keeping horses and donkeys comfortable on hot days

Since we have yet another day of heat index over 100, I thought I'd write about what we do here on November Hill to keep the horses and donkeys comfortable.

During this time of year, our herd is on night-time turn-out, which allows them to graze during the coolest part of the 24-hour period, when insect pests are the least annoying, and when the sugars in the grass are lowest.

Over time, it's become obvious that they will self-regulate this pattern if given the chance. When we first moved to November Hill we would generally close the paddock gate each morning to keep them from grazing during the daytime, but I've found they don't really need that precaution. Especially Keil Bay, who loves his cool quiet barn, his fans, and being served hay while he relaxes out of the heat.

They come in on their own most mornings and get a serving of hay. Breakfast tubs are served wet, as always, but this time of year instead of being like warm oatmeal, I serve their mixes with cool water. I like going into a hot day knowing they've absorbed a good amount of fluid, and because I feed loose salt in their tubs, I can add extra if I know we're going above 90 degrees.

They start off their day inside with nice, clean stalls. I close off all doors and windows on the sunny side of the barn, which keeps the heat and the flies out. We have big fans mounted so that air circulates in two different directions, and the sound of the fans is almost a white noise, like the rushing of water or the ocean.

They each get hay and clean water. We're fairly obsessive about the water buckets in stalls, and I also make sure the various troughs are clean, as they will often walk out to drink during the day.

Each horse gets a quick grooming and check-over in the a.m. and legs sprayed with the herbal mix we use. We do use fly predators and various and sundry traps, but when we have heat and rain, the flies seem to thrive, so we do as much as we can to keep them away from the horses. They have fly masks (I like the Cashel ones, with ears but no long noses) and they are offered to each horse. If they don't want it, they don't get it. When it's especially hot, I think they prefer to go without.

On unusually hot days I have wet down the Cashels with cold water, squeezed out the excess, and put them on wet.  Sometimes on those very hot days I will also use the hay nets so I can rinse the hay, which rehydrates it a little and makes sure the horses are getting water every time they take a bite.

By eleven or so each morning, the horses are generally in stalls, munching hay, or simply resting. No one is closed in, although I do often close Cody's stall for one or two hours so he can have the chance to lie down and sleep undisturbed if he wants to. He's the low man in the herd horse-wise, and the pony can be a real pest sometimes!

It's not unusual to go out and find Salina and the donkeys on their side, all together in one stall, and even the geldings will double up. It's a reminder that horses ARE herd animals, and for the most part, I believe they prefer to be with their herd. In our barn, the stalls are very open and they can all see one another at all times - so it fascinates me that even in the heat, when I know their bodies must be generating some extra, they will pack themselves in together and stand sleeping, usually facing in opposite directions.

On especially hot days I usually mix up a big bucket of electrolyte powder and water and leave that out for the geldings. We also have a salt block situated between the two paddocks so that anyone who wants to can lick as needed.

I love when the horses are in for the days, because the stalls get mucked at least 3-4x. Frequent mucking makes it easier, as they haven't mixed anything around. Salina gets her first lunch at 1, and her second lunch at 5, so it's easy to muck and give hay while she's eating.

Keil Bay still thinks it's highly unfair that he does not get the 4 senior meals a day that Salina gets. So he is sometimes allowed into the barnyard while she eats so he can graze a little or have some hay from the round bale.

All the horses are offered showers in the afternoon when the heat is at its worst. They seem to know when they need cooling down, and they come out to the paddocks and stand in a line. Usually Keil Bay always wants a hosing, Salina usually does, and the Cody and the pony sometimes do. The donkeys NEVER do, but they will often go take a dust bath in their very lovely dust circle in the grass paddock.

When the sun shifts to the other end of the barn, we close that end up and open the now shady side. All this is very methodical and makes a very nice routine for the horses, who seem to thrive on having things happen in a regular way they come to expect. We do mix things up enough to provide some variety and to keep them from being fixated on a very exact way of life, as I think they all need to be flexible enough to be okay with some surprises and some changes in the routine.

I'd love to hear of any things fellow horsefolk do to battle extreme heat - for yourselves and for your equines!