If your horse is showing signs of overheating – profuse sweating, lethargy, staggering and weakness – move them into shade immediately. Cold hosing of the whole body will help to bring the temperature down, focusing on the big muscle masses Read more…
Ideally, you would want to avoid any sort of extreme heat distress for your horse. That is why Dr. Tracey recommends avoiding high heat and humidity days over 90 degrees Fahrenheit. How hot is too hot for horses? Avoid riding Read more…
Horses that have a fever usually have warm-feeling skin. This FAST FACT refers to a horse that feels warm overall. Heat in a localized area is also a cardinal sign of inflammation, so expect inflamed or injured areas to be Read more…
In some cases, you may find your horse laying down to relax in the sun! Laying down for short periods of time may be normal behavior for your horse, especially if they are in a comfortable environment. However, most of Read more…
Most of their tasks are performed from horseback because it is an efficient way of handling the large, fast animals in their care that graze in rough country and on open range over large distances. Why are the cowboys if Read more…
They bite and irritate your horse’s skin, cause sores, deposit larvae and bacteria, and are carriers of disease. They can also make your horse nervous and interrupt performance. That’s why fly control around barns and stables and inhibiting flies from Read more…
Black flies are really annoying and feed around a horse’s face. They particularly like ears which can drive horses crazy. However, they also bite horse’s necks and their bellies, leaving painful lumps which bleed and then scab over. This of Read more…
Capable of traveling for more than 30 miles at a time, horse flies are fast and strong fliers. Most active in hot, humid conditions and attracted to bodies of water, horse flies look to the beach as the perfect place Read more…
Though the bites can be painful and may bring on allergic reactions, biting flies are usually not dangerous and are just a nuisance unless they are extremely numerous in the horse’s environment or transmit a disease. Many of these flies, Read more…
Horse hoods are used to keep the mane and forelock clean, tamed, trained and in good condition. Some owners keep their show horse’s in a hood whenever they are stalled, and others use a hood after braiding or banding to Read more…