Effect of Different Water Cooling Treatments on Changes in Rectal and Surface Body Temperature in Leisure Horses after Medium-Intensity Effort

SIMPLE SUMMARY: The study was performed in order to answer the question: should horses be cooled after not very intensive exercise? Thus, the efficiency of four different water cooling methods was studied in horses after medium-intensity effort for leisure horses under moderate air temperature. The water cooling methods used included spraying with cold water: (1) lower body parts, i.e., lower parts of legs; (2) upper body parts, i.e., back of the head and flanks; and (3) both lower and upper body parts. The control group was not treated with water. Water cooling was applied to 19 warmblood geldings immediately after the end of exercise and 10 and 20 min later. The internal and body surface temperatures were registered and analyzed. The water cooling methods used led to a decrease in rectal and body surface temperature. Applying cold water on lower body parts was only effective and can be recommended for practical use under the described conditions. ABSTRACT: Cooling a horse after intensive exercise under hot conditions is commonly recommended. The study aimed to analyze changes in the rectal and surface temperature of the horses subjected to various water cooling treatments. This followed medium-intensity exercise performed by leisure horses under moderate air temperature. The experiment involved a control group without water application, and three variants of water cooling applied to 19 warmblood geldings after medium-intensity effort. Cooling of lower, upper, and lower and upper body parts was performed. In each variant, the rectal and body surface temperatures were measured five times: before; immediately after; and 10, 20, and 30 min after effort. Using water cooling under the studied conditions did not influence a post-exercise decrease in the rectal temperature. The decrease in body surface temperature depended on the used variant of cooling down the horse. Cooling the limbs by pouring water several times changed the surface body temperature from 34.2 ± 0.37 °C to 32.0 ± 0.32 °C and was more efficient than the repeated application of cool water on both the upper and lower body parts, leading to a temperature change from 34.6 ± 0.26 °C to 33.2 ± 0.36 °C. Thus, the application of cold water on the limbs only is sufficient for cooling the horse after medium-intensity exercise under moderate air temperature (about 24 °C).