Summer Games: Keeping Equine Athletes Cool

David Marlin, BSc (Hons.) PhD, of David Marlin Consulting Ltd., worked on heat and humidity research for the Olympic Games in Atlanta in 1996. He elaborated on some important steps being taken to protect horses from the worst effects of heat

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David Marlin, BSc (Hons.) PhD, of David Marlin Consulting Ltd., worked on heat and humidity research for the Olympic Games in Atlanta in 1996. He elaborated on some important steps being taken to protect horses from the worst effects of heat throughout their stay in Hong Kong at a pre-Olympic Workshop held by the Fédération Equestre Internationale (FEI) Feb. 17, in Lausanne, Switzerland.

He explained that while acclimatization appears to be complete after 10-14 days of exercise, this could prove counter-productive because horses might not rest adequately or eat and drink properly, potentially affecting their health and performance. Air-conditioning is therefore being provided in both the stables and the indoor training arena, and a cooling regime will be operated during exercise.

The rationale for setting the stables temperature at 23° C is that 25° C (77° F) is considered to be the upper limit of a horse’s thermoneutral zone–above that the horse is likely to sweat or have an increased respiratory rate. Marlin warned “what feels slightly cool to a human is likely to feel comfortable for a horse.”

The indoor arena temperature will be 21° C (69.8° F), lower than the stables because horses are working

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