How to Cool Out Your Horse After a Ride

 hard and sweat and he’s not returning to normal within a half hour to an hour, it’s a good idea to take his temperature. More cooling is likely necessary, and your veterinarian may need to be contacted.”

Horses will tell you when they’re properly cooled out. “If they have seemed to have had their fill of drinking water, the skin is normal temperature—or at least no longer warm—and they aren’t sweating any more, they are likely cooled down enough,” says Johnston

Then you can bring your horse back to the barn or pasture and thank him for a good ride.

Cooling Out Your Horse – Sweat It Out

While many people think of sweat as gross, it’s actually a good thing. Janet Johnston, DVM, of the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine, explains how horses’ bodies produce heat when their muscles contract. “The harder they work, the more heat they are likely to produce and, in turn, need to get rid of.”

Sweating is how horses (and humans!) move heat out of their bodies. This evaporative cooling takes heat away from the skin as the sweat evaporates. A horse sweats out 70 percent of his excess heat during and after exercise. You can help your horse with this process by following a simple cool-down routine.

Winter Coat Cool-Down

If your horse gets a thick hair coat as the weather gets chilly, you may need to try additional cool-down tricks.

Your horse’s hair coat is fluffy to trap warmth against his skin. When the hair is wet and matted down, it doesn’t have air-trapping abilities. Rub sweaty spots with a towel to help them dry and bring back the coat’s fluff.

You don’t want your horse to get chilled while his coat dries, so place a cooler over him—or even just a towel over the wet area will do.

If your horse wears a blanket, don’t bundle him up again until he is cooled down and dry. Covering a wet horse in a blanket will make the sweat take longer to dry, making your horse uncomfortable and setting him up to get the chills.