One external cooling method for horses with an elevated body temperature involves applying cool water (much like a rider would when hosing a horse out after a ride) or cool wet towels to the horse. | Photo: Anne M. Eberhardt/The Horse

“The sudden shift from cooler-than-normal temperatures to those associated with summer underscores the need for horse owners to monitor their animals closely,” said Tommy Puffinbarger, Alfalfa County Extension director and agricultural educator. “Body heat is produced as a by-product in a horse’s daily metabolic process, and regulating this heat build-up can be quite a stress on a horse’s system.”

During exercise, there is a significant increase in the amount of heat produced by working muscles. Heat production estimates can increase as much as 50% during periods of intense exercise as compared with heat production when the horse is at rest. In response, a horse increases its sweating rate, moves more blood to the capillaries under the skin, and increases its rate of breathing in an effort to release this build-up of heat.

“Heat stress from exercise can result when the environmental temperature is high,” Puffinbarger said. “Commonly observed signs of heat stress are profuse sweating, rapid breathing rate, and rapid heart rate