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  Discussion on Respiration and Heat
Author Message
Member:
Banthony

Posted on Wednesday, Jul 19, 2006 - 11:49 am:

Dr. O,
I have been following the posts on "Change of climate for potentially Cushinoid mare." And I just read the sections on Electrolytes and Summertime Riding.

We have been feeding all our horses electrolytes once a day - which after reading the articles seems ill advised.

We have a 23 yr old that does sweat but his respiration can go up to 80+ in the heat of the day. The same for a 6 yr. old thoroughbred mare. Her respiration has gone over 100 before and her nostrils flair so much she looks like she has been exercised vigorously.

Both horses have shade trees but are often out grazing during the heat of the day. When I see them with such a high respiration I hose them down until their respiration is near normal and feed them hay in the shade. Sometimes this means hosing them down at noon and in the evening for 10-15 minutes.

We also have a 17.1 Oldenburg in training. He sweats profusely but isn't a good drinker.

Should I be concerned about the high respiration or is this normal for high heat and humidity (Florida?) It seems like a sign of distress to me. I have not taken any temps.

Should they both have electrolytes discontinued and just rely on their pasture salt block?

And the Oldenburg should he get electrolytes just on the days he is training?
Member:
Kathleen

Posted on Wednesday, Jul 19, 2006 - 12:11 pm:

Linda,
I am the person with the post you referred to above. I didn't think about respirations, duh. I will keep an eye on that too.
Kathleen
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Thursday, Jul 20, 2006 - 10:20 am:

I would allow the horses to regulate their own salt intake. I too would consider these respirations excessive and a sign of distress and wonder what their body temperatures are doing these times. So the next question is their something in your management / environment that is responsible for this that you can change? Ask you local veterinarian if this is a wide spread problem and consider indoor during the day in a well designed barn with fans (or better might be swamp fans) running on the horses. I would be interested in what the vet says.
DrO
Member:
Banthony

Posted on Thursday, Jul 20, 2006 - 10:50 am:

Dr. O,
With the heat and humidity here in Florida, some days the horses sweat excessively. On those days you wouldn't suggest supplementing with electrolytes either? Currently we are feeding in the morning 1 Tbl. of a commercial brand of electrolytes in the feed. So really not a lot of salt. All the horses have a mineral balancing block and a mineral salt block in the pasture.

I have heard of cases of horses not being able to get enough salt off a salt block with out their tongues getting sore? Any truth to this?

Frankly, when I ask our vet questions like this he isn't too interested. He says some thing vague like "A lot of horses have trouble in the heat." But he is a top repo vet and that is our main business.

We did bring the 23 yr old in during the heat of the day last year, but he is the companion to a colt this year and we don't have a way to separate them to bring him up this year. Thus the frequent hosing off.
Member:
Vickiann

Posted on Thursday, Jul 20, 2006 - 12:18 pm:

Linda -- I'm in Florida too. I keep the little double-sided mineral feeders in each stall and put a loose mineral on one side and loose kosher or sea salt on the other side. If the humidity causes it to turn into a hard lump I take a screw driver and break it up. The horses are then able to take the amount they require without getting calluses on their tongues. I have never used electrolytes, except once at a clinic where a horse got extremely heat-stressed and stopped sweating. He later suffered with the "thumps" and got very sick. The best thing I could do for him is just what you are doing -- hosing as long as it takes to cool down. The feed I am using now (Triple Crown Lite or Low Starch) has salt in it, and I find my horses look for less extra salt now that they are on this feed than when they were on a regular sweet feed. I do a lot of riding, including 3 - 4 hour trail rides on very hot days, and I do not find the horses that have been given electrolytes (I ride with a great variety of people and some do give them) do any better (in fact, they frequently seem to do less well) than those that have not. The respiration rates, in my experience, seem to also relate to the fitness level of the horse. In the Florida heat, especially when the dew point is very high, and with the larger-muscled horses, it is a good idea to monitor their heart recovery rate as well as respiration rate. I have a 20-year old, heavily-muscled paint horse I simply do not ask anything of during the summer months. (He is mostly retired). With his body type and other factors, getting through the hot days is all the stress he needs. This is not to say such horses shouldn't be ridden here in the summer. They are, and do fine -- depending upon their level of conditioning. I don't have the time to keep all of mine ridden as much as I would have to, so I ride my Arabs in the summer and justify not working the heavier horse because I've got loads of extra pasture and I can hear and see them all running around, up and down the hills at night when it is cool.
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Friday, Jul 21, 2006 - 9:48 am:

I have never seen a horse hurt his tongue on a salt block,. But the article on electrolytes has a recommended daily loose salt dose Linda. If you feel there are days that represent extreme heat stress supplementation would be OK, but this advice is already in the Summertime article, it has a link to the article on electrolytes for more in-depth information.
DrO
Member:
Banthony

Posted on Friday, Jul 21, 2006 - 11:38 am:

Thanks Dr. O & Vicki,

We are going to change our salt strategy to fit a day by day basis and only supplement on the humid, hot, no breeze days. Or after a strenuous work out.

I'm going to take a temperature on the mare tonight. She was so hot last night it took 15 minutes of cold water hosing to get her respiration back to normal.

Very few of the horses here, Vicki, get ridden. Most are broodmares, youngsters, or retirees. So their fitness level varies. The six year old mare that is so bad has a stout, heavily muscled body type. Both her foals also get very hot, so maybe it is something genetic as well.
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