Riding Through the Heat
Horses heat up three to ten times faster than humans. Learn how to read the heat index, time your rides, and cool your horse correctly this summer.
Before You Saddle Up:
Summer Heat and Your Horse Summer means longer days and golden hour light in the arena. It also asks the most of our horses, and it's worth understanding what the heat actually does to them.
Horses heat up between three and ten times faster than humans during exercise. A working horse can raise its core temperature roughly 1.3°F per minute and humidity makes it worse by preventing sweat from evaporating, which is their primary cooling mechanism. The saddle area deserves special attention: research confirms that synthetic saddle pads trap heat against the back, raising muscle temperature and leaving horses more vulnerable to soreness and fatigue. What your pad is made from matters more in July than it does in January.
Three things worth keeping in mind all summer:
1. Use the heat index, not just the thermometer.
Add the air temperature (°F) to the relative humidity percentage. The lower the number, the safer your conditions. As that combined number climbs past 130, start shortening your work and monitoring closely. Once you're approaching 150 and above, most experts recommend stopping altogether, your horse simply cannot cool itself fast enough to keep pace with the heat being generated.
2. Time your rides around the heat, not your schedule. Early morning and early evening are your allies. The middle of the day can add fifteen degrees of perceived temperature. A shorter ride at the right time is worth more than a full session at the wrong one.
3. Remove tack promptly and cool correctly. The moment you finish, pull the saddle and let the heat escape. Hose down starting at the legs and working up, avoid dumping cold water directly over the large hindquarter muscles. Keep fresh water available, and don't let a very hot horse drink too much at once.
Summer riding doesn't have to mean sacrifice, it means paying closer attention. These horses give us everything. This is one of the simplest ways we can give something back.