There’s a reason why everyone comes to horse show in Florida… in the winter. The summers here can be pretty brutal. Between the heat and the humidity, it’s hard to keep a horse in full work this time of year. Then mix in the unpredictability of hurricane season and that’s why people really lean into the “snow bird” lifestyle.
I’ve lived in Florida all my life. I’ve had horses most of my years. We’ve weathered the storms and the heat and the rain and all the fun skin funk, hoof problems and sweating disorders that come with it. It’s a lot, but up until recently, it’s been manageable.
This summer, larges swaths of North America are experiencing intense heat waves. Here in Florida, it’s gone on for weeks. I’ve seen the temperature gauge in my truck break the triple digits for the first time in my memory – meanwhile my weather app has told me that the heat index has a “feels like” temperature that’s reached 118 degrees on some days. Some nights, that “feels like” temp is still 102 long after the sun has gone down. I’ve personally never experienced dangerous heat like this at home.
This isn’t a political column to try to convince you that climate change is real. But whether we like it or not, this heat is here to stay, at least this year and this season. Extreme heat advisories have been issued for multiple days at a time. Local governments have opened cooling centers for people who can’t get out of the elements. But think about the horses – when the temperatures are still so warm overnight, they just don’t get a break.
We’ve got fans and misters and spend a whole lot of time under the hose in the wash racks. The horses spend less time in the pasture to keep them out of the blazing sun. Nevertheless, horse shows are still going on.
The summer is generally the “off season” down here. But riders who qualified for national events – say the USHJA Hunter Championship Week, the U.S. Dressage Festival of Champions or the American Eventing Championships, which all happen in August – riders and horses are still in full work preparing for these competitions. But how do you keep horses in full work when the heat indexes are dangerously high?
The World Equestrian Center in Ocala receives a lot of praise and interest for their air conditioned, indoor arenas. It’s how most of their summer series shows are run, where riders can walk from the barn to the ring and never be out in full sun. It’s a tremendous privilege to ride there, and comes at the high cost associated with nationally rated events. Not everyone can afford it. But is expensive indoor arenas the future for riding venues if this dangerous heat becomes the new normal?
This question, of course, opens the flood gates with more questions than answers. How do we keep our horses fit but safe? Welfare trumps competition, or at least it should. But the way we view the sport and our relationship with horses may be shaped by the world around us. Does this mean that riding in Southern parts of America will cause a role reversal, and we’ll become the traveling “heatwave birds”?
I don’t know what the answer is. But I am worried about it. But most of all, I’m worried about the horses.