Lots of fun times comes with summer time we are excited for the rodeos the places we are going to be competing but we still have to deal with the heat and humidity although we humans can just stay inside in the A/C unfortunately that is not the case for or equine partners. So with that here are some of what I do to help keep my horse in competition shape with beating the heat/humidity.

I start with keeping them up in the barn and having fans up during the day and turning them out at night.I changed up my riding schedule to riding after the sun goes down, i have lights in my arena but for those that don’t have lights to ride in, I suggest riding early in the mornings. Also to makes sure your horse have access to clean drinking water and to make sure they are drinking enough water, I start all my horses on electrolytes.

In this type heat especially when your traveling and competing horses can get hot and quite uncomfortable while in the trailer so the best way i have found to help my horses comfortable and cool while traveling in the trailer is I will rub them down full body with DiO CONCENTRATE then I use the Hidez Compression Travel/recovery Suits they are the best they kept the horse from overheating and to keep them from getting sore while on the trailer, also most importantly is to give them a good cool down after competing or practice is washing them down after.it’s also pretty important to give extra attention to there legs, my favorite way of keeping my horses legs in great condition is to ice them down, my favorite way of doing this is first to rub their legs down with DiO CONCENTRATE or GEL, then put on the Hidez Compression Ice socks.

I’m aggressive about keeping my horses hydrated in the heat because everything depends on it. To keep them drinking is usually not a big problem. I carry electrolytes with me at all times. I start out the year with a series of Equi-Winner patches to be sure their electrolytes are balanced before a rodeo season. Then I give oral electrolytes every 4 hours on the road to keep them drinking an hydrated along with unloading and hand walking. Oxygen provides an excellent electrolyte paste. I also set a small bucket of water in the trailer to sip on till the next stop. When a horse overheats and is dehydrated they won’t perform well. That can lead to other problems.I have fans in my trailer to help keep them cool. Especially if I stop for some reason.I tie on the shaded side of the trailer or try to find shade for them.I also like to keep fly sheets on them, if possible, to decrease the hot sun rays.