SARAH: "What are good ways to cool down a horse in the winter
after a hard ride so they don't colic or get chilly overnight?"
DR LYDIA GRAY: This was interesting,
because as soon as this question was getting voted to the top,
a magazine came out with the answer.
SARAH: Oh.
DR LYDIA GRAY: I know.
So I'm like, my work is done.
And I'll tell you what it is.
It's the January issue of Western Horseman Magazine.
And he tells you why it's important.
She mentioned risk of colic, he talks about muscle soreness,
even respiratory disease, because they're
breathing hard in the cold air, breathing fast and deep.
And so he has four tips for cooling a horse out.
And it's really just the first one
that applies to her question.
It was, like, how do you cool them out, right?
SARAH: Yeah, how do you cool down
after a hard ride in the winter?
DR LYDIA GRAY: So he recommends walking for about 20 minutes,
or until the hair is dry.
SARAH: Oh.
A long time.
DR LYDIA GRAY: Yeah.
And it a little bit depends on-- well,
a lot depends on-- what you did in that work.
Now, for a lot of people, sometimes the winter work
is not as vigorous or intense, because you as a rider
are cold, and maybe your horse isn't feeling it.
And it's not show season, so you're just
trying to get out there and do a little schooling,
keep them conditioned to maintain what you have,
but not go on.
But if you do an intense work-- let's
say you do a lot of loping, or cantering, or jumping,
or whatever, then you need to for sure not stop, but slow
down to the next gait, the trot, and then the next gait, walk.
Why?
The physiology behind it is when you exercise,
whether you're a person or horse, your body is so smart.
It shunts blood and circulation away from the internal
digestive organs-- because you're clearly not eating--
into the external organs--
the skin, the muscle, the soft tissues, joints, tendons,
and ligaments--
because that's who needs oxygen, some fuel, and not just good
stuff, but removal of the bad stuff.
So taking away the byproducts of exercise and work.
And when you stop exercising, then you
have to show your body it's time to shunt the blood away
from the external back to the internal.
That's why they say don't swim for an hour after eating,
or they even say with horses-- and he's got
it here-- don't feed grain within an hour after working.
Hay is OK.
One thing he does say is--
and this is a myth we can bust-- provide water.
Horses will drink the most when they're hottest.
That's when they're thirstiest.
Thirstiest?
DR LYDIA GRAY: I think that's the word.
Most thirsty?
SARAH: Most thirsty, yeah.
DR LYDIA GRAY: So let them drink.
And the temperature doesn't matter.
It can be cold, warm, hot.
But offer them water right then.
You don't have to wait until they're cooled out.
They can drink right then.
And that's when they're most apt to drink.
If you wait till they're cool, they'll be, like, meh,
I don't need to drink now.
SARAH: But they do.
DR LYDIA GRAY: They do.
They do.
For whatever reason, their internal thirst mechanisms
don't work that way.
He talked about waiting until the hair is dry.
Also recommended to check the heart rate, if you can.
Respiratory rate is sometimes easier,
because you could count either the nasal flares or the flank
movement.
And so normal heart rate is in the 28 to 42,
so you want it to get down at least 60, 50.
Below 40 would be great.
And the normal respiration is 8 to 16 breaths per minute.
So you want it to get less than, say, 20.
But really, it's that-- you know what
it looks like when they're huffing and puffing,
and their nose is big and open, and they're
taking a lot of air, versus that relaxed, calm,
you almost can't tell in the nose they're breathing.
That's when you know it's OK to bring them back to the barn.
At this point, when you stop working
is when I throw on some sort of cooler.
And the choices we have for coolers today are astounding.
SARAH: Yes.
DR LYDIA GRAY: Some of them are amazing in their ability
to wick away wet.
Wick away wet-- there was a lot of Ws in that.
But you put them on, and you might need more than one
of them, because it gets so wet you could literally wring it
out.
And so you go get another one.
But that helps the process of cooling out go faster.
And then, before you turn the horse out
outside or put the blanket on, they're completely dry.
So we have some choices.
SARAH: We sure do.
DR LYDIA GRAY: What's that one?
SARAH: WikSmart.
DR LYDIA GRAY: WikSmart.
I haven't used this one, but just reading about it--
unique patent-pending cooler, gets your horse dry
where it counts.
I think that's my next purchase, is one of those.
SARAH: All right.
Lucky Newman.
DR LYDIA GRAY: Sounded great.
This one is microfiber, and I'm sure things stick to it,
but I'm also sure it collects water,
because we use that around the home, and cars, and stuff.
SARAH: Absolutely.
DR LYDIA GRAY: Yeah.
There's the Irish knits, there's wool, there's fleece.
What is that one?
SARAH: The CoolAid.
DR LYDIA GRAY: "Equine cooling blankets.
Great for cooling down after exercise, competitions,
or on hot summer days."
So you could use this one year-round.
SARAH: Yeah.
DR LYDIA GRAY: That's awesome.
SARAH: That is nice.
DR LYDIA GRAY: It looks almost like it's a mesh.
So lots of different fabrics, lots of choices.
You kind of have to try them and see if they work for you.
I would say if you find one that works, buy a couple of them,
because you need more than one.
Let me just make sure-- we talked
about walking until the hair's dry,
checking their respiratory rate.
Oh, and this last tip is, he likes to groom them.
We know that the horses stay warm by fluffing their hair
coat out that air gets in there.
So he says when you're done working,
the last thing you should do is use a stiff brush or a curry
to re-fluff that hair, so that their body's own processes can
keep them warm.
SARAH: I like that.
DR LYDIA GRAY: Yeah.
Good advice.