Anhidrosis

The weather last week was insane! It was consistently between 105 and 110 degrees every day! Needless to say, I didn't get much riding in! I was camp counseling all week so my schedule wasn't very permissive anyway. I lunged Gambler for about 20 minutes on Wednesday, but that was all the work he got that week; we were both drenched in sweat by the end. I hosed him off every day, but didn't ride because of the heat. 

Friday, however, I was hopeful! I went out to the barn around 6pm fully intending to ride. When I caught Gambler, I noticed something was wrong. He was breathing very heavily and deeply. I of course freaked out, my mind going to worse case scenario. It took my two hours to cool him down. Hose, sweatscrape, repeat. 

The purpose of this post is just to say, please please PLEASE be mindful of the heat and how your horse is taking it. Don't ride if your horse is hot and always cool them down correctly after a ride.

A lot of people make the mistake of just hosing, and then turning out. Please hose your horse off until the water coming off them is not hot. And sweat scrape. For the love! "Researchers showed that cool to cold water poured or sprayed over a horse's skin wets the horse, and the very thin layer of water actually contacting the horse's skin is super heated quickly to the horse's body temperature. The rest of the water being sponged or dumped or sprayed on the horse merely sheets over that initial one- to two-cell water layer on the horse. The initial water actually acts like a raincoat and does not allow other water molecules to contact and cool the skin, so the horse can in fact become hotter even while being cooled off." (VeterinaryNews.com)

Also, I think Gambler has anhidrotic tendencies. Agh! He wasn't sweating enough last week, considering how heated and distressed his was. 

Here are some things that I learned about anhidrosis and how to treat it. 

• Guinness Beer! Yes, weird. Apparently something about the hops helps; the darker the beer, the better!
• OneAC or Let 'Em Sweat are good supplements
• The biggest thing is getting the horse out of the heat! So stalled with fans is always best
• Sponging on the legs/poll and chest
• Give the horses salt or electrolytes (gatorade, holla!)
• Apple cider vinegar!

Not sweating can also be caused from a thyroid issue. However, the causes/treatments are still not conclusive. Best to check with your vet! I am happy to say Gambler has now started sweating normally and is not breathing heavily - must've been our nasty heatwave!