Hot horse first aid

[malachi]

Gentlemen, allow me to preface this by stating unequivocally that I am no vet, but thought this post an appropriate one for summer activities with horses. I have been on two separate summer rides in the last two years in which someone's horse went down from exertion and heat. In both cases a fellow rider had packed electrolytes with her for just such emergencies. I had no experience with these and can't guarantee that they were indeed the cure on these two occasions, but several on the rides who should know, said that they were. In both cases, the electrolytes were administered through the large oral syringes they come in. Three or four were given, followed by all the water we could get in through the same syringes. In addition, we all gave our water bottles to pour over the animals. In both cases, we were able within thirty minutes to get the horse on his feet and loaded on a trailer. Both survived their collapse.
If this subject is inappropriate for this forum, I apologize, but personally I can't imagine a better place to post it given what we do, and what we ask from our horses. The best thing would have been for the animals to have been properly conditioned to begin with. This might be old news to all of you. It was an eye opener for me though, and I plan on packing electrolytes in my trailer from this day forward.
God bless,
Greg Tucker

[Mark Choate]

Re: Hot horse first aid

Hello Greg,

I appreciate you posting this and it brings about a few things I want to mention:

a) First, this topic does not relate to an authenticity issue and therefore is better suited for the Cavalry Camp of Instruction forum which is where I have moved it.

b) With hot weather, we do have to be cautious not only with our own conditioning but also that of our mount.

c) Far too few folks work hard at keeping themselves and their horse in top shape when it comes to grueling events in the heat (or anytime for that matter) and it burns me up (no pun intended) to see that. If you do not care enough about your own health to prepare, then that is one thing and you get what you deserve, but to bring an animal to carry your carcass around and not have it properly shod and in shape is cruel and I have no time for it! (Greg, please know that I am not accusing your riding partner of this at all, but with this time of the year, then it is a good foundation from which to discuss.) If you are gonna participate then you and your horse need to be working HARD for weeks out prior to the event. Period!

d) The use of the the paste tube electrolytes are good, but not something that one can pack into ones kit for an authentic event. I do try to keep a few tubes in my trailer in the first-aid bag in the event of an emergency. However, there are lots of powder electrolytes that can be mixed in with the grain rations prior to issuance or feeding. But to clarify, these are not a replacement for being in shape. See C!

e) Water at every opportunity. Examples exist of the troopers drinking when the horses drink and it explains why some men did not carry canteens. It will take lots of water and not a few syringes full, to hydrate the animal, but if they are going down, then the damage is done. Again....See C!

f) If you are going to give electrolytes, they are most effective before the workout takes place (ie. morning feeding, etc.). Again.....See C!

So, as you can see this is an important topic to me and with a little planning and work, you can reduce the possibility of a tragedy of some degree.

thanks,
Mark

[rbruno]

Re: Hot horse first aid

I have a question Greg and this is to be better prepared to keep an eye on things this weekend at Gettysburg, did your fellow riders see any indications of the horse struggling or starting to have problems? I would think just like in humans, you could start to see some signs that a horse is having a hard time. As someone who is not familiar with the horse, it might be hard to tell but you would think the rider would know.

To all of Mark's great points, I worry the most about people who rent horses for the weekend for these events. I know some of the people that rent horses for events really do a good job keeping an eye on their horses and know what they can take and what they can't and bring a sound/in shape horse. Others are not as much focused on their own animals. Then there is the rider who doesn't know the animal and is not that good with horses, but can stay on top and ride an animal in the ground without a care about what happens to them. I don't know. Maybe I worry about it as much but I guess I am worried about the event that has an issue with a horse and it could change what we all do at events with horses.
Just curious.
Rob

[malachi]

Re: Hot horse first aid

Rob,
In both cases, the animal wasn't up to the task owing to lack of conditioning. My wife and I spend a good bit of time on conditioning our horses every time we ride. Long slow lopes, then walks, then lopes again and so on. In the two cases I cited, one was a walking horse who was idle for most of his time, and he had a rider that exceeded the recommended weight for a mount his size. We all saw this one coming, but I wasn't going to be the one to tell the lady that she was too large for her horse, especially in this heat.
The second case was one of the finest examples of horse flesh I have ever laid eyes on. It made me a bit envious I must admit until he dropped like a sack of taters. He too was a pasture ornament, without proper working. In both cases, they attempted to keep up with the more conditioned gaited horse group which move at a pretty stiff pace.
As for signs, I can only speak as to what I look for in my animal. I offer her water at every available source, get off and walk her from time to time, pay attention to her breathing, and to her spunk or lack there of. If however you are riding with other horses, your mount will often get caught up in the pace and overexert itself. The only time I ever had a scare with one of my horses, was on a very hot day, and Chief seemed to just run out of gas despite my prompts and cues. I got off and walked him to the nearest pond I knew of and let him drink slowly. I didn't let him get too much too fast, but he was THIRSTY . I let him rest for about half an hour in the shade. He was full of piss and vinegar again in no time. Endurance riders have to run their horses through check points in races constantly. If there are any out there in this community, perhaps you could give us all some advice on the subject.
God bless,
Greg Tucker

[10thKyScout]

Re: Hot horse first aid

One word of advise.

I had a rescued horse that was Quarter horse and he had HYPP. I do not wish to go into a lot of detail about this condition, but look it up and you will be surprised of it. Basically it is a condition where muscles don't contract due to potassium levels dropping, and if you give a horse that has HYPP electrolytes, you could kill it! I almost did this to my horse Copper that has HYPP. When he dropped after a good ride, he was sweating only on left side of his neck, which is the reason I gave him electrolytes, he then laid down and went stiff, I called the Vet and she arrived and informed me of the possible condition and about the simple test to check for HYPP. It costs a few dollar and only requires a few hairs from his tail.

My point is if you have a Quarter horse, please get him check out otherwise you could be setting yourself up for a wreak and I think it is still 25 or 50 bucks for the test.

Another quick check to see if your horse is dehydrated is a simple pinch on the neck, if the skin springs back quickly the horse is OK. if not then get off, remove saddle, but keep the blanket on, removing the blanket and exposing a wet back too quickly could cause shock, and let the animal cool down.

I hope some of this helps.

[Mark Choate]

Re: Hot horse first aid

All,

I am glad that Greg posted this thread as I have been thinking of starting a discussion on the matter now that hot weather is upon us. You have all asked great questions and brought up much food for thought. Most of you know that my approach to a lot of this horse + rider + reenacting hobby of ours is fairly simplistic....."Lots of riding cures most ills." A lot of regular riding and attention to the subtle cues of your mount will a) help you keep in shape, b) help keep your horse in shape, c) uncover many if not most of these mysterious maladies that we are discussing and d) improve the horse to rider relationship to where you can focus on drill or the commands or the scenario or a thousand other things happening and it makes it all safer.

So, each of you, ride more, and remember that you are representing men who rode daily for most of their lives and as such, many of these things that we deal with were never issues. Try to adopt the mindset that cavalry reenacting is not just a "jacket" that you slip on 8 or 10 times a year, but rather is a lifestyle that you adopt that courses over into your daily and weekly activity. This is the only arm of the reenacting community where another living creature is brought into the fray with and as such we have a large responsibility to take care of it.

Now, Rob makes an excellent point regarding rental horses. I don't have an answer for that one because you are at the mercy of the owner of the animal you are renting and you cannot control that. Personally, I don't like to rent and I have traveled all over this country doing events and have always pulled my own mount, but as things get more expensive with fuel, I am cognizant of the need to rent on occasions. Perhaps when you rent, if you can rent from a reputable source or someone you know......I don't have a clear answer for this and I appreciate Rob bringing it up. More discussion on how some have approached this would be good.

Let me say one more time that I really appreciate Greg bringing this up and it is a great topic of discussion in this "peculiar" branch of the hobby that we have chose to portray.

Lets hear from others!

regards,
Mark

[Tom Craig]

Re: Hot horse first aid

A lot of my guys rent animals, and we always do it from the same source. As Mark alluded to, finances make that a necessity for those that do.

That said, as the head of the unit, I take it as my personal responsibility to monitor and assess the fitness and condition of all the mounts under my "command." I am constantly on watch to judge the animals condition, and I gauge all my decisions on what I feel the animals can do. Still, unforseen things can happen. I like taking risks, which is part of why I ride, but when it comes to beasts and men I'll always take the more cautious approach.

Many renters, mostly the staff officers, don't know the first thing about horses and how to take care of them. They are the ones that I am most concerned about at events both in terms of neglect and in terms of poor decision making.

Take care,
Tom Craig
1st Maine Cavalry

[rbruno]

Re: Hot horse first aid

Tom,
I agree with you 100%. We have talked many times and I know you have one of the better horse renters out there and all the horses seem very good. You are absolutely correct that it is the staff and unfortunately some of the cavalry out there that does not know that much and does not have the commander with the same sense of responsibility that you have.

Getting back to the original post, I did see at an event a while back, when it was scorching hot, a horse that was still sweating, but had basically lock his knees and wouldn't move. He was shaking a bit, but not quite like a shiver. You could really see it on his face, forehead kind of pinched and around his eyes. The person was still sitting on the horse wondering why he didn't want to move. A couple people rode over and told the guy to get off the horse and get him to some shade and let him relax and cool down. He did and the horse settle down and stabilized. I don't think he finished the event, but at least he was ok.

I think a lot of signs of distress or discomfort are in the horses face as well as the pinching his skin and seeing how the walk or move.

[malachi]

Re: Hot horse first aid

I believe that condition is known as tying up. It normally affects only the back legs, but they won't move from that spot until the muscles relax... if they relax. It can take out their kidneys as well due to some chemical reactions which accompany it. Very painful for the horse.
Greg Tucker