Do Horses Sweat Yes They Do Horse Sweating Facts Explained

Horses are fascinating and majestic creatures.However, with the grandeur and majesty of a horse’s features comes fantastic amounts of sweat and grime after each run or workout. Horse owners are often baffled by the amount of sweat released by these animals.A horse, when healthy and working out on a hot, sunny day, can lose as many as four gal (15 l) of sweat in an hour. While such an amount of water loss can be scary to human beings, it is normal for horses. In fact, did you know that not being able to sweat toxins out can actually be fatal for your horse in extreme conditions?Horse owners must be careful of a couple of things when it comes to taking care of their pets. Understandably, taking note of the amount and quality of sweat that your pet loses, and if it has been able to work out without feeling lethargic or lazy, is also important. Read ahead for tips for taking care of your horse and bad signs to look out for!If you enjoy reading this article, why not also check out horse facts and do horses lay down here at Kidadl?Why do horses sweat?Pet parents often wonder why their horse sweats so much and if there is any concerning reason that could be leading to all this wet, stinky mess. However, there is hardly any cause for concern. Horses have sweat glands, just like humans, and use sweating as a cooling mechanism. It is not exactly through the act of sweating that horses cool themselves down, but through the evaporation of the sweat from their bodies.If your horse starts sweating heavily during or after a tough workout, there is a chance that the horse’s skin has initiated excessive sweating in order to cool the temperature of its body. Since horses have thick skin and a thick coat, their body temperatures rise quickly and often tend to be high for long durations of time. Body temperature tends to be the highest between the hind legs and around the neck of the animal, and while it may seem like it’s a lot, let’s understand that these animals are much larger than human beings, and hence, have more sweat glands. Additionally, they also have much higher metabolic rates, and hence, have the ability to sweat at a higher rate than humans.Why do some horses sweat a lot more than others standing in the pasture?All horses are different, and hence, each horse’s water retention capacity is also variable. If a horse has a slower metabolic rate or hasn’t been active, the chances are that the animal will not be as sweaty as its friend, who has been active throughout its life and has a higher metabolic rate. While the sweaty, wet body of a horse can give us the impression that the animal is unhappy and has been struggling, the reality is quite the opposite. Horses sweat as a way to keep themselves cool when the air temperature rises and when they have been through an intense workout session. Furthermore, if horse owners get concerned about the amount of sweat that their horse’s body has been losing from merely standing in the pasture, it is a good idea to check the quality of the horse’s sweat and the areas of its body from where the sweat has been coming. In hot weather, some horses tend to suffer from extreme heat build-up in their bodies, and hence, undergo larger amounts of sweat production. Since the metabolic rate and fitness level vary largely between horses, some may be more affected by weather conditions such as humid air.The most useful thing to understand here is that since all horses are different and hence have varying levels of sweat loss, there is hardly any reason to panic as long as the sweat that these animals release is not frothy. In fact, if a horse does not sweat, there is a chance that it might have developed a condition known as anhidrosis. In this condition, the animal is unable to produce any amounts of sweat irrespective of high air temperature and humid climates. If one of the horses at your pasture seems to not sweat a lot and has been getting lethargic, the chances are that the inability to cool down the core temperature of its body even after working out will give the animal heatstroke.Hence, both excessive and inadequate sweating is cause for concern when it comes to horses and their well-being.Why is horse sweat white?A healthy horse sweats in order to lower its body temperature. If there is more heat in the area than a horse can take, or if the horse works out too much, there is a chance that your pet will start sweating too much and get dehydrated. With normal horse sweating levels, it is natural for the sweat to be clear or a little muddy, depending on how clean your horse was. However, sometimes horses sweat excessively and hence, the animal’s body starts expelling the electrolytes and protein in its body. It is when a horse’s body starts to expel the electrolytes that the sweat starts to turn white and frothy. This is a definite sign of dehydration and that your pet will be left with fewer electrolytes as a result of excessive sweating.When your horse’s sweat starts to get frothy and white, the best thing to do is to walk the animal till the horse’s temperature starts to lower. Horse owners and enthusiasts tend to have a perfect understanding of just how much their horse will have to walk to reduce its body heat. Once the animal cools down substantially, the next thing to do is to make sure that you give it a bath with warm water. Warm water helps in washing all of the bacteria off and thereby avoids any chances of rashes. Coldwater baths should be avoided since they do not treat a horse’s muscle soreness or make the horse comfortable.If your horse is sweating excessively or its sweat is frothy, give the animal frequent breaks to catch its breath and reduce heat build-up. Horse owners should also keep track of the body weight of their pets before and after a workout. This helps in understanding if the horse is sweating too much and if the loss of electrolytes is more severe than meets the eye.More symptoms of discomfort and dehydration include shallow breathing and lethargy. In some cases, horses don’t feel thirsty or hungry when they have sweated too much or too little. Consider adding electrolyte supplements to a horse water bowl so that the body is not deprived of any important elements!What is horse sweat called?While there is no special name for a horse’s sweat, the sweat does contain a rather interesting protein that froths up and has a white look. This protein is known as latherin and is a surfactant. A surfactant is essentially a substance that can froth up like soap. Horses ideally should not lose this protein in an attempt to lower their body temperature since it can lead to severe dehydration, among other health issues.Did You Know…Dogs and cats do not sweat because they do not have sweat glands as horses and humans do. Also, horse sweating lowers the body temperature of the animal and sweat evaporation leaves the body cool.Humid climatic conditions can be problematic for horses since sweat evaporates slowly in such weather conditions. Horses often develop a health condition called anhidrosis. Anhidrosis is a condition in which a horse undergoes zero to negligible amounts of sweating even on a sunny day or after a tough workout session. Additionally, horse barns should have fans to help animals stay cool and healthy.Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly facts for everyone to enjoy! If you liked our suggestions for ‘Do horses sweat? Yes, they do! Horse sweating facts explained!’ then why not take a look at ‘Are fish mammals? Here’s the truth on aquatic animal!’, or ‘Narcissus flower meaning and symbol facts explained!’?

Horses are fascinating and majestic creatures.