Myth: Healthy and Fit Horses Can Handle the Heat Well

Summer heat - Danger of over-heated horses
Summer heat - Danger of over-heated horses Shutterstock

Newsdate: Thu April 19, 2018, 7:00 am
Location: MESA, Arizona

There are healthy horses and there are less healthy horses, either due to illness or the natural aging process. We fuss over them because we understand that they need special care and extra attention. Equiwinner™ patches have helped so many of these horses become healthy again. When electrolytes work properly, that’s usually what happens.

An overheated horse.

An overheated horse

Healthy and fit horses can handle the heat well- FEI doesn’t think so.
© 2012 by Shutterstock New window.

Healthy horses, however, can be challenged by the environment such as the high heat and humidity during the summer months in southeastern States. Even the healthiest and fittest horses in the world may struggle with it. In fact, the dates for this year’s FEI World Equestrian Games in Tryon, NC were actually postponed1 from August because two scientific studies commissioned by the FEI stated that climatic conditions would be significantly more favorable in North Carolina during September, particularly from a horse welfare perspective.

Problem solved? Not for horse owners and trainers who care for, ride and compete horses in locations with extreme heat.

So, if horses live in a sunshine state, attention should be paid to the young and healthy horses too. The heat and humidity in the summer months will require efficient sweating just to keep a horse comfortable at rest. A more comfortable horse will have more energy to work and perform, not to mention more willingness to work. Recovery times from work will also be faster. And if a horse isn’t in training or competing or is retired, efficient sweating will keep him more comfortable even without an electric fan.

When it’s hot outside, a horse at rest with access to shade and with proper thermoregulation will maintain a normal body temperature of 99.5° to 100.5° F (37.5° to 38° C). It should be checked often.

So how do you get efficient sweating?

Sometimes, the sodium and potassium salts in the horse are thrown off balance, and he will not sweat efficiently. Because these salts circulating in the body are strictly controlled, the imbalance can’t be corrected by simply adding extra electrolytes to his feed. The key is making sure that those electrolytes are balanced and working properly. Equiwinner does exactly that.

The Equiwinner patch is a non-invasive, all-natural dermal patch that is guaranteed to restore optimum electrolyte balance to promote proper thermoregulation through efficient sweating. It only takes 10 days and just a single treatment can last for up to one full year. Nothing physically enters the horse’s body, so there are no side effects or concerns about testing positive when competing.

Lilith Boucher, a National Steeplechase Association trainer in South Carolina, eventually recognized that Class Bopper wasn’t sweating well enough and here’s how Equiwinner helped him.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LR8V3pWw6OU

For more information about Equiwinner, visit https://signal-health.com or phone toll-free: 1-877-378-4946.

1. https://inside.fei.org/news/tryon-usa-host-fei-world-equestrian-games%E2%84%A2-2018

About Signal-Health, LLC

Based in Mesa, Arizona, Signal-Health is the official North American distributor of the Equiwinner patch. Developed by ActiveSignal Ltd in the United Kingdom, Equiwinner is a simple 10-day treatment consisting of non-invasive dermal patches.   The patches contain only natural balanced electrolytes that restore normal cell metabolism by stimulating communication directly between cells in the horse’s body. The company has a Canadian affiliate based in Thunder Bay, Ontario.

 

About the Author

EquiMed Staff

EquiMed staff writers team up to provide articles that require periodic updates based on evolving methods of equine healthcare. Compendia articles, core healthcare topics and more are written and updated as a group effort. Our review process includes an important veterinarian review, helping to assure the content is consistent with the latest understanding from a medical professional.

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