A horse owner’s guide to summer
From fly bites to sunburn, summer can bring a host of challenges to horses and their owners. Equine vet expert Gil Riley offers his expert tips and advice on how to care for horses through the summer months.
Bright blue skies and long sunny days – summer’s arrival is always welcome among horse owners. But with the hot, sunny weather comes other plights, so how can we ensure our horses stay happy and healthy this summer?
‘Summer is the perfect opportunity to spend more time with your horse,’ says Petplan Equine vet Gil Riley. ‘And by being aware of summer-related conditions, you can catch them early and treat them appropriately.’
We’ve outlined some common ailments and how to manage them below.
Pasture allergy
Does your horse often suffer from a summer cough? Pasture allergy, also known as pasture-associated asthma, occurs when the horse has an allergic response to something in their environment that causes their airways to constrict. These could be dust or mould spores.
‘Horses with pasture allergy will often cough, sound like they’re wheezing, have a creamy-white nasal discharge and be intolerant to exercise,’ says Gil. ‘You may also see “heave” lines where the horse overdevelops a specific muscle in their abdominal wall to compensate for the laboured breathing.’
It’s important that your horse sees a vet if you suspect pasture allergy as they may prescribe bronchodilators or steroids to help open the airways and ease breathing.
‘Management involves reducing dust in your horse’s environment as much as possible via dust-extracted bedding, soaking hay and keeping stable areas clean,’ advises Gil.
Fly management
The sunshine brings out the flies, which can irritate your horse’s eyes and make them water, and in extreme cases cause infection. They can also irritate your horse by biting them in the case of mosquitoes and horse flies, or laying eggs on their coat such as bot flies.
To help prevent flies on horses:
- Use fly rugs and masks.
- Spray fly repellent if safe to do so.
- Bring your horse in during the day and turn out at night, especially avoiding being out at dawn and dusk when biting flies are most active.
- Remove droppings from the paddock and stable.
- Position the muck heap away from where the horse is kept where possible.
Horses that suffer from sweet itch are more likely to be affected during the warmer months when the midges appear.
‘Horses with sweet itch suffer an allergic reaction to the midge saliva, which causes intense itching – they can scratch to the point of making themselves bald and break the skin,’ says Gil. ‘Preventing them being bitten is the first port of call in the form of sweet itch rugs, repellents and masks. It’s also wise to turn them out in the middle of the day, when midges are less abundant, keeping them indoors in the early morning and late evening.’
Sunburn and photosensitisation
Just like humans, horses are also susceptible to sunburn in the summer months. Horses with pink skin and light markings are more sensitive to sunlight, so are more at risk of sunburn.
Using fly masks and rugs with UV filters can help, as can applying horse-friendly sunblock to susceptible areas such as the muzzle. Ensuring horses have access to shade to shelter from the sun is important, too, and you could even consider stabling your horse during the hottest part of the day.
Another sun-related condition is primary photosensitisation, which occurs when your horse eats certain plants that makes them more sensitive to sunlight. These plants include St. John’s wort and clover. Soothing ointments and shampoos can help or your vet may prescribe an antibiotic if there are signs of infection.
Secondary photosensitisation is also an extreme reaction to sunlight, but this can be caused by liver damage instead. The signs of photosensitisation are similar to those of sunburn but, in some cases, the skin can also peel away. For secondary photosensitisation, your vet will need to run tests in order to diagnose and treat your horse appropriately.
Heat stress
Horses generally cope with hot temperatures pretty well in the UK. With our summers getting hotter, however, there is an increased risk of heat stress which, if left untreated, can cause organ failure, which is sometimes fatal. Signs of heat stress include: lethargy, excess sweating, muscle quivering, panting and flared nostrils with increased respiration.
‘Call your vet if you are worried your horse has heat stress. Your horse should then be taken into the shade, offered a drink and have cold water continually poured over their body – allow the water to dry naturally, don’t scrape it off,’ Gil advises. ‘You can also gently walk them round while you await the vet.’
To prevent heat stress occurring, avoid riding during the hottest times of the day – early morning or later in the day may be best. You should also think about changing your planned exercise to a shorter, easier session. On the hottest days consider not riding at all.
Dehydration
Working your horse on a hot and humid day can result in excess sweating and potential dehydration as well as other conditions, such as muscle cramping or tying up due to electrolytes being lost in the sweat.
Symptoms of dehydration include a loss of elasticity in your horse’s skin – if the skin stays elevated after being pinched and does not return to normal immediately, it is likely your horse may be dehydrated. They may also have dark urine or not pass urine regularly, shallow and rapid breathing or increased heart rate and dull, listless and depressive behaviour. Contact your vet if you are concerned.
‘To avoid dehydration, always ensure your horse has plenty of fresh drinking water,’ says Gil. ‘If they are fussy drinkers, consider adding natural flavourings to their water to encourage them to drink. You can also wet your horse’s hay and give them soaked feeds and mashes to increase their fluid intake. Supplement lost salt with electrolytes and ensure they have access to salt licks.
Concussion from hard ground
While we can’t wait for the winter mud to dry up, we then quickly find that the ground becomes baked hard, and this can cause concussion and bruising. If the trauma is serious, an abscess can develop.
‘Signs of concussion include sudden onset lameness, resistance to working forwards, heat in the foot and possible swelling in the fetlock joint,’ says Gil. ‘Horses with concussion need rest and possibly pain relief depending on how bad it is. It may also be necessary to speak to your farrier about placing a pad under the shoe to provide some support and protection to the sole. Remedial farriery may be necessary to improve the hoof balance and prevent further problems. Speak to your vet and farrier.’
To avoid concussion, avoid doing intense, fast work or jumping on very hard ground. Make sure you warm up and cool down your horse adequately, and cold hose or ice your horse’s legs after a strenuous workout.
Wet weather worries
Sunshine and showers can be a common theme during our UK summers, and with the rain comes certain health concerns that owners should be aware of. They include…
Laminitis
Rain after a warm dry spell can encourage a flush of grass growth, which can put horses with a metabolic disease at higher risk of laminitis. ‘If your horse is at risk, remove them from the grass or limit their intake using track systems and grazing muzzles, or turning them out early morning,’ advises Gil.
‘Grass produces sugars via photosynthesis when the sun is out, and it uses sugars to grow in the evening when the sun goes down. By early morning the sugar level has usually dropped because the plant has used its energy store and it’s safer for horses to eat.
‘The exception is when the grass is stressed such as from drought, excessive heat or an overnight freeze, where grasses will not have converted the sugar they synthesise during the day into fibre for growth overnight, and remain high in sugar in the morning.’
Rain scald
A common skin condition seen in warm, wet summers is rain scald, a bacterial infection of the skin that results in the formation of matted scabs usually affecting the back and rump, but occasionally the lower limbs. It happens when a horse’s skin is exposed to long periods of wet and warm conditions and is common in horses with a low immunity such as young, old or poorly horses.
‘Rain scald presents with bald, scabby patches that can exude a golden serum that dries into a scab,’ explains Gil. ‘Treatment itself involves gently washing the area with an antibacterial agent such as chlorhexidine or iodine to kill the bacteria and thoroughly drying. It’s important to allow the skin in the area to recover fully to prevent reinfection, so rugs should be used during wet periods. It’s also important not to share the rugs, tack or brushes of an infected horse.’
Hoof infections
A horse’s hooves can also suffer when the conditions are wet and warm. Abscesses, white line disease and thrush are commonly seen in horses after periods of wet weather.
‘When the hoof is wet for long periods, it can soften the tissues and this allows foreign material such as sand, gravel, silt or bacteria to enter the hoof and cause infection,’ says Gil. ‘With a foot abscess, the horse often becomes suddenly lame, and the hoof will be hot to touch.’
Owners can reduce the likelihood of hoof infections by:
- Ensuring horses have somewhere dry to stand to allow their hooves to dry out.
- Keeping hooves clean, including soles, of mud and manure.
- Following an appropriate hoof-care regime with your farrier to ensure hooves are well trimmed, strong and in balance.
Do you have any tips for managing horses in the hotter months? If so, we’d love to find out. Head to our Facebook page and let us know
