Doug found this chart for me today. It looks like what they had in the EN issue this month, only I couldn't read anything with red print. So sharing this image so you know when you are in the danger zone and can avoid riding your horse on the worst sultry days (almost everyday presently in Indiana). Had I had this chart yesterday we would not have ridden. It was considered extremely dangerous. Hence the very slow pulse down, and the inverted respiration, even though we took it slow, it was almost too much for her. To use the chart find the temperature, and then the humidity, go straight across to where the lines intersect to find what conditions are like for your horse. Yesterday it was like exercising at 130 degrees... Today not quite as bad, but still in the danger zone. We just did some easy ground work and called it a day.
I hadn't seen a chart like that before. Your humidity sounds difficult to deal with. I'm lucky that ours is not even 35%. But if I were to follow that chart, riding here in the Northern California foothills, all summer is in the "danger" zone on temperature alone (since most days are 98 degree to 105 easily). I try to start early and get home before noon, drink a lot (both me and horse) and sponge when I can.
ReplyDeleteTemps in the 90's are okay until you factor in humidity at 70-90% which is what we've been having lately. You can pop a sweat just breathing and it won't evaporate. I struggle just maintaining in this weather, as does my horse. Needless to say we haven't been accomplishing much. I know they have endurance rides in hot humid places in the summer, but I just can't do that to my horse (or myself). I'd love to try heat without humidity, I really would :)
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I included that chart in a post I did last year on riding in heat and humidity. I also did some other research into other ways to calculate risk while riding.
ReplyDeletehttp://ridendurance.blogspot.com/2009/06/fact-of-life-dealing-with-humidity.html
This is a great resource. Here in Montana, we don't typically get humidity but this year is a bit different. Been a little on the muggie side. Thanks for sharing.
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