Abnormally hot, dry weather conditions can cause droughts that pose unique challenges for horse owners. Even short-term drought can create a harsh environment that stresses both horses and their pastures. Horses grazing in sparse, drought-stricken pastures can face disastrous results. It’s crucial to be extra attentive to your pastures and your horses during drought conditions.

Healthy Habits for Horses During Drought

One major concern during times of drought is maintaining your horse’s water supply. Natural water sources like ponds and streams dry out and the remaining water can become stagnant. It’s unhealthy for horses to drink stagnant water due to parasites and bacteria.

“If you use natural sources for your water, obviously you worry about it getting low,” says Kris Hiney, PhD, an assistant professor and Equine Extension Specialist for Oklahoma State University’s Department of Animal and Food Sciences. “You must regularly check for water availability. However, what I think about when there are high temperatures, and a lot of evaporation, is you have to careful about blue/green algae. It can be toxic.”

Hiney prefers horse owners use fresh water to keep horses hydrated. However, the heat on watering tanks can also substantially increase when it’s hot, so horse owners must be much more vigilant about refilling water buckets and tanks.

Pasture Problems During Drought

Horses can graze very low to the ground when a lack of moisture suppresses vegetation growth in a pasture. Overgrazing close to the ground can cause horses to ingest more soil material. Consuming soil poses risks such as obstruction hazard if a horse ingests a stone, or sand colic if the soil contains a lot of sand.

When vegetation becomes sparse, Hiney says horses might also start grazing a little closer to latrine areas that they would normally avoid. If so, they are at risk of picking up more parasites. Besides the risks for horses, there’s also a danger of severely damaging the pasture.

“You really need to keep an eye on what’s happening in your pasture in drought conditions,” Hiney says. “Normally, in the summer, I’m not feeding hay, which saves on my hay budget. But, if you overgraze pastures in a drought, think about how long it takes for pastures to recover. If you have to reseed and try to reclaim pasture that’s been really stressed, all that input cost adds up.

It may seem a little more economically painful at the time, but you’re better off using some of your hay supply to preserve the longevity of your pasture,” Hiney continues. “It can’t handle two stressors at the same time, being overgrazed and underwatered. Think about your pasture as a valuable resource you want to protect. I think that’s the biggest lesson. If you overuse it, it can take years to get it back.”

Hiney suggests contacting a hay supplier sooner when it’s hot and dry because hay sources often become limited. Also, don’t forget to figure the additional expense into your hay budget for the year. A little preplanning helps you be prepared to pay a bit more than usual.

Grazing Weeds and Toxic Plants

When grasses go dormant, weeds may not because many weeds tend to be more resilient than grasses. Your horse may be ingesting more weeds than usual, some of which might be toxic.

“There are also some plants that become more toxic during drought conditions,” Hiney says. “We tell people to avoid the sorghums. Those plants when they’re stressed can be potentially more toxic to horses.”

If horses come off pasture and are restricted to a dry lot, take a close look at your fence lines and the weeds growing along them. The horses aren’t going to be happy about life without any greens to graze, even if you’re feeding them hay. They’re going to try reaching over and under the fence.

“Is there a hotwire that’s functioning?” Hiney asks. “What’s the two-feet buffer like from the fence? Have you cleared that and are there any weeds? Birds poop out seeds on the fence. That’s why you get such a different variety of weeds along the fence line versus in the pasture. Plus, fence lines are kind of protected from being mowed or eaten. You really want to pay attention because your horses are going to be reaching for a snack.”

Watch out for signs that your horse may have ingested a toxic plant. Unusual salivating, blisters in the mouth, or an alternation in the GI tract, such as diarrhea, could indicate they got into an irritant. Altered motor functions, lethargy, and holding the head differently can also be signs of nervous system trouble. Other possible signs include elevated heart rate, pale gums, labored breathing, and colic.

Exercising Horses in Drought

Besides humans and primates, horses are the only mammals that cool themselves primarily by sweating. During hot, humid weather, sweat doesn’t evaporate, and a horse’s body doesn’t cool down as it should. If you’re exercising your horse when it’s extremely hot, heat stress can lead to heat exhaustion or even life-threatening heat stroke.

“If it’s hot and you’re riding, you really have to worry about heat exhaustion,” Hiney says. “Really pay attention to their respiratory rate and heart rate when you’re riding them. If they’re not recovering, stop riding. Get up early to ride. Even if you try to ride late in the evening, it takes a long time for the heat to dissipate, so early morning is going to be your best chance to be able to exercise horses somewhat normally.”

Horses typically drink between 5 and 10 gallons of water daily. On extremely hot days, their water intake can double, even without exercising. When horses sweat, they lose water containing much higher amounts of electrolytes than humans, so it’s critical you replace them.

“They’re losing lots of water and electrolytes,” Hiney says. “We want to make sure there’s a source of salt at a minimum. If it has been really hot, and we’ve been exercising them, I’d definitely recommend doing a little electrolyte replacement.”

This article about horses during drought appeared as an online exclusive of Horse Illustrated magazine. Click here to subscribe!

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But sometimes, when the shine wears off and you’ve settled into your normal routine, you realize that perfect-for-you horse is no longer the steed of your dreams. How do you come to terms with selling a horse you waited so long to find?

Hindsight 20/20

Samantha Whited was a barrel racer looking for the perfect horse to take her to the next level when she came across an ad that made her heart skip a beat: A gorgeous, jet-black Quarter Horse gelding, Dash, who was also a finished barrel horse.

Whited bought the gelding, excited for all the adventures she was planning with her new partner. A lifelong horsewoman, she wasn’t just interested in the accolades the two could rack up; she also loved spending time with Dash and creating a partnership and connection. Though they were the perfect fit on the ground, the translation of that trust to under-saddle work just never came, no matter how hard Whited tried.

For seven years, she tried, trained, struggled and experimented with Dash to find something that would make the two of them click. She even went on a TV show with the gelding seeking the root cause of their issues. But nothing worked.

“I loved that horse and he loved me—we had an amazing relationship out of the saddle,” says Whited. But after years of riding him, she knew something had to give. “I finally realized that this was an incredible horse that I was holding back from reaching his full potential. So the decision was made to let him move on to a more confident and better-suited rider for his ultimate success.”

Once the decision was made that it was time to consider selling her horse, there was no relief—just sadness. One thing that helped assuage Whited’s anxiety about finding Dash a good home was placing him on a lease-to-own trial.

“This made me feel like I had control if things didn’t work out,” she explains.

This arrangement comforted her; she knew she was sending her beloved friend to someone who would watch over his wellbeing. Whited remains in contact with Dash’s new owner.

“He seems so happy with a person better suited to his natural demeanor,” she reports.
Looking back, Whited says she should have made the decision to sell Dash much earlier, but admitting her “dream horse” wasn’t for her took a lot longer to work through.

“Selling a horse is a responsibility I don’t take lightly, but if you can put the horse in someone else’s hands where things fit more naturally, everyone is happier in the end—especially the horse,” she concludes.

Soundness Challenges

Growing up in a decidedly non-horsey family, Lydia Davis took every opportunity she could to ride, finally purchasing her first horse during her senior year of college.

“I was pretty particular about what I was looking for,” Davis explains. “I was specifically seeking a young, registered Quarter Horse with no pre-existing injuries.”

Davis ended up purchasing Invy’s Little Star in 2011, with hopes that they could dabble in everything from western events and trail riding to eventing.

“I wanted to learn with her,” Davis explains.

After a decade together, however, Davis’s dreams of having a horse to go on adventures with were coming to a halt, as Invy was having ongoing soundness issues. Working in the nonprofit world, Davis’s ability to afford intense management strategies was limited.

“Ultimately, I decided that I needed to rehome her because her soundness issues were becoming too financially costly to manage and were inhibiting her from performing physically at the level I sought.”

It’s important to note that Invy stayed sound in lighter work and enjoyed having a job. The decision to find her a more suitable home wasn’t one Davis took lightly; she considered selling the mare for over four years before finally making the decision that was best for both of them.

“Although she was (and still is) a very special horse to me, our paths were simply moving in different directions,” Davis explains.

Davis enlisted the services of the Re-Ride Quarter Horse Adoption Program, which placed Invy with the Miami University equestrian program in Oxford, Ohio.

“Once I ultimately decided to part with Invy, it was certainly heartbreaking, but there was a sense of peace about the decision as well,” Davis shares. “I had wrestled with what to do and wondered what the best decision for her was for so long that making a decision—albeit a really tough one—brought me solace.”

Davis remains in contact with the staff at Miami and is updated regularly on how the mare is doing.

Selling a Horse: The Hardest Choice of All

Unfortunately, some perfect horse finds turn into nightmares. Horses can become so quirky—or outright dangerous—that rehoming them would be too fraught with danger for both the horse and his new owner.

These horses can be the ultimate test of a horse owner’s mental fortitude. Though making the decision to rehome a horse can be stressful, making the decision to euthanize one instead of selling or rehoming brings with it an intense rollercoaster of emotions.

Often horse owners in this situation beat themselves up, wondering what they could have done differently or what other methods exist to try to “fix” the horse.

Hannah Smith grew up spending hours on end at the farm where she took lessons. A true barn rat, she particularly enjoyed shadowing the veterinarians and farriers who came to the farm.

“I’m thankful they actually let me be annoying because they nurtured my love for horse health early on,” says Smith, who obtained an equine science degree and is now an assistant broodmare manager on a prominent Thoroughbred breeding farm.

Once settled on the farm, a coworker told her about a retired racehorse named Heavy in need of a job. Having broken and trained multiple horses, Hannah was excited to get back in the saddle with one of her own.

At first, Smith enjoyed working with the gelding, beginning to teach him the ropes of his new career as a jumper. He was kind, sweet and willing. She became more enamored with his personality during every ride.

“When things went wrong, it took me by surprise,” she explains. “During a routine mounting, something we had done a million times before with no problems, Heavy lost his mind.” With one leg in the stirrup and no way to scramble aboard or dismount rapidly, the event landed Smith in the emergency room with a fractured neck and back (C2 and L1), a potentially devastating injury.

“I’m lucky to be walking, much less riding again,” says Smith. “I was baffled by what happened. While I was recovering for three months, Heavy sat in a field. When I was cleared by my doctors, I decided to completely start him over to see if I had missed a step and if that was causing the issues. We started with groundwork and then prepared to transition to riding again. Up to that point, everything had gone perfectly; he was a gentleman for each of our sessions.

“But the second my foot went in the stirrup to mount the first time, I saw his eye change. I will never forget the feeling of being 9 feet in the air and thinking, ‘You got lucky once, you won’t get lucky again,’ and thinking this was where it ended for me,” she says. That time, Smith was hospitalized with a broken pelvis.

Searching for Answers

“I had him scoped and evaluated by vets and he was deemed healthy and happy—multiple times,” she says. The clean bill of health left Smith with no explanation of why Heavy would explode when she went to mount. Broken once again, Smith was left disheartened and confused. She began weighing her options.

“How could I live with myself if I sold him, even with everything fully disclosed, and he hurt someone else with no warning?” she asks.

Not everyone has the financial means to turn out a horse for the next 20 years, and there was no guarantee that whatever Heavy was experiencing wouldn’t eventually trickle down into behavior issues on the ground.

“I spent six months pondering the decision I ultimately made,” Smith says. “After consulting with multiple vets, my trainer and many friends I trusted, I made the gut-wrenching decision to put him down. While it took six months to decide, it took six seconds to see the relief in his eye and feel the weight literally lift off my shoulders. It wasn’t easy, but I loved that horse and I wanted him to always be safe and loved.”

For Smith, it was the right decision.

“It’s not an easy situation, but what is best for the horse will always be the right answer,” she says. Smith feels the decision to euthanize a horse is complicated, and because everyone’s situation is different, there’s not one right answer.

Likewise, selling a horse you thought was Mr. Right can be deeply distressing; it can feel like all of your dreams are lost and make you question your abilities, both as a rider and an owner. But horse owners are a tenacious bunch. Concluding that a new home or euthanasia is best for the horse can feel like admitting defeat, but it’s important to remember it isn’t. You’re offering the horse a great kindness by finding the best situation for his physical and emotional needs.

This article about selling your “perfect” horse appeared in the July 2021 issue of Horse Illustrated magazine. Click here to subscribe!

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It’s a reality that horse welfare advocates have increasingly been pondering, says animal behaviorist Emily Weiss, Ph.D., CAAB, vice president of the ASPCA Equine Welfare Department.

“We want to create a safety net for horses,” she says. “We want to find ways to provide owners with alternatives so they can prevent their horse from becoming at-risk.”

Tough Times: Reasons for Rehoming Horses

When caring for horses through tough times, here are some reasons as to why horse owners will rehome their horses. According to Weiss, a recent ASPCA survey of 211 owners who rehomed their horses revealed that in addition to direct financial challenges, moving and human health issues ranked high among reasons why owners become compelled to sell, surrender or otherwise rehome their horses.

In fact, any significant lifestyle shift can determine whether or not an owner can continue to keep a horse, says Tawnee Preisner, founder and president of the Horse Plus Humane Society.

“In one case we had a woman who had to give up her horse because she had a young child and a baby, and just couldn’t take care of the horse anymore,” Preisner recalls. “If you have financial challenges or are ill, it may not be realistic to keep your horse.”

According to Preisner, doing what’s right begins with providing the animal with the training most likely to make him attractive to prospective adopters.

“That means horses that are trained to have basic skills, such as the ability to be led, to stand for grooming or the farrier, and to be ridden,” she says.

But even affording help from a trainer can be difficult for some owners, says Weiss.

“Forty-five percent of the people we surveyed said that access to safety net services would have allowed them to keep their horse,” Weiss explains.

Challenging Times: Vet and Farrier Services for Horses

Vet and farrier services can feel like a burden when caring for horses through tough times. Likewise, even the most basic veterinary care can be too expensive for owners experiencing difficult times. That lack of care not only puts horses at risk for health issues, but it can also diminish their rehoming potential and even threaten their lives.

Sometimes owners are able to draw on their relationships to negotiate lower-cost veterinarian services and farrier fees. But others don’t have those connections.

In response, the ASPCA has partnered with the international animal health product manufacturer Zoetis. Together, they’ve launched a pilot project that encourages veterinarians to identify owners in their own communities with at-risk horses that might benefit from lower-cost equine healthcare services. The project is also networking with farriers to provide lower-cost services to the owners of those horses.

“The push is to provide services in order to keep horses in their current homes and out of rehoming organizations when that is best for the horse,” Weiss says. “Rehoming organizations have finite resources.”

These safety net services allow owners to provide regular health and farrier care for their horses even if they are compelled to rehome them eventually.

“This way, you can be sure that the horse has been getting the veterinary care he needs up until the time that he is surrendered,” says Preisner.

Challenging Times: How Horses are Surrendered

When caring for horses through tough times, horse owners can become more stressed out when they know they have to surrender a horse. When that time comes, knowing where and how to surrender a horse for rehoming can be challenging to already financially and emotionally distraught horse owners. Respondents to a survey of those relinquishing their horses say they were looking for options for long periods of time before being able to find a safe option.

“We asked them how long they had been thinking about rehoming their horses, and on average they said 15 months,” says Weiss. “They said they just didn’t have the opportunity to do so.”

In response, the ASPCA has opened an Equine Regional Support Center to provide a safe place for horse owners to relinquish horses that need rehoming. Located in Dallas, the center provides no-cost veterinary care and euthanasia services to financially strapped horse owners. It’s a pilot program that may be replicated in other parts of the U.S., according to Weiss.

Open Door to All Horses

In the meantime, the One-Day Open Door Clinic program has long been a staple of the rehoming program at Horse Plus Humane Society. The clinics allow owners in California and Tennessee to surrender their horses to the adoption organization with no questions asked.

“Horses can be surrendered to us to be adopted or to be humanely euthanized,” Preisner explains. “All you have to do is bring us the horse.”

According to Preisner, the clinics give owners an opportunity to get out from under those things that challenge their ability to look after their animals. At the same time, it provides them with an alternative to offering the animals for sale on the internet or selling them at auction.

“Many people don’t realize that just because slaughter plants closed in this country doesn’t mean the horses can’t go to slaughter,” Preisner points out. “Sometimes if the horse isn’t trained or the owners can’t find ways to provide care during hard times, people are actually setting their horses up for slaughter.”

That’s why Preisner thinks One-Day Open Door events provide owners with a chance to do their horses a final kindness. “If you’re sick and can’t take care of your horse, or you’re making end-of-life plans and have no one who is willing to take care of your horse, the best thing you can do is to humanely euthanize him,” says Preisner. “Euthanizing a horse is OK, and people need to realize that making this decision doesn’t make them a bad person.”

Planning Ahead

When caring for horses through tough times, horse owners can still plan ahead and look towards the future. Some owners are including their animals in their own end-of-life plans. Using wills, trusts and specially developed protection documents, owners can provide specific directives for their horse’s care.

As property, horses named in an owner’s will may be passed on to a specific beneficiary named in the estate. Owners may also establish specific bank accounts to provide revenue for everything from feed and veterinary care to farrier services to maintain the horse after the owner has died or become disabled.

Funds are disbursed to a designated caretaker in regular amounts at specified intervals as required. It’s exactly the kind of document that would have been beneficial when Ken Chin inherited a dozen Arabian show horses named in his cousin’s will.

“She intended to set up a trust for them, but she died before she could do it,” Chin recalls. “Fortunately, because they were so well-known on the show circuit, I was able to find homes for all of them.”

Naming a Caretaker

Finally, owners may use a pet protection agreement (PPA) document to name a caretaker and to dictate everything from the brand of feed the horses will be fed to which veterinarian is to deliver health care.

Developed by and available exclusively through animal law attorney Rachel Hirschfeld, owners may also use PPAs to designate funds to be used for the animal’s care as well as to name who should receive payouts and when.

“You can name a guardian for your horse and open an account at your regular bank using your social security number, with the guardian as a co-signer or signer on the account,” says Hirschfeld.

Hirschfeld says that the documents are recognized as legal in all U.S. states and that one PPA covers all of an owner’s animals, whether the owner is deceased or permanently unable to care for them.

“Let’s say you had an accident but you didn’t die—who’s going to read the will?” says Hirschfeld.

Whatever legal tools you consider, you should discuss your options with financial and legal advisers before you commit to one.

Finally, whatever you decide, Preisner believes owners must make sure that their horses are poised to make the most appropriate transition.

“Ultimately, people have to do what’s best for the horse,” she says.

This article originally appeared in the November 2018 issue of Horse Illustrated magazine. Click here to subscribe!

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