As we navigate through the summer heat, it is important to make sure we drink enough water and get enough minerals and electrolytes.  Same goes for your animal family!

This summer has been especially challenging for my horses, as they can’t come into the house and cool off. (Okay let’s be real, a couple of them have snuck in on rare occasion)

In all seriousness, it is so important to make sure outdoor farm animals have adequate shade, a fan, fresh water, electrolytes (in another water bucket so they can choose), and a good hosing off during the hot part of the day.  If you can, you may even wish to let them graze at night and put them up during the hot part of the day.

The past couple of days were tough around here for Sky, my horse with heaves (COPD), an autoimmune issue and IBS. It’s already a struggle for him to breathe, but add this incredible heat index, which has been in the triple digits, day and night, and it’s a recipe for heat stroke and colic!  

We had a scare, the heat got to him, along with colic, and he was down for the good part of day. So, I have been extra vigilant about all the above-mentioned, in order to get him up, and have him stay that way, along with being able to breath and finally poop!

I am so grateful I was prepared with all the energy healing tools I know, some flower essence spray, liquid prebiotic, and clay from Dynamite Specialties, along with an amazing tribe of healing friends, we are on the other side of this incident. 

And I learned another tool today from a fellow horse gal. She told me about using rubbing alcohol.  First and foremost, I always hose their groin, leg, stomach, and neck area with cool water, and scrap it off so as not to hold in the heat.  

And now if they are showing any signs of distress from the heat, I also sponge them or give them a light spray with rubbing alcohol, on their body (not face) and let it evaporate to help them cool faster.  Alcohol can dry the skin so you can dilute with water and use sparingly.

It is good to be prepared before the heat gets so bad. This way you have some tools you can use to assist your animals in this heat!

Remembering back to 2020 I was also reminded of this in the “Springtime” (what little we have in Florida), from my horse Prize. 

One week as she and I worked through one of her first colic’s in years!  We have had warm weather with a lovely breeze for a couple weeks and although the temperature was in the low 90’s it felt much cooler with the breeze.  Which seemed to trick me and my animal family into thinking we weren’t thirsty…. wrong!

For Prize her lack of fluids caused a pretty bad colic.  It was then I remembered that I usually get a jump on the heat of summer by offering water with electrolytes, as well as fresh plain water to my horses and my dogs.  And I follow suit for myself with some Elixir in my filtered water. However, this particular year, we all let that nice cool breeze, fool us.

So, I gave Prize a product that I LOVE called Dyna-Spark, it has organic molasses, natural trace mineral salt, and balanced mineral chelates specifically chosen to address mineral deficiencies and muscle imbalances.  After watching her for a couple of days and working through this colic, it was so comforting to see her drink up and get re-hydrated so quickly.  I’ve yet to see a horse turn this down, it does wonders to get them to drink.

TIP: Always be sure to give the appropriate electrolytes to each species; the horse Dyna-Spark is formulated very different from what a human or dog may need, we each have different mineral needs.

You can learn about the one for horses at:

  http://dynamitespecialty.myvoffice.com/fyah

It is important to note however that, electrolytes can actually dehydrate an animal if not administered with plenty of water!

Drink up and stay cool (this summer) and make sure your animals do the same!   As we navigate through the summer heat, it is important to make sure we drink enough water and get enough minerals and electrolytes?  Same goes for your animal family!