How to cool down a horse after a long ride

Cooling down your horse after a long, hard ride is very important to your horse's happiness and health. It may sound simple, but treat your horse, as you would yourself after a strenuous workout, especially if it's hot and humid. Failure to cool down your horse could endanger his health, causing him to catch a chill or get colic.

A hard run will cause your horse to heat up, and this heat needs to be released through respiration and sweat, which in turn requires convection to avoid excess lactate to settle in the muscles. Walking a hot horse guards against such a lactate buildup.

One of the best ways to begin the cool down process is to walk your horse back home, or at least for the last mile. The slower movement will help the heart rate return to normal. Not only that, but the more calm and relaxed movement of the feet and legs aids in circulation of the lower leg and will prevent swelling.

If it's excessively hot and sunny, you may want to try and find some shade for your horse to relax in for a few minutes, too.

Also, once you dismount, loosen the girth a bit, just one or two notches to allow some air to flow through. We all love that wonderful feeling of cool to splash against us when we're excessively hot, and your horse is no different.

Once back home, remove your horse's saddle and give him a few sips of water, but not very much. Remember, just like humans shouldn't have a lot of cold water after a tough exercise session, neither should your horse. His temporary happiness at getting some cold water won't last, once his stomach begins to cramp.

If you didn't walk your horse back, or perhaps only did so for a short distance, make sure to walk him now for a few minutes.

An important thing to remember in the wintertime is to wipe off some of the horse's sweat with a towel. Do this first and then place a cooler on your horse to prevent him from getting sick. Coolers help a lot in cooling down a horse naturally, making the removal of the toxins that had built up during exercise easier. With the cooler on, walk your horse for several minutes. You may even want to leave the cooler on for a few minutes when you're done.

On hot days, gently hose your horse down, or use a sponge to wipe away the sweat. Your horse will welcome the relief that provides. Make sure that his heels are dry when you're done to prevent him from getting mud fever. That is something he won't welcome. Then walk your horse for no less than ten minutes.

Give your horse a rubdown or at least comb through his hair. Just like when you loosened the girth upon dismounting, combing allows air to filter around the horse, cooling him naturally. A good rubdown of his back where the saddle was also helps to get the blood flowing again.

At this point, you may want to give your horse a bit more water, but make sure it isn't too cold and don't give him too much, either; maybe a fourth of a bucket or thereabouts.

Doing a final check of your horse before putting him in his stall is also a good idea. Check his legs again for any lactate buildups, and rub his body, feelingfor any lumpy areas. It's another chance to thank your horse for a good ride, too.

To be thorough, the entire process should take about 30 minutes. This isn't an exorbitant amount of time. Your horse is a good friend; he's family, and he's worth some quality attention after a strenuous workout to make sure he's happy and healthy.

Spend some time bonding with your trusted steed, and it will always time well spent.