Did you know that there's a right way - and a wrong way - to hose your horse off after a ride? As summer temperatures soar, you'll want to be sure that you're cooling your horse off efficiently and effectively. Here's how.

Reduce Your Horse's Activity
Even during the summer heat, it's important to give your horse some time to recover from his workout. This means lessening his physical activity so that his heart and respiration rates have time to return to normal. Keep your horse moving, even though it's hot - walk him around the arena for a few minutes. During this time, encourage him to relax into a loose rein. If you dismount, then loosen his noseband and his girth to make him more comfortable and help him to breathe more easily.

Hose Off Your Horse
When you hose off your horse after a ride, you need to apply cool water to his body long enough so that it can reduce his body temperature. If you hose your horse off once and then scrape the water off, you may find that your horse's skin is cool and comfortable to the touch. If you wait a few minutes, though, your horse's skin will be hot to the touch. This is because the cool water has had time to sit against your horse's skin, and has been heated up. If you leave your horse like this, this heated water will only sit against your horse's skin, insulating it. This will slow your horse's cooling process, keeping him hot longer.

The best way to hose off a horse is to continuously apply cold water until his body has cooled down. Some riders prefer to hose the horse off, scrape off the water, hose the horse, scrape, repeat. Others prefer to continue hosing until the horse is cool - this can take upwards of ten minutes on particularly hot days when the horse has been heavily worked.

Encourage Your Horse To Drink
Rehydrating a horse is very important after a hot summer workout. Encourage your horse to drink as you cool him out. Provide him with fresh, clean, cool water. If you need to make the water more tempting, then add electrolytes, Gatorade, or apple juice to enhance its taste. Horse Quencher can also help encourage your horse to drink.

After a hard workout in the heat, make sure that you monitor your horse until he returns to his normal, comfortable self. Remember, sometimes it's just too hot to ride, especially when it's both hot and humid. You can always resume your training another - cooler - day.

Horses are finicky. Many of them decide that medications, whether in pill or powder form, are not to be ingested at any cost. Need some ideas for getting medicine into your horse? Here are some quick tips to help:

• Crush pills into a powder (check with your vet first to make sure that the pills can be crushed without compromising the medicine's integrity) and dissolve in warm water. Pour it into a dosing syringe. Alternatively, mix the powder into applesauce and pour into a dosing syringe.
  
• Mix powdered medication into a small bit of applesauce and molasses. Pour it over your horse's grain and mix it in thoroughly, so that the grain is sticky. Toss in some apples or carrots to up the appeal even more - many horses can't resist this mixture.

• Push pills into soft horse treats - Stud Muffins work particularly well for this. Be sure that the pill is covered by the treat, and feed the treat to your horse. If you have a small bit of powdered medication, sometimes you can slip it into the center of a horse treat, but make sure that the treat is small enough that your horse will eat it in one bite. Horses are finicky.

What tricks have you come up with to get your horse to take his medication?

An Equine Herpes Virus 1 (EHV-1) outbreak is currently spreading through the Midwest, meaning that practicing proper biosecurity habits in your barn is more important than ever. The virus is highly contagious, is spread through the air or via contaminated equipment, and affects the horse’s central nervous system. The outbreak began with barrel horses and likely spread at show grounds; two affected horses have had to be euthanized.

To protect your horse, good biosecurity habits are necessary. Any new horse that comes onto your property should be quarantined from other horses. If you travel to other barns, it is best to change your clothes and shoes, and thoroughly wash your hands before handling horses on your own farm.

If you travel to a show, keep your horses separated from those of other competitors. Bring along your own water buckets to avoid having your horse drink out of a communal water trough. Fill buckets by holding the hose above the bucket – don’t drop the hose into the bucket, since this could cross-contaminate the water.

Bring your own equipment to the show, including a pitchfork. You should only use your own tack and grooming kit on your horse; keep everything separate and secured in your trailer so your equipment can’t accidentally be used on another horse. Wash your hands frequently, and always wash them before and after handling your horse.

You will also want to carefully watch your horse’s health during and after the event. A horse with EHV-1 typically presents with a fever, coughing, nasal discharge, and a depressed appearance. Some horses may go off of their feed. Horses with neurological symptoms may seem off-balance, have difficulty rising or standing, and appear uncoordinated. If you suspect that your horse has EHV-1, call your veterinarian immediately and quarantine your horse from any other horses on the property.   

Many shows and events in the Midwest have been cancelled until the outbreak is brought under control. While the virus does not affect humans, it can prove fatal for horses. Anyone competing or traveling in the United States should use caution and good biosecurity practices.

You may think that your First-Aid kit is well stocked with bandages, ointments, and an equine thermometer. But stocking up on these unusual items will make caring for your horse’s injuries and illnesses so much easier.

Finger Cots – While you probably have a box of disposable surgical gloves hanging out in your First-Aid kit, it’s a shame to waste an entire glove every time that you need to put ointment on a horse’s wound. Pick up a package of finger cots – they easily slip onto just your finger to keep it clean while you administer ointments.

Empty Dish Detergent Bottle – Thoroughly washed out, an empty dish detergent bottle can make washing out wounds, especially on a horse’s legs, easier.

Diapers – Diapers make excellent hoof bandages when treating a horse for an abscess.

Headlamp – If you’ve ever tried to treat a horse’s injuries at night, you know that no matter how you position yourself, shadows always seem to get in the way. A small headlamp will keep injuries illuminated as you work, while leaving your hands free. Just be careful not to direct its beam towards your horse’s eyes.

Tube Socks – Tube socks can fit over your horse’s hoof to keep a poultice in place. They’re easy to slip on and wash, and best of all, they’re cheap!

Empty Saline Bags – The next time that your vet visits your barn, ask if he can give you a few empty large saline bags. Cut one end off of the bag and it’s instantly transformed into a hoof soaking boot. If your horse has an abscess, slip his hoof into the bag, fill it up with water and whatever you choose to use as a drawing agent, and let the horse stand and soak. The bag is firm enough to often stand up on its own, but you can also tape the top while the horse stands.

Treating an injured horse is never pleasant, but these unusual items can make the job a bit easier. What creative items are in your First-Aid kit?