Body temperature of horses spending time in paddocks in various weather conditions during the summer

Abstract

The aim of the study was to determine the internal and surface temperature of selected body parts of horses during their stay in paddocks in various weather conditions in the summer. The study was conducted on 10 adult thoroughbred mares. The experiment was carried out on horses spending time in the paddock in four eight-hour stages with differing weather conditions in summer (sunny, cloudy, rainy and windy). Measurements of internal temperature (Veterinär SC 12 veterinary thermometer) and surface temperature of the head, rib area and croup (Thermal Imagers Ti9 FLUKE infrared camera and SmartView 4.1 software) were carried out at rest and again after four and eight hours in the paddock. It was concluded that the time horses spend in the paddock in summer should depend on weather conditions. Many hours spent outside the stable during sunny weather accompanied by high air temperature can contribute to overheating. On the other hand, rain and wind can cause hypothermia. Therefore, it is worth considering leaving horses in the stable or limiting their stay in the paddock to no more than four hours.

Keywords

• horses
• weather
• paddock
• body temperature
• thermography