first race horse

tammysinnett · Postby **tammysinnett** » Thu Oct 04, 2007 11:38 am

Ok we have our yearling soon to be two year old(jan) getting ready to go to her trainer. This is my first. She has recently been taken off stall rest due to the cuts from jumping the fence. She is allowed out for about a half hour due to she cannot be left unattended.......she thinks fences are not a problem.....anyway after we let her out she runs and runs and runs....when she comes back in she is usually just a little sweaty but today she was drippin from head to foot. I think I may have messed up....I gave her cold water hay and about three cups of oats with a little sweet feed....she was sweating and eating ....will this cause colic??? After a good run at a race track I know they always cool them down.....I didnt....should I be?? Will she know better or do I have a nut case on my hands :wink:

talkin about the horse...LOL anyway I am just worried I only have two more weeks, I have taught her loading haltering backing lunging.....I need all the advice you want to give I want her to be successful. thankyou

skeenan · Postby **skeenan** » Thu Oct 04, 2007 2:20 pm

EQUUS published an article not long ago about a study that found that there was no correlation between drinking water right after a workout & colic... that has been one of the "golden rules" forever (not giving a hot horse water), so although I believe them, it's hard to break lifelong habits! :wink:

Sweaty is one thing—a horse can stay sweaty for quite a while, esp. when it's hot out. My girl get to tearing around too, so I check her breathing & feel her chest to make sure she's not breathing hard & hot before I feed her. I worry more about them gulping a ton of water right after they've had grain, or eating then tearing around afterwards. I don't ever worry about her running around like a crazy horse—she walks around on her own afterwards & cools herself off fine. My stalls open out to the pasture, so they're only in there to eat and then they wander back out. If you're putting her in for the night, it wouldn't hurt to walk her out for a little bit, if she's breathing hard.

Good luck with her—how exciting! I hope to be in your shoes in a few years. Have any photos of your girl?

Intrinsic Worth · Postby **Intrinsic Worth** » Thu Oct 04, 2007 5:56 pm

I would be more worried about a horse tying up than anything else. A horse that isn't properly cooled out that is put into a stall can easily tie up due to lactic acid in their muscles. A friend of mine has a horse who, when it was young, was worked to death and put into a stall hot and sweaty. She now has to be warmed up for a long length of time and cooled down religiously. She's also on selenium supplements. The vet said that one more bad episode could kill her.

Basically, don't ever put a horse away that is still sweating and breathing hard. I would still limit the amount of water they get, they will gulp down a ton of water trying to cool themselves out. I also heard about studies done on water after exercise and from what I've heard, it's not the temp of the water, it's the amount given that will cause problems.

I would also invest in a round pen so the horse can't run itself to death.

tammysinnett · Postby **tammysinnett** » Thu Oct 04, 2007 11:26 pm

Well I checked on her throughout the afternoon, and she seemed to cool down ok....the stall we have her in is actually two stalls we just took out the divider. She is a character, she loves too run run run she kicks the stall until you let her out, we do have a round pen but she seems to like the bigger lot better....please cross your fingers for us I am hoping she becomes something to brag about :wink:

Next time I will cool her down for I think she needs to learn that anyway??? and wait awhile before she gets her treats and water....thankyou for everyones advice I truly depend on all of you.

Tiz · Postby **Tiz** » Fri Oct 05, 2007 2:41 pm

Horses on pasture run and play, get sweaty and out of breath, then stop running, dry out and get their air back. It's how it's supposed to be. It's nature.

If your horse has been cooped up a while, she'll run around maybe more then you'd like, so ten or twenty minutes in the round pen before the big pasture might help.

ratherrapid · Postby **ratherrapid** » Fri Oct 05, 2007 3:11 pm

problem is possible founder. never, and hard to emphasize enough, never give a horse any form of sweet feed, oats or any grain until the stomach, loins and every other part of the horse is completely cold to the touch and then give it another 15 minutes. laminitis can happen in an instant if you feed high glycemic carbs while the horses gut is warm from exercise. have to be very careful in timing feeding post any exercise!

Intrinsic Worth · Postby **Intrinsic Worth** » Sat Oct 06, 2007 4:04 am

Tiz wrote:Horses on pasture run and play, get sweaty and out of breath, then stop running, dry out and get their air back. It's how it's supposed to be. It's nature.

If your horse has been cooped up a while, she'll run around maybe more then you'd like, so ten or twenty minutes in the round pen before the big pasture might help.

However a young horse who's been cooped up can do a lot of damage to themselves running like an idiot in a paddock. I remember going to Hagyards with a 2 year old that got out of her round pen and ran around the paddock and kicked her foot through the metal mesh gate. The foot nearly came off. They will run themselves into the ground if you're not carefull.

Vindicated · Postby **Vindicated** » Mon Oct 08, 2007 8:13 am

I am going to disagree with the water statement, unless I really missed something she said she gave her cold water-now water is one thing-but cold water vs hot horse....never good. Personally, I will not feed my horses grain/concentrates while they are hot....and won't put them in their houses if they are hot from playing/working.
But...if this horse is still up and kicking now, I don't think she has had any ill effects from this endever