# Why does my horse get so sweaty so easily?



## Kayty

Does he have a super thick coat? Not sure where you're located, but it might be worth giving him a trace clip if he's getting that hot so easily. Taking some hair off allows the sweat to evaporate more easily and cool the horse down quicker. Liken it to going for a run in a thick woolly jumper!


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## PaintHorseMares

VEDressage said:


> However, he gets sweaty SO easily, no matter how cold it is. To the point where after 5-10 minutes of trotting his shoulders and chest are covered in sweat. Even walking seems to get him hot. He's not in terrible shape but I suppose not in great shape either, but I seem to remember him having the same problem back in the fall when he was ridden regularly outside.


With their winter coats, our mares can get sweaty even in the winter just running around playing in the pasture for 15 minutes. It really depends more on how humid the air is and how fast the sweat evaporates than anything else. After a ride, you really don't need to spend a lot of time drying them off completely...if you use a towel to fluff their hair back up and let air get back to the skin, they'll dry off naturally in no time.


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## Skipsfirstspike

My horse is a sweater. He is in great shape, but he just tends to sweat a bit more than the others.
When I first got him, the previous owner was feeding a fair bit of oats. He seemed to sweat less once I cut the oats right back, and today he is on a senior feed, but he still sweats up fairly easily. As long as you know you are not over doing it with your horse, I think he is fine.


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## usandpets

Horses get sweaty for two reasons. One is because of physical exercise. The second is a mental sweat. Is your horse foaming between the rear legs? If so, it is physical and he is out of shape or you are pushing him hard. If it's just on the neck and chest, that's a mental sweat. He's having to concentrate on what he's doing and really having to think about it. A mental sweat also occurs when he gets worked up, like trying to run back to the barn and you are holding him back. To fix a mental sweat from getting his mind worked up, he needs to be taught to be more submissive. 

One of ours gets a bad mental sweat from just being in an arena. I think something bad had happened to him in one before we got him. He's fine in an indoor round pen and would do what we asked in the arena, but he really doesn't like arenas. That might be the case for yours too.


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## mls

usandpets said:


> Horses get sweaty for two reasons. One is because of physical exercise. The second is a mental sweat. Is your horse foaming between the rear legs? If so, it is physical and he is out of shape or you are pushing him hard. If it's just on the neck and chest, that's a mental sweat. He's having to concentrate on what he's doing and really having to think about it. A mental sweat also occurs when he gets worked up, like trying to run back to the barn and you are holding him back. To fix a mental sweat from getting his mind worked up, he needs to be taught to be more submissive.


Interesting. The calmest horse I own sweats the most readily. If I followed your logic, she should be an out out shape basket case.

Some horses - like some people - simply sweat more readily than others. Sweating is a good thing. As long as you are cooling the horse properly after the workout and ensuring the horse has plenty of water and salt, you have no need to worry.


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## Kayty

usandpets.... yes and no... works for some horses. Foaming between the back legs is also a 'good' sweat when the horse is working correctly and using the hind legs. I like to see my horse sweating more through the hindquarter area than forehand. 
Neck and shoulder sweat, yes it an be mental sweat, it can also be because the horse is on the forehand, among others. Some horses will just sweat more than others... just like people. You can't generalise


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## usandpets

My post does have generalized info. We can't see how the OP is riding and what she is doing with the horse. I was just trying to point out things she might not have known. When I ride a horse it will usually come back with a mental sweat because that's the way I ride. I make them think. My wife will come back with a completely dry horse from the same ride. We can also come back with completely drenched horses from a hard ride. 

There are a lot of factors that would cause a horse to sweat: temperature, humidity, condition of the horse, the way the horse is worked, the way the horse is rode, the time of year and the horses coat, the horses mental condition, the horses attitude and possibly others. I've also seen horses standing in a pasture sweating. They aren't working or having a mental sweat from eating, so I guess there goes my logic, huh?

A horse that sweats all over is likely from physical exercise. A horse that is sweaty just on the neck and chest is likely from a mental sweat. Maybe the OP doesn't realize if the horse is sweaty between the legs. She didn't say anything about under the saddle being sweaty either. Maybe she didn't know about mental sweats. Maybe the horse is working on the front end. Maybe she's making the horse think but doesn't realize she's doing it.


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## VEDressage

Hmm these are all very interesting responses. Sorry, I guess I should have elaborated more; he gets sweaty all over (under the saddle, between the legs, etc) but his chest and shoulders are where he sweats the most. 

I live in a climate where it gets VERY cold in the winter and VERY hot in the summer. He's rough board and he develops a pretty fuzzy coat. This could be the problem but it happens even in the summer when he's all shed out. 

As for the mental sweats, that's a very interesting possibility, as arena riding and dressage are very new concepts to him. However he sweats even on the trail, which is what he knows and what he's comfortable with. 

I suppose he's just a sweaty horse! As long as there's no health problems or anything like that that may be causing it, I guess I'm not too worried.


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## hhadavis

I learned in the past, cant remember where I picked it up, but feed can cause horses to sweat more also. Especially the sweet feeds/grains, and depending on the quanity given.


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## SorrelHorse

Rebel sweats. A lot.

It's not so much that he's working hard so much as he's working himself up so much that he's maing himself sweat.

Rebel is an anglo arabian and can go for days, in peak condition now. We can run a full gymkhana, a stock seat pattern, hunt seat, over fences, and dressage and he may be really sweaty but still raring to go for more.

Sometimes it's just that they are a sweater. Like in Rebel's case, he just gets REALLY excited when we step onto the arena but on the trail he just relaxes and goes along happily, with no resistance and doesn't sweat at all.


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## MIEventer

usandpets said:


> Horses get sweaty for two reasons. One is because of physical exercise. The second is a mental sweat. Is your horse foaming between the rear legs? If so, it is physical and he is out of shape or you are pushing him hard. If it's just on the neck and chest, that's a mental sweat. He's having to concentrate on what he's doing and really having to think about it. A mental sweat also occurs when he gets worked up, like trying to run back to the barn and you are holding him back. To fix a mental sweat from getting his mind worked up, he needs to be taught to be more submissive.


Interesting. I've never heard that before. I was told by an Upper Level Eventer during a clinic, that when horses sweat on their back end, that's because the horse is working off of their back end. If the horse is sweating on their necks, it's because they aren't working off of their back ends. 

I don't think any of it is true.

~~~~

My little buddies TB sweats like a pig all over his body, and I can tell you it's not because he's working a mental sweat or because he's working off of his back end...becaus my little buddy has no concept yet of back to front and his horse is very quiet and very docile and "duh, ok, anything you say" type of mount - perfect for a 12 year old rider.

The two of us can be in the arena together, whether working on our own or in a lesson, or heck even out hacking - and when we get back, Nelson barely has a wet coat what-so-ever, and my little buddies horse will look like he ran through a water sprinkler. 

I have no idea why. They both get ridden as much as the next, they both are involved in the same sport, same level, same demands - just one sweats like a pig, and the other barely breaks a sweat.

You've got me! Good question OP!


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## Northern

Funny & interesting post, MI Eventer!


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## Sarahandlola

Ok so Lola sweats between her back legs and her shoulders and neck..So is she using her back end or front end XD 

She actually has not been sweating half as much. maybe because her neck is fully shedded.


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## apachiedragon

I'm sure in some cases all of the above are true. Nerves can cause it as much as hard work can. And I'm also sure that horses are like people, some just sweat more than others. I have one horse that will sweat just standing in the pasture if it gets even slightly warm. He also drinks more than the rest, so he compensates for it.

I think as long as your horse isn't getting a chill after sweating, you'll be fine, OP. Cool her out a bit, use a cooler if you need to, and if you feel a clip might help, go for it. Just remember that if you take away a lot of her coat that you will have to add a sheet or blanket on colder days, especially if she's on rough board.


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## VEDressage

Someone mentioned making sure he gets enough salt; is a salt deficiency something I should be worried about? I'm not sure how much salt he gets from eating...he gets glucosamine supplement with about a cup of pellets every evening. He has a salt block in his pasture but I don't know how much he uses it, if at all. With all of the salt he loses by sweating, do I need to replace it?


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## AndalusionTales

In the winter here it doesnâ€™t really get that cold but cold enough that Iâ€™m not going to hose my sweaty horse down.

I always wipe her down with towels and pour a little alcohol down either side of her spine.

The alcohol pulls the excessive heat out so they sweat less. You can literally watch the steam rise. 

If you use this trick, just donâ€™t pour alcohol all over. Either side of the spine is enough.

My new mare is sweating loads right now too but her last owner said she hasnâ€™t been worked in over a year, sheâ€™s 19, 4 months pregnant and black.

Sheâ€™s on a high protein, low carb diet which Iâ€™ve noticed must cause her to produce more larger in her sweat and saliva as she lathers up more quickly than when she was on sweet feed and less protein.

Iâ€™m assuming this is due to the extra energy from being fed more of a performance horseâ€™s diet without being worked every day.


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## QtrBel

Have you noticed the age of this post? It's from 2011.


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## SueC

Seeing it's been resurrected, perhaps it's good to tag onto this one that hyperhidrosis - unusual sweating (and its converse, hypohidrosis - unusual lack of sweating) - is also a common sign in horses starting PPID - along with extra-hairy winter coat, late/patchy shedding, etc etc. Not that this is the most likely reason for horses sweating unusually - lack of fitness, too hot in winter coat, nervousness, individual variation, illnesses etc etc are more usual explanations, but since quite a few horses end up with PPID eventually, it's worth mentioning.


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## WalkTrotLope

I had one horse who would get drenched in sweat after a few minutes of riding him, while he was in shape, and another horse who I could ride for hours and would barely even be sweating. I think it depends on the horse and their genetics. Your horse should probably be fine just keep an eye on him. Good Luck!


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