Effect of Cooling Blanket on the Heat Stress of Horses in Hot and Humid Environments.
Authors: Ojima Yuki, Torii Suzuka, Maeda Yosuke, Matsuura Akihiro
Journal: Animals : an open access journal from MDPI
Summary
# Editorial Summary: Cooling Blankets for Heat-Stressed Stabled Horses Horses confined to stalls during hot, humid weather face genuine physiological stress with few evidence-based interventions currently available; Ojima and colleagues investigated whether an ice-cooling blanket could effectively mitigate this problem in twenty healthy horses using a crossover design that measured skin temperature, heart rate, respiratory rate, rectal temperature, and plasma cortisol across three time points throughout the day. The cooling blanket, which targeted the front back, rear back, and loin areas, produced measurable improvements in the ice-blanket condition compared to controls: skin surface temperature decreased progressively over the measurement period, whilst respiratory rate, heart rate and plasma cortisol all declined significantly—physiological markers known to reflect heat stress severity and welfare compromise. Notably, this intervention required neither water immersion nor mechanical ventilation, offering a practical, low-intervention cooling method suitable for yard management where elaborate cooling infrastructure may be impractical. For farriers, veterinarians and equine therapists advising on stall management during summer months or in consistently warm climates, these findings suggest targeted cooling blankets represent a viable strategy to reduce the metabolic and endocrine burden of heat stress in stabled horses, particularly valuable for performance animals where thermal recovery between training sessions or competition is crucial.
Read the full abstract on PubMed
Practical Takeaways
- •Ice cooling blankets offer a practical, equipment-free method to reduce heat stress in stalled horses during hot weather, with measurable improvements in vital signs and cortisol levels
- •This cooling method can be applied to riding horses and racehorses that spend extended time in stalls, improving their welfare when environmental cooling options are limited
- •The technique shows promise for broader application across barn-kept mammals and may reduce stress-related health complications in livestock during summer months
Key Findings
- •Ice cooling blanket significantly reduced skin surface temperature of the front back with cooling time in treated horses compared to control
- •Heart rate, respiratory rate, and plasma cortisol levels decreased only in the ice blanket group, indicating reduced physiological heat stress response
- •Cooling blanket provided effective gentle cooling without water or fans in hot and humid environments