots, either for poultices, elevation from the elements, preserving hoof dressings or keeping hoofs dry.
Remember, you can easily block the drainage holes in your Cavallos with duct tape when required.
Too much heat
When allowed to acclimatize, a healthy horse has a natural ability to regulate his body temperature. Problems develop when change happens too rapidly. If overnight, the temperatures soar, his respiration and heart rate may rapidly accelerate. The hair follicles are not conditioned to raise to provide an appropriate layer of insulation.
He is sweltering in the heat and needs time to adjust. Keep plenty of fresh water available and give him salt to keep him drinking and electrolytes to restore what he perspires. Fans are perfect machines to help circulate and cool the air—but choose those that are safe to be in your barn and around animals.
Keep exercise to a minimum. Cut back on the feed and just let your horses adjust without asking too much of them.
Too much cold
Protection and comfort are crucial. Your job is to provide a way to defend against the wind and other extreme effects of plummeting temperatures. The combination of cold, wet, and wind can be deadly. Make sure your horses have the option to seek shelter.
Give them more to eat so they can adequately maintain body temperatures while burning up calories. Make sure the water is a drinkable temperature. No, horses do not eat snow. Blanket only when necessary so as not to compromise their innate ability to raise hair follicles to insulate their bodies.
Even a small light element can help your horse make the transition to the cold. If you provide a heater, keep it on low and phase it out as your horse acclimatizes.
All beings on the planet are experiencing significant climate change. Rather than be fearful or feel hopeless; take steps to lessen our carbon footprint, and to help our horses adjust to their changing environment. We will keep them healthy, resilient, and comfortable.
There is no point in trying to avoid the discomfort of change. It is here now. As horse people, we have the strength and integrity to weather the storms.
Sidebar:
Horses as Part of Nature
Landscape in motion, horses gently moving through the environment like a light breeze, cooling on a hot day. Then, in a flash, they're whipping into their power - forceful beasts that take off at forty miles per hour. Tremendous power. We watch their ebbs and flows as they play their perfect melodies, always in harmony with nature.
If you close your eyes just a little and drift, you can almost see the waves of the ocean flowing across their body as their muscles ripple in motion. They charge across the field in a fury with the force of a tsunami, then rest and gaze, still as a serene, glassed pond. This dichotomy of nature's gentle influence is revered in the majesty that is Equus.
"When God wished to create the horse, he said to the South Wind, 'I shall create thee a new being, and I will make him good fortune for my followers, humiliation to my enemies and protection for the obedient.' And the wind said, 'Create!' God condensed the wind and made from it a horse." -- Emir Abd-el-Kader
About the Source:
Carole Herder is the author of the #1 International Bestseller, There Are No Horseshoes in Heaven. She has been involved in horse health since 1993. Her company, Cavallo Horse & Rider Inc., develops, manufactures and distributes horse products in 26 countries. Herder designed and developed Cavallo Hoof Boots and Total Comfort System Saddle Pads.
She presents trainings around the world to teach the benefits of keeping horses in a natural state. Herder is an honored recipient of the Royal Bank of Canada Woman Entrepreneur of the Year Award. She is a member of the Women’s Presidents Organization, supporting female entrepreneurs in every industry.
Visit https://www.cavallo-inc.com to learn about the full line of Cavallo Hoof Boots. Want more info? Sign up here for our free newsletter: https://www.cavallo-inc.com/email-signup-AHP. Call (877) 818-0037 from the USA or Canada or call direct, (604) 740-0037.
Press release provided by Jenny - Cavallo Horse & Rider