Tails from the Trail - Thursday, June 26

Well, it's official. My summer horse — same Gem, alter ego — is back (along with the heat, flies and mosquitoes). I love "Summer Gem". He is much slower, more steady, relaxed and more willing than his winter counterpart. We don't have many discussions about what we'll do and when. He pretty much agrees to whatever I ask him to do, but I wouldn't be surprised if he rolls his eyes anyway.
Today I loaded up Gem with what seemed like a half-bottle of flyspray and OFF! mosquito repellent and hit the trail. It was fabulous in the woods, and I made sure to take in the beauty of the foliage and the shadows it cast as far as the eye could see. It almost seemed like Gem was enjoying it too —really — as he trotted jauntily along.
I've seen a big difference in his attitude and willingness since he got his new saddle from Tracy. It's the beautiful Bates and boy it feels wonderful to sit in. I know it lets Gem move more freely and, in return, has made me ride better. I can canter the 137 stretch in a half-seat now, instead of having to remain in a two-point. I also don't have to squeeze him with a vise grip to maintain the canter like I used to. No more sore buns!
The humidity was up today, so we took it easy with just walking and trotting until the 137 stretch. I love the feeling of a nice, flowing canter in the grass, taking in the sights of wild life and flowers as I listen to the sharp crackling of the prairie grass slapping against and under Gem's hooves. We had such a great canter in both directions, not much leg or half-halting needed. His head was low and his shoulders reached freely with every stride.
We wound our way back to the barn with trotting interspersed with walking, however, we were drenched in sweat. Gem seemed to be handling the heat well, but when we got back to the barn it was a different story.
He had walked quite a bit at the end of the trail ride to cool down, but the sun and humidity were difficult. We got inside and I untacked him quickly, and he was comfortable in the breezy aisle. But once he was in the wash rack, he heated up again. His nostrils flared with every breath and his flanks rose and fell quickly. He was panting. I was stifled, too. As I rinsed him, I could feel the once tepid water trapped in his coat under his belly was now HOT. I got him out of there as quickly as possible and took him into the indoor arena where another rider had been walking her older mount for over 20 minutes. That horse, also, was challenged by this heat. The ceiling fans made the arena breezy and comfortable and soon both horses had cooled.
Gem, now about 17, is aging well although he does have arthritis and a daily aspirin regimen. It's becoming ever apparent that aging horses need different care than their younger counterparts. I did some research on-line and not surprisingly, found that in a study older horses heated up twice as fast as the younger horses in the group.
"Thermoregulation involves the ability to transport heat from the body's core to the surface of the skin and blood vessels," said Kenneth H. McKeever, PhD, of the Rutgers University department of animal sciences. "The older horses had substantially higher heart rates during exercise, showing that their hearts had to work harder to pump blood to dissipate the heat. The study suggests that older horses can't handle the combined demand of exercise and heat as well as younger horses," said McKeever.
In the same study, it said that the older horses did cool down at the same rate during a 10-minute rest period.
So I'm definitely going to continue to keep a close watch on him. I am sure he'll be very happy that he won't be asked to work hard this summer!