Drying and cooling out wet fluff balls

Tuddy
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Re: Drying and cooling out wet fluff balls

Postby Tuddy » Thu Nov 15, 2018 4:24 pm

I had my big hairy Yonka in training over the coldest part of the year last year. The trainer has a heated arena and barn - and an indoor hot walker. Horses would get worked, put on the hot walker then let stand in a standing stall until they were cooled off and dry to go back out.

Just do what is best for your horse in your situation. I don't have access to facilities like my trainer, and most arenas and barns here are not heated, which is why I don't ride in the winter I suppose.

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Re: Drying and cooling out wet fluff balls

Postby Ryeissa » Thu Nov 15, 2018 5:12 pm

kande50 wrote:
Josette wrote:IMO it is not worth the risk of horse getting sick if you have the means to avoid it. My guy gets a thick coat so I trace clip him and apply blanket(s). A wet sweaty horse takes a while to dry - so use a cooler and avoid a vet bill is my tactic.


But my point is, do they get sick, or are we just imagining that we need to dry and blanket to keep them healthy?


My horses' comfort is most important, I can't think that standing chilled is a positive thing. It's common sense.

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Re: Drying and cooling out wet fluff balls

Postby kande50 » Thu Nov 15, 2018 5:29 pm

Ryeissa wrote:
My horses' comfort is most important, I can't think that standing chilled is a positive thing. It's common sense.


My point is, are they chilled, or are we projecting?

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Re: Drying and cooling out wet fluff balls

Postby Ryeissa » Thu Nov 15, 2018 5:40 pm

kande50 wrote:
Ryeissa wrote:
My horses' comfort is most important, I can't think that standing chilled is a positive thing. It's common sense.


My point is, are they chilled, or are we projecting?


When my horse feels cold to the touch with he is wet, I am going to keep him warm with a cooler and use a hair dryer. :lol:

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Re: Drying and cooling out wet fluff balls

Postby Koolkat » Thu Nov 15, 2018 5:51 pm

kande50 wrote:
Koolkat wrote:
That being said, a human who is overdressed can strip down to their skivvies if they so desire, a horse with a heavy coat is still wearing a lot of hair, even when not fluffed. Hence the drying problem. . .


Horses generate so much heat internally that the drying time may not be a problem for them, and if it is they just run around until they warm up--like they do when they first get up in the morning and it's cold out?

Course if they're locked in a stall with no place to run then we might want to intervene, although they can do a pretty good job of warming up by bucking and rearing in their stalls, too. So I guess it might be more of a problem with lame horses who aren't going to want to move any more than they absolutely have to?


Huh? There's a drying problem because the horses have more hair.

Yes, horses generate an enormous amount of heat (they're very large animals), I keep my horses at home and have a barn, I've experienced the effect. Evaporation is a cooling process, it needs to be monitored in the winter/cold when we create a wet animal and then keep in relatively immobile. And I prefer not to put stable blankets on a wet horse = mold/mildew/skin crud. And, no, I would not turn a wet animal loose to run to warm itself up.

Well, maybe if it had a timer. . . I wouldn't want it to start sweating all over again.

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Re: Drying and cooling out wet fluff balls

Postby kande50 » Thu Nov 15, 2018 6:45 pm

Koolkat wrote:Evaporation is a cooling process, it needs to be monitored in the winter/cold when we create a wet animal and then keep in relatively immobile. And I prefer not to put stable blankets on a wet horse = mold/mildew/skin crud. And, no, I would not turn a wet animal loose to run to warm itself up.

Well, maybe if it had a timer. . . I wouldn't want it to start sweating all over again.


This is what I don't understand, that wet hair is only a problem if we create it, but isn't a problem if they run and sweat themselves up and then go stand in their stall?

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Re: Drying and cooling out wet fluff balls

Postby Ryeissa » Thu Nov 15, 2018 6:48 pm

kande50 wrote:
Koolkat wrote:Evaporation is a cooling process, it needs to be monitored in the winter/cold when we create a wet animal and then keep in relatively immobile. And I prefer not to put stable blankets on a wet horse = mold/mildew/skin crud. And, no, I would not turn a wet animal loose to run to warm itself up.

Well, maybe if it had a timer. . . I wouldn't want it to start sweating all over again.


This is what I don't understand, that wet hair is only a problem if we create it, but isn't a problem if they run and sweat themselves up and then go stand in their stall?


What? no, it's always a problem.

This isn't even your thread, should we get back to the OT?

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Re: Drying and cooling out wet fluff balls

Postby kande50 » Thu Nov 15, 2018 6:56 pm

Ryeissa wrote:
This isn't even your thread, should we get back to the OT?


We certainly have that option.

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Re: Drying and cooling out wet fluff balls

Postby Koolkat » Thu Nov 15, 2018 8:17 pm

kande50 wrote:This is what I don't understand, that wet hair is only a problem if we create it, but isn't a problem if they run and sweat themselves up and then go stand in their stall?


You don't worry about airway damage? ;)

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Re: Drying and cooling out wet fluff balls

Postby kande50 » Thu Nov 15, 2018 9:27 pm

Koolkat wrote:
You don't worry about airway damage? ;)


I think they may regulate themselves when they have the choice. IOW, when their airways start burning they stop running. They may regulate cooling too, by choosing where and how long they move. Don't know, but if they damage themselves running it must heal, because my horses appear to be healthy even though they get themselves all sweated up and then somehow manage to recover without my help.

I was thinking about what they do in the wild. Maybe escaping predators doesn't involve sustained exercise so they never keep going for long enough to cause irreversible damage?

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Re: Drying and cooling out wet fluff balls

Postby Ryeissa » Thu Nov 15, 2018 10:11 pm

kande50 wrote:
Koolkat wrote:
You don't worry about airway damage? ;)


I think they may regulate themselves when they have the choice. IOW, when their airways start burning they stop running. They may regulate cooling too, by choosing where and how long they move. Don't know, but if they damage themselves running it must heal, because my horses appear to be healthy even though they get themselves all sweated up and then somehow manage to recover without my help.

I was thinking about what they do in the wild. Maybe escaping predators doesn't involve sustained exercise so they never keep going for long enough to cause irreversible damage?


I think you are really taking this discussion to a new level!

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Re: Drying and cooling out wet fluff balls

Postby khall » Thu Nov 15, 2018 10:29 pm

Might be interested in what I had happen today. Cold and breezy (for us! 49 and damp cold) 3 of my horses on the farm got to kicking up their heels. Gaila thought she saw a boogie man and got the other 2 going. Gaila had a techno fleece blanket on, moderately hairy but is not a huge sweater in the winter. Gallie pretty hairy, no blanket. Juliet, moderately hairy, not much of a sweater usually, 100 g blanket. Gallie and Gaila got a bit sweated up, Juliet did not. By the time I got all the horses in Gallie had completely dried off (about 15 minutes) except for a bit of dampness belly area by her udder. Gaila was still pretty sweaty and Juliet nothing. Gallie had wet on her chest and foam between her hind legs, so did Gaila when I calmed them down with hay to keep them from running like maniacs in the field.

So Gallie's heavy coat did exactly what a cooler would, wick the moisture away from her body and dry her off. I'm sure the breeze helped. Gaila could not do this with the blanket on. I ended up putting a cooler on her to wick the sweat off. Juliet I left alone.

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Re: Drying and cooling out wet fluff balls

Postby kande50 » Fri Nov 16, 2018 7:49 am

Ryeissa wrote:
I think you are really taking this discussion to a new level!


The point that moderator wannabes seem to miss is that it takes more than one to have a discussion.

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Re: Drying and cooling out wet fluff balls

Postby kande50 » Fri Nov 16, 2018 9:37 am

khall wrote:

So Gallie's heavy coat did exactly what a cooler would, wick the moisture away from her body and dry her off. I'm sure the breeze helped. Gaila could not do this with the blanket on. I ended up putting a cooler on her to wick the sweat off. Juliet I left alone.


I can see how putting anything on the hair could interfere with drying just by preventing it from fluffing up as it dried.

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Re: Drying and cooling out wet fluff balls

Postby NancyP » Fri Nov 16, 2018 11:57 pm

Hair dryer.
I have used one on a few horses.

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Re: Drying and cooling out wet fluff balls

Postby Moutaineer » Sat Nov 17, 2018 1:25 am

kande, I will be seeing a friend tomorrow who spends a lot of time out observing the wild horse herds around here. (She takes amazing photographs.) I will try to remember to ask her if she's seen horses run themselves into a lather and how they cope with it--I suspect that, for one thing, they are outside in very dry climates usually so any sweat evaporates quickly, and for another, that they walk a lot to "cool out" as they do generally seem to be in constant motion.

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Re: Drying and cooling out wet fluff balls

Postby kande50 » Sat Nov 17, 2018 4:10 pm

Moutaineer wrote:kande, I will be seeing a friend tomorrow who spends a lot of time out observing the wild horse herds around here. (She takes amazing photographs.) I will try to remember to ask her if she's seen horses run themselves into a lather and how they cope with it--I suspect that, for one thing, they are outside in very dry climates usually so any sweat evaporates quickly, and for another, that they walk a lot to "cool out" as they do generally seem to be in constant motion.


Thank you. I wonder if they just don't ever run for long enough to damage themselves? Seems like the only way that might happen would be if humans were involved, as I can't think of any natural predators that would chase horses for an extended period of time?

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Re: Drying and cooling out wet fluff balls

Postby Moutaineer » Sun Nov 18, 2018 12:02 am

Darn, I forget to ask! I see her once a week usually, so I will get to it eventually.

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Re: Drying and cooling out wet fluff balls

Postby Backyarder » Sun Nov 18, 2018 2:25 am

well I guess what I am doing is Ok, wicking fleece with changes till as dry as possible. I do the same if they come in out of the rain on a coolish day.
I don't ride often or hard in cold weatherso no point in clipping but horses do sweat with heavy coats...even if they are just out for a stroll in the snow, and sometimes out playing in the pasture.
If I did clip it seems I would need a trace clip, cause that area was the hardest to dry.

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Re: Drying and cooling out wet fluff balls

Postby khall » Sun Nov 18, 2018 3:57 am


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Re: Drying and cooling out wet fluff balls

Postby Kyra's Mom » Sun Nov 18, 2018 6:26 am

I think a hair dryer would come in handy and shorten the process? I know when I have had surgery, to avoid rubbing an incision, I have used the hair dryer on a lower setting to get those areas nice and dry and it worked very well. Of course, I don't have a winter coat :lol: .

I do know my mare is verrry fluffy and it is only November. Makes me wonder what the winter will be like.

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Re: Drying and cooling out wet fluff balls

Postby Backyarder » Sun Nov 18, 2018 2:17 pm

If the weather is nice and sunny with no wind I do sometimes turn them out after the cooler has wicked away the initial sweat....the sun is a good drying tool especially when they are in a corner or up against the barn where the heat reflects off the siding....it would depend entirely on how wet they were and how cold it is out side...my barn is very cold and sometimes out in the sun is better..

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Re: Drying and cooling out wet fluff balls

Postby Chisamba » Sun Nov 18, 2018 9:09 pm

The whole "nature provided them with a good system" is a little less confidence building when you realize all wild horses are extinct and only domestic horses remain. On top of that, horses freeze to death every year. Since I have no intention of turning my barn into a survival of the fittest challenge I tend to interfere

That said it seems to me everyone here is doing well wrt caring for their beauties in the various circumstances
Last edited by Chisamba on Wed Nov 21, 2018 10:18 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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Re: Drying and cooling out wet fluff balls

Postby Ryeissa » Wed Nov 21, 2018 5:16 pm

Nope, I don't think nature was "optimal"- not by a long shot. Also, when we alter the lifestyle we have to support the ways that lifestyle changes the horses' needs.


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