Equine Feature Supplement - July 27th, 2023

EQUINE

Heat stress and dehydration can harm horses: OVC professor

By Robin George

GUELPH – Dripping with sweat and breathing hard through flared nostrils, an agitated horse shakes her head. The horse stumbles, ears pinned back, and kicks out.

During this summer of high temperatures it’s important to recognize and respond to symptoms of heat stress.

If left untreated severe heat stress can be fatal, said University of Guelph Ontario Veterinary College (OVC) assistant professor Amy Lack.

She completed her veterinary training in Missouri, and then completed a residency in equine internal medicine in the southern U.S., so she’s no stranger to handling horses’ health in hot weather.

Severe heat stress is relatively uncommon, Lack said, because most owners are quick to notice and respond to problems.

Recognizing heat stress

“Just like you and I, horses experience heat stress,” Lack said. “The difference is, when we start feeling the impact of the heat, we take a break.”

Because horses work in partnership and enjoy exercise, they often push past their capacity.

So it’s up to people to recognize signs of heat stress and dehydration.

In early stages heat stress can cause depression, lethargy, heavy breathing and dilated nostrils, Lack said.

As heat stress progresses it impacts how cells communicate and proteins function, sometimes leading to brain dysfunction, she added.

An overheating horse may become unsteady or irritated. Horses that are usually easy-going may rear or strike

out, becoming dangerous to handle.

A horse experiencing severe heat stress may become “completely unaware of what’s going on around them,” Lack said.

They may collapse, or throw themselves on the ground, and without intervention they “could have a seizure, become comatose, or potentially die.”

Wet-bulb globe temperature

To avoid potential heat stress, Lack recommends being mindful of the wet-bulb globe temperature (WBGT) – a measurement including air temperature, humidity, wind and solar radiation.

Lack said the heat index, measuring air temperature and humidity, is a good representation of conditions in the shade, but WBGT is more accurate for sunny conditions.

If the WBGT exceeds 33, Lack recommends not exercising horses at all.

When the WBGT is between 30 and 33, moderate exercise is safe, but Lack advises taking precautions:

- exercise horses early in the morning when it’s coolest;

- stick to grassy surfaces instead of sandy arenas as grass is cooler;

- take frequent water breaks in the shade; and

- look out for signs of heat stress and dehydration.

Some horses have higher heat tolerance than others; a well conditioned horse will have an easier time exercising in hot weather than one used to spending most of their time grazing in the field.

And a horse unaccustomed to hot weather will overheat more easily.

When Ontario weather warms

quickly in March, Lack said it takes horses at least five days to acclimate to the new temperature.

Responding to heat stress

When something doesn’t seem right while exercising a horse, the first step is to stop.

“If you have any concern a horse is not okay, it’s best to touch base with a veterinarian,” Lack said.

Even if the vet doesn’t need to see and treat the horse, they can offer guidance and keep the horse on their radar in case things take a turn for the worse, she added.

“If you suspect a horse is experiencing heat stress, move them to a cool place and start hosing them down with cool water,” Lack said.

Spray the underside of their neck, where the jugular veins are, as this will cool their blood most rapidly.

The horse’s body temperature will quickly warm the water, which should be scraped off with a sweat scraper.

Lack recommends spraying and scraping the horse until they seem less distressed and their skin feels cool.

Hydration

Sweating is the primary way horses

control their body temperature.

“Horses are phenomenal sweaters,” Lack said. “Probably the best sweaters in the mammalian world” – they can produce over 10 litres of sweat in less than an hour. Their impressive ability to sweat is part of what makes them such great athletes, Lack said.

It also makes hydration essential.

Dehydrated horses use water reserves from their gastrointestinal system to make sweat.

It’s important to protect horses from heat stress and dehydration during hot weather, says Ontario Vetinary College assistant professor of large animal internal medicine Amy Lack.

Photo by Robin George

Angelstone Events: major league events have major community impact

By Chris Zimmerman

ERIN – Angelstone Events has been operating here since 2011.

Owner and Erin native Keean White purchased the farm property, which he originally used as his training facility for horse jumping, in 2007.

He had ridden as a top-list professional with the Canadian Equestrian Team from 1997 until about 2020, when he retired from the sport to focus on business.

In an effort to grow something special in the community, White transformed the 65-acre plot of land into an event space that has become home to some of the most prestigious horse shows in the country.

In 2009 White began thinking about running a horse show. At first it was intended to be one-week show, as he felt the sport and facilities in Ontario weren’t up to par with his experiences competing around the world.

The idea was to develop the property and build a ring for competing, a warmup ring with a grass field, and a few paddocks.

After the first event that hosted 120 horses in 2011, the facility expanded to three rings in 2012, and to four rings by 2015.

Today there are five rings on the property, over 700 stables, and a main

stadium that seats around 5,000 people, with additional stables brought in for the larger events.

“We just kind of got momentum and kept growing and investing – kept building and kept putting out a better product,” said White.

“In 2015, the Caledon Equestrian Park got the PanAm games, which came with about $20 million from the government to build their facility.”

Though privately owned, Angelstone Events was not only able to put together

the capital to stay competitive, but by 2020, it was large enough to buyout Caledon Equestrian Park.

Now, between the two sites, Angelstone runs 36 equestrian events a year.

From July 6 to 9 this year, it hosted the Silver Series West 4, which showcased horses and riders from across Wellington County and beyond.

The Silver Series was added to the events list in 2019 as a grassroots series consisting of five shows with beginnerlevel competitions.

“It’s really based on getting the local community involved,” White said in a July 16 interview.

“Most of the competitors in the silver series live within an hour of the venue, so it’s about getting them out to get to use the facility. It’s like a rep hockey team getting to play at Maple Leaf Gardens for a game.”

“It’s really to make sure that people like ‘mom and dad who live down the road on a little farm with two horses and little

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LEFT: Champagne shower – Top finishers celebrate on the podium.

ABOVE: Horsemanship – Kent Farrington competes in the Major League show jumping competition on Creedance.

Photos by Mackenzie Clark

HorseDay Erin event benefits local equine organizations

ERIN – HorseDay Erin, held in early June at the Erin Fairgrounds, gave back to the local equine community to support horse education and horse welfare.

Local horse groups receiving donations from the event included Equine Guelph, the Erin Agricultural Society (Horse Heritage), Trail Ride For BreastCancer, and the OMSSU, Ontario’s mounted unit.

The event was supported by many local businesses, including Central Counties Tourism, Grand River Agricultural Society, Sharpe Farm Supplies and Angelstone Show Jumping Events.

Equine Guelph offering online training for grassrootslevel horse show judging

GUELPH – Five provincial equestrian associations have partnered with Equine Guelph to offer online training for those interested in becoming horse show judges in grassroots circuits.

Entry level judges are a vital part of equestrian sport and beginning this spring the opportunity to train to become a recognized provincial official will be offered on TheHorsePortal. ca through the new Provincial Foundations Officials Course.

Provinces partnering with Equine Guelph to develop this new online training program include: Alberta Equestrian Federation, Equestrian Nova Scotia, Island Horse Council, Manitoba Horse Council and Newfoundland and Labrador Equestrian Association.

The course content is based on an innovative online training model provided by Equestrian Nova Scotia on TheHorsePortal.ca for the past two years.

“It is very exciting for us to have developed this innovative course, led by our Director of Technical Development Sheila Currie and her cast of volunteer experts”, said executive director of Equestrian Nova Scotia, Heather Myrer.

“Taking it to the next level as a training course offered in

several provinces across Canada is amazing, and we can’t wait to get started with our provincial colleagues and Equine Guelph on this important officials’ development partnership.”

This course will be selfpaced and there is a full year granted to complete this 25-to30-hour prerequisite training to work towards becoming a foundations judge.

Candidates will be learning the responsibilities of judges at the grassroot levels, in order to officiate for multi-disciplined or general performance provincial shows.

As role models, Foundation judges create a safe environment for equine sport at local shows, upholding rules, ensuring fair play, and protecting equine welfare, officials say.

Whether judging objective or subjective classes, entry level judges can help build sport and long-term athletes.

Foundation judges will encounter multiple breeds and athletes from various walks of life including: the novice, those preparing to move up the levels and the more mature athlete that is active for life.

The online program will help future judges or current discipline-specific judges in focusing on the essence of each class and introduce the tools to

judge a variety of classes with consistency.

Topics include Western Performance, Western Speed Division, Showmanship, Flat, Hunter, Jumper, Equitation over Fences, Dressage and Pleasure Driving.

“Equine Guelph recognizes Equestrian Nova Scotia for being leaders in spearheading online training programs to its officials,” said Equine Guelph

director Gayle Ecker.

“We are thrilled to be working together with five provinces to offer this accessible model of training to as many budding grass roots officials as possible.”

Anyone interested in taking this first step in training to become a provincial foundation official can register at https:// thehorseportal.ca/course/ provincial-foundations-officialscourse.

Horse show judges – Equine Guelph is partnering with five provincial equestrian associations to offer online training for horse show judges in grass roots circuits. Submitted photo

Equine welfare – Gayle Ecker, right, director at Equine Guelph at the University of Guelph, accepts a

Junior bull rider Will Blythe from Mildmay.

Winner – Joanne Fisher was the fastest pole bender during the Erin Ram Rodeo.

RIGHT - Peter Mast keeps his seat during the saddle bronc riding event

ABOVE – The Canadian Cow Girls led a YMCA dance party during the kids rodeo.

People rode both bulls and bucking horses during the Ram Rodeo show at the Erin Fairgrounds on July 22 and 23. Bucking horses are bred to buck.

Canadian Cow Girls were a big part of the show.

RIGHT – Six-year-old Fynn Martel made riding the mechanical bull look easy. “The bull’s not even trying!” he said, so the operater cranked up the difficulty level.

Photos by Robin George

Major community impact

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Sally who’s been riding for two years’, have a place where they can come and compete.”

From parking to admission, all the events at Angelstone are free to attend.

“We also have paid areas and reserved seating areas, but from the start, every single event we run always has free options for families to come out and enjoy the sport,” White added.

“We try to create an atmosphere of entertainment, whether you’re a fan of showjumping or not.”

The keystone show is the world-class Major League Show Jumping event that runs Aug. 17 to 19.

“We have riders from 14 countries around the world fly

in for the week, with $1.1 million in prize money over three big nights,” said White.

“It has become like the Formula One of the sport. There are 10 events around North America, with $11 million in prize money over 10 shows.

“There are eight teams, and each team sends four riders to each event. There’s a team competition where teams earn points throughout the year. So that’s kind of our high-level, five-star event.”

During the Major League Event, guests can expect bouncy castles, face painting, a petting zoo, KidZone, a variety of live music and entertainment, and more.

“We put on a serious show. We have celebrity chefs cater-

ing the event, specialty cocktails, halftime entertainment, live music ... it’s really like a three-day festival that draws around 15,000 people,” said White.

“We like to give families an entire night of entertainment that costs nothing.

“You do not have to be a fan of equestrian sports to have a heck of a night.”

Looking forward, White is trying to create more opportunities for the sport to grow.

The boutique-style event space in Erin has just about reached its limit since growing participation by about 20% annually for the last four or five years.

White has started to make large investments in the 100acre property in Caledon.

In a 2018 Horse Canada article, White said, “You have to be willing to fight. This is a very difficult business and a very difficult sport. It’s a difficult career.

“It makes you very strong mentally, it teaches you a lot about life and how to fight and how to get through difficult times.”

Today Angelstone Events employs about 150 people between its two properties and provides volunteer opportunities for University of Guelph students to gain experience in event planning, administration, hospitality, social media development, marketing and more.

For more information about Angelstone Events, visit angelstone.ca.

‘You can lead a horse to water but you can’t make it drink’

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So a dehydrated horse will still sweat, but they’ll show symptoms of heat stress sooner than a hydrated horse.

Sweating leads to significant loss of electrolytes like chloride and potassium, Lack said, and losing enough electrolytes can cause a range of issues including:

- muscle cramps;

- kidney injuries;

- neurological signs;

- colic symptoms; and

- colon impaction.

One way to recognize dehydration in horses is by lightly pinching skin on

their neck and watching how quickly it goes back.

It helps to practice this when the horse is well hydrated to recognize their baseline, Lack noted, as different horses’ skin has different elasticity.

If the skin stays in the shape of the pinch for longer than usual, that’s a sign the horse is dehydrated.

Other signs include red or dry gums and/or dark, syrupy urine.

If a dehydrated horse seems normal otherwise, Lack recommends just encouraging them to drink.

If they are not acting themselves, call a vet, as they may need intrave-

nous fluids, she added.

‘You can lead a horse to water but you can’t make it drink’ For some horses, hydration is as simple as regularly offering them water, including during trips like trail rides and trailer rides.

Other horses are reluctant drinkers, but there are creative ways to keep them hydrated.

It can help to include more moisture in their food, by making mashes by mixing water with pelleted food or hay cubes, Lack said.

It can also help to sweeten water with molasses or an apple flavoured electrolyte solution.

Honouring the life of your horse!

Horses are more likely to try something new if it’s first offered as part of their usual routine.

Some horses are more willing to try a lower concentration of electrolytes in the water to start, Lack said, but it is important to never exceed the concentration on the label.

Compounding factors

Air pollution increases horses’ risk of heat stress, Lack said.

While 70 per cent of their heat loss occurs through sweating, the other 30% is through their respiratory tract.

“Inhaling particles they don’t usually will impact their ability to cool themselves,” Lack said, which

increases their risk of overheating. Other compounding factors include underlying breathing conditions, muscle problems, or issues with sweating like anhidrosis, a condition in which sweat glands make little or no sweat.

If a horse is exercising in hot weather and not breaking a sweat, “that’s an emergency,” Lack said. “Stop. Call your vet. Something is going wrong.”

More information about dehydration in horses is available at www. equineguelph.ca/pdf/infosheets/ Dehydration_Infosheet_July_2014. pdf.

Farm chores – At just three years old, Isaac O’Hagan has already shown interest in helping out with farm chores. He’s seen here with Faith, a quarterhorse at Maplewood Farm in Erin. Submitted photo