Summer Sweat

Now that summer weather is in full force, make sure that you are treating the effects of summer time sweat. First, your horse should have regular access to clean, fresh water. Dump and scrub water troughs or plastic buckets once a week to ensure removal of algae and debris that may make the water less palatable. Second, make sure your horse is getting his required salt (talk to your veterinarian about his or her preferred supplement, be it loose salt or a salt block). Adequate amounts of water and salt will help keep your horse from becoming dehydrated. Finally, address that sweat that’s built up on your tack, particularly on the underside of the leather where it lies next to the horse. Remove it with a cloth dampened with clean water. More grimy sweat should be removed with the use of a genuine leather cleaner. Then nourish your tack with either a quick application of a glycerine-based product or affect a more thorough re-hydration with a leather restorer or conditioner. Summer time sweat can be harsh on your horse and your tack. But with a little vigilance you can beat the heat!

19 years ago

Cindy Hale

Cindy Hale’s life with horses has been filled with variety. As a child she rode western and learned to barrel race. Then she worked as a groom for a show barn, and was taught to harness and drive Welsh ponies. But once she’d taken her first lessons aboard American Saddlebreds she was hooked on English riding. Hunters and hunt seat equitation came next, and she spent decades competing in those divisions on the West Coast. Always seeking to improve her horsemanship, she rode in clinics conducted by world-class riders like George Morris, Kathy Kusner and Anne Kursinski. During that time, her family began raising Thoroughbred and warmblood sport horses, and Cindy experienced the thrills and challenges of training and showing the homebred greenies. Now retired from active competition, she’s a popular judge at local and county-rated open and hunter/jumper shows. She rides recreationally both English and western. Her Paint gelding, Wally, lives at home with her and her non-horsey husband, Ron.

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View Comments

Krista says:
January 13, 2008 at 7:29 pm
Good short article, it helped me remember to clean my tack after every use.
... says:
July 24, 2010 at 1:58 pm
Great article! I ride a mare who sweats profusely, and was a bit worried when the insides of my field boots started going white :p once I figured out it was salt I had no idea how to clean it!
Lisa says:
March 12, 2011 at 5:10 pm
Great artical, my horse is an easy keeper, so she is alway with a little extra weight that makes her sweat. Keeping her tack clean like the saddle pad is alway a chore, and i wouldnt have it anyother way... Clean for her.