Consumer questions: Horses need plenty of cool water in summer
Q: Do you have any special advice or precautions about protecting horses during hot weather?
A: At the beginning of summer, consult your veterinarian about your horse’s overall health. Older and overweight horses have a harder time dealing with heat. Your vet may offer specific recommendations for your horse.
Make sure your horse’s vaccinations are up to date, especially those for mosquito-borne diseases such as Eastern Equine Encephalitis and West Nile Virus. Since mosquitoes are more abundant during the summer, practice mosquito control such as eliminating standing water where mosquitoes breed.
Horses should always be given access to cool water (not heated by the sun) and shade throughout the day during the summer. Change the water multiple times daily as needed to keep it cool and fresh and to keep mosquitoes from breeding. An automatic water apparatus can help with this.
In extreme heat a horse can drink more than 20 gallons of water a day. Some horses may require extra electrolytes, which can be given through store-bought supplements. A horse is not a camel, however. Rapid consumption of water can cause problems in horses (and large dogs, too.) Allow regular breaks so horses can cool off and drink moderately. Work horses especially should be given regular breaks in places with shade, water and cool ground.
Limit activity to morning and evening hours. Keep work and exercise to a minimum during the hottest part of the day. Be cautious when allowing horses to walk on concrete; bare feet can be burned and horseshoes can become extremely hot. When hosing horses down after exercise, start with the legs and work upward to avoid shock.
Leave barn doors open as often as possible to allow proper ventilation and air movement. A mist system may be a good investment to help your horse deal with high temperatures. Place large fans around the exercise area, being sure to keep cords out reach of horses.
Horses that are exposed to extremely high temperatures for long periods can experience heat stress or heat strokes.
Excessive sweating, panting, rapid breathing, rapid heart rate and high rectal temperature are all signs of heat stress and should be treated by running cool water on the horse’s legs and giving frequent, small amounts of water.
These signs can also be an indication of a heat stroke, in which case a veterinarian should be called immediately. While waiting for a vet to arrive, the same treatment methods for heat stress should be administered to the horse.
Question: What is the name of the plant with fuzzy, silver leaves and bright, deep magenta- crimson flowers that blooms in late spring?
Answer: You are probably referring to Lychnis coronaria, an old-fashioned favorite in the carnation family that goes by the common names of “rose campion” and “mullein pink.”
It is a biennial or shortlived perennial that is easy to grow, drought tolerant and deer resistant. Some people have complained that it seeds itself too readily in sunny gardens, but it is easy to weed out if it sprouts in places it is not wanted.
The only other complaint about it is that the color of the flowers is too intense for some people’s taste. There is a pure white form and some that are white with only a touch or blush of magenta, however, for those who are timid about bold colors in the garden.