sweating? should I blanket?

subsectionx

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Sep 7, 2004
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I have a gelded welsh cob that is 2.5 and I have a play time with the horses.. I go out in the middle of the field and yell play time..I have a riding crop with a plastic bag tide to it and I shake that a bit and they start running around the borders of the pin.. they go around 3 times heading to the right then I turn them around and do it again to the left.. once they get going they are great and I dont have to use the crop any more and I can put it down. I then use the long whip that I have to tell them where to go.. I dont let them run the whole time.. but Magic does seem to lather up fast.. the others dont even seem to brake a sweat.. the other afternoon he was really lathered and I took him outside the field and walked him to the house and I went in and got a towel and started wiping him down, this was the first time that he had gotten this bad. I covered him with a sheet and walked him around the yard. I ended up walking him a an hour before he started to dry good.. every few minutes I would rub the towel under the sheet to try to help dry him off.. now he wasn't breathing hard but the sweat just poured off him..
should I just sheet him and turn him out to cool off on his own .
or not sheet him... it was a little cool that day.. that is why I sheeted him when he was so wet...
 
thatching?

Does your horse live in at all? If so you can thatch him. This is where you get an anti - sweat rug and stuff the inside of it with straw when it is on the horse. Then you put a cooler on top to keep in the straw and warmth. The straw quickly soaks up all the wet and keeps the horse warm.
Putting on a plain sheet on a wet horse will make him get cold really quickly, and he will not get dry any easier.
 
He might find it stressful, as Chev says, and couldn't you use other forms of excercises like lungeing?
 
Oh my...

You're running THREE horses (is that how many you said?) in an enclosed area? Thats just not safe.

Are you sure your horses see this "activity" as playing?
 
I put a post on here awhile back asking for a way to excrise my horses and several people said that this would work very well.
I also was told from here that several people thought that lunging him was too early for him because he was so young. he is a welsh cob only 2.5 years old...

I am only doing what I thought was good for my horses
I have a 4yr mini mare, 5yr welsh mountain pony stallion, 2.5yr welsh cob and a 2.5yr appy

I hope that I am doing right by them

I do ask alot of question on here I hope that I havent miss understood anything:(
 
the field that I Play time them in is 3/4 acre big
and they do know that it is play time.. we even play with each other some days.. there is a honey sucle patch in the middle of the field and somedays Ill get behind it and they well walk up to it and look way over and ween at me then Ill run off and they well run around me... and then Ill run around with them.. my teens come in and play with them too.... we even have a BIG ball that we use for fun too with them.. they well chance that thing all over the field.. Ill kick it and they run after it...

they know that its fun time
 
Always try to look at it from your horses point of view.

Its not necessarily a *bad* way to exercise your horses, but you have to make sure its in a good context. First off, whips and plastic bags should be used to desentize horses, not send them running.

What if you are out on a hack and a plastic bag blows by your path. You're basically training your horses to run full out at the sound of crinckling plastic.

Exercise should be low stress, ESPECIALLY to young horses. I'd say in hand work would be better for your young one. The fact that he's sweating up so quick, seemingly not at all in tune with the amount of exercise he's doing, it definately gives me more of an impression that its stress related sweat.

Also, I dont like it because him seeing his two older herdmates running full banter away from mom will teach him to run full banter away from mom for any reason....

I'd go to a more productive exercise like in hand work which will exercise his MIND in additon to his legs! :)
 
Originally posted by subsectionx
the field that I Play time them in is 3/4 acre big


Only asked because I've seen horses go over or *through* small fenced areas when they're afraid and can't get away. Some have even been impailed on the fence boards. Just use caution... if you feel its safe, then good :)
 
Subsection x I know if I tried to do that with my 2.5 year old she would jump out of the arena, when you are working with a youngster you must be quiet tolerant and look at things from their point of view what you are dooig is imitating a predator and this will frighten the life out of any younster, if you want to exercise your younster you have a few choices, walk out in hand, lunge, longrein or something like that but always controlled on their own and without fear as the reason for them to move.
 
Good that you're not lunging - 2.5 is a bit young, really. I thought your stallion was a mini? Or is the Welsh mountain a new pony?

I think the most likely thing is just that your cob is stressed - although you might see it as play, you're actually sending out quite mixed signals. It's almost like join-up, without joining up - you're sending them away, but not 'forgiving' them. Sending away like this is actually a dominance exercise.

I wouldn't worry about exercising them. Horses who live out maintain a good level of exercise without extra, unless you're riding them, which as you say you're not isn't an issue anyway!

This kind of exercise needs to be carried out with one horse at a time. Any more and you run a serious risk of starting them running - and if they go, you would have no control at all. You also need to read up very carefully on body language - you must understand the horse's signals, and those you are sending out, whether intentional or not.

Edit to add I'd also be very careful about running a stallion out with other horses - you've created an ideal herd situation, and if just one thing panics them, you could quite easily find the stallion tries to defend them. Which could result in you being seriously injured.

I'm not saying anything negative about stallions but you must understand how they behave and why, especially in a herd situation, befor eyou try anything like this.
 
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I did answer that though. I really do think he's sweating through stress. If he's not breathing hard that is the most likely reason. If that's the case, the way to stop him sweating and cool him off is simply not to stress him.

The rest of what I posted is out of interest (the stallion question - I happen to like Welshies, that's all :D ) or concern (it would be tragic if you or one of your horses got injured because of the exercising, and it does sound like a very likely outcome).

I don't think anything was getting 'out of hand'.... but if you do, I'm sorry. I just posted in response to what you were saying. No offence meant. :)
 
Subsectionx when we got Bramble she was wld even to try to catch her would send her running in panic and she was not breathing too hard either just sweaty as she was very fearful, if you want to stop your cob sweating stop frightening him!
 
Please go and read some Monty Roberts. In particular, read up on join-up.

Basically put, join-up works like this; using body language you send your horse away from you. You keep him going until he shows signs of 'submission' - dropping his head, licking his lips, chewing motions, among others. When he does this you soften your body language and 'invite' him in to you. He comes over to you, and you have achieved join-up.

The reasons behind doing this vary - but usually it's to re-assert yourself as 'boss'.

What you're doing is a poor version of that. You send him away from you (and he will see this as a form of punishment. Sending a horse away from you makes him vulnerable and is actually a way of making him very uncomfortable) using the whip, and then after ignoring all the signs he's more than likely giving you that he wants to come back and be friends, you stop. At this point he's probably very relieved - and yes, he'll come to you.

But believe me, in the meantime he'll have been confused, vulnerable, and yes, stressed.

Please, please, get some books on body language in horses, on how horses think, and learn about what you are doing. Just because he comes up to you when you take the pressure off does not mean he's not stressed. If you're working with horses it is vital that you understand their way of thinking, how they communicate, and why they do.

Just because you see this as exercise doesn't mean they do.
 
hey

why not just not bother with excersing him?(the young pony). If her is only 2.5yrs then the time he has now is the time he gets to spend all day/every day out grazing and playing with the other horses.
When he reaches the right age, you can excerise him properly on the lunge which will(if thats the problem) cause less stress and sweating.
Many people i know do not do anything to excerise their youngsters, he first few years of their life is for them to sepnd being young, they don't need to be fit/excersied.
 
I wouldent bother either, much more productive to just get them in and handle them, but its upto you.

In regards to the sweating, it does sound stress related, so I would continue to walk him off with a cooler rug on, dont just put him out it could cause a chill and colic which could be bad.

I know this isent your question but personally I wouldent do it at all, he is now rising 3, and I dont feel there is anything wrong with lightly teaching them to lunge and long rein at 3, but as stated living out they dont really need exercise, they have no need to be fit, so I would work on him inhand.

But as I said its upto you at the end of the day and if you continue to do it, you must ensure the horse is cooled off throughly which is very time consuming!
 
reg meme

thank you for your post and answering my question and I well think about what you said.... you out of all other post was the only one to do that... I do understand that people well tell you what they think, but you where the only one to answer me and then let me know what you thought other than TELLING me what they thought and forget about the question..

thank you :)
 
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