Phoenix Equine

23/06/2026

☀️ Summer Safety Tips ☀️

What about exercise in hot weather? 🐎🔥

Nobody wants to work hard in hot weather and horses are exactly the same. Exercising in the midday sun increases the risk of heatstroke for both you and your horse.

In order to improve your exercise time and to reduce the chance of your horse overheating making the most of the long summer days is the best plan. Aim to do most of your work before 10am or after 4pm in order to avoid the hottest time in the day.

Cooling down is just as important so finish your exercise session with at least 10 minutes of low intensity work in walk in order to allow your horse to stretch out and cool down naturally. We suggest the horses' breathing rate should be back to normal by the end of the cool down.

After exercising it’s a good idea to wash down your horse with a hose or water buckets and sponges in order to cool them down faster and also wash any sweat away from their coats/skin. This prevents build up and rubs from developing.

If they have been sweating significantly adding in electrolytes to replace what has been lost in sweat is also important. Don't forget to provide plenty of hydration for both you and the horse after exercise too.

23/06/2026

Have you done your summer faecal egg count yet? 🐴👀💩

If you haven't done your horse, pony or donkeys faecal egg count in the past 3 months - it might be time to do it!

Give the office a ring to order your faecal egg kit or if you already have your yearly pack it might be time to use the summer pot!

22/06/2026

🐴☀️🫗Summer time drinking 🫗☀️🐴

Did you know that the average 500kg horse needs to drink 25 Litres of water daily in normal weather. This only goes up when the weather becomes warmer and your horse loses more water through sweating. This is why it is so important to make sure your horse always has access to fresh, clean water. Take the time to check automatic drinkers and outdoor water sources daily to make sure they’re filling and clean.

But what if my horse doesn't like drinking much?!

Some horses are less keen on drinking than others and may go off their water for various reasons, an example being when away from home at competitions. There are various options that can be tried to increase a horses water intake. Such as -

🫗 Adding extra water to your horses feed, offering warm water rather than cold or adding in soaked feeds into their diet (or increasing the amount of water in the soaked feed).

💦 Introducing a ‘water buffet’ - alongside a bucket of normal clean water you can provide buckets with other flavours of water such as water with table salt added, water with a small amount of molasses in and water with apple juice added. Some horses will prefer one or more of these options over plain water.

🚛 When travelling away from home bringing water from home may be a good idea in order to improve your horses water uptake, some horses only like the flavour of water they’re used to.

What else may need to be considered?

If horses are profusely sweating then they will often also lose electrolytes so adding in electrolytes or using rehydrating type feeds can also be a useful addition to consider.

22/06/2026

☀️ Summer Safety Tips ☀️

This high summer heat can be dangerous to horses, especially when it is made worse by high humidity and they have not had time to adjust. Horses can easily become dehydrated and lethargic in a short space of time. Severe heat stress can cause colic, diarrhoea or collapse, so it is important to keep your horse cool.

Always think about the possible causes of overheating, which include the obvious, such as very hot weather, but there are also other causes, such as:

🐎 Exercise
☀️ Prolonged exposure to direct sunlight or turnout without shade
🏠 Poor ventilation in stabling
🚛 Transport
🍕 Obesity
🧥 Inappropriate rugs

So if my horse is overheating, what would I see and what is heatstroke?

When horses become overheated, they can become angry and agitated but if cooled down before this progresses into other signs this helps prevents heat stroke from developing. Heat stroke happens when the horse has been unable to cool down once becoming overheated.

Signs of heat stroke to watch out for:

🥵 Profuse sweating
🌡 Increased temperature, pulse and respiratory rates
😴 Lethargy and dullness
🥱 A reluctance to work
🤐 Loss of appetite
👣 Staggering and weakness
🫨 Muscle tremors
😵 Collapse

What can you do to cool down your horse if you think they are overheating?

⛱ Move your horse into shade
💦 Cold hosing focusing on the big muscle masses in the hindquarters. Do not put wet towels over them as that just traps the heat. It is best not to scrape off excess water and sweat, but to leave the water to evaporate.
👣 Gentle walking or stand in a breeze / under a fan to help cooling.
🫗 Offer small amounts of cold water to drink (half a bucket) every 30 minutes

If you suspect your horse has a high temperature or is showing any of the above signs (especially after exercise or travel) then please ring the vet practice for advice 📞

22/06/2026

That is it for our quick whistlestop tour of introduction to new donkey ownership but stay tuned for later in the summer for our donkey awareness month. In the meantime there is so much more information on The Donkey Sanctuary website on how to look after your donkey

More than 60 million donkeys and mules share this planet with us. However, they remain misunderstood creatures. Find out all there is to know about donkeys.

20/06/2026

Donkey Stable Management 🫏🩵

We all know that stable management can be very confusing in our horse population, well donkeys are different again! Some of the same rules apply such as always having access to fresh clean drinking water but other things are slightly different.

We always want the stable yard to be safe for everyone but this is even more important with donkeys - they are naturally highly inquisitive and this can lead them to becoming injured or destructive if care is not taken.

Take a look at the below webpage from The Donkey Sanctuary about stable management requirements of these special creatures!

The Donkey Sanctuary has produced this guide to help with stable measurements for your donkeys, find out the optimum stable sizes and layouts to ensure your donkeys' safety and well-being.

20/06/2026

Donkey pair bonding 🫏🩵

Donkeys have a unique and very endearing behaviour they can exhibit - this is called pair bonding.

But what is this?

Well donkeys can develop very strong attachments or relationships within their herds and specifically to other individuals. These attachments can be very strong, life long and must always be considered when moving or attempting to separate individuals.

Bonded donkeys should never be separated unless in extreme circumstances - this is due to the severe stress it can cause to them, this severe stress can even prove fatal. Even when being sent to hospital we would send all bonded donkeys together!

For more information on pair bonding and how to spot the signs of it take a look at the below webpage by The Donkey Sanctuary

Studies show that donkeys can form incredibly strong bonds with one another, which often turn into lifelong friendships. Learn more about these bonds and how we create an environment where donkeys can enjoy unique friendships.

19/06/2026

Can my donkey live with other animals? 🫏🩵

Donkeys have very different behaviours than our horse population and therefore understanding this is critical to prevent problems happening. Many owners may think they can turn their donkey out in the field with other species with no problem but this isn't always the case.

Donkeys are highly social creatures and often pair bond to another individual (more information on this tomorrow!) however they can also be very territorial to other individuals - this can also include other donkeys too.

Take a read at the below webpage from The Donkey Sanctuary where they explain why donkeys can behave this way.

Donkeys should not be kept with other livestock and donkeys are not provided as companions to horses or ponies. In circumstances where horses, ponies or other livestock are being cared for at the same premises, it is important that these are separately managed and housed.

19/06/2026

What do donkeys eat?! 🫏🩵

Donkey nutrition is different to horses so for new donkey owners that have had horses before there can be a steep learning curve learning how different donkey requirements are.

Donkeys are evolved to eat food stuffs that are of much lower quality compared to our horse population therefore if they are fed the same then donkeys are much more prone to getting obesity issues due to the excess calories.

If you are interested in learning more about donkey nutrition requirements head to the below webpage by The Donkey Sanctuary where they explain all the different types of feed which donkeys may or may not require!

As donkey owners or guardians, we always make sure we feed our donkeys with the right foods to ensure they stay healthy. Donkey nutrition varies from animal to animal depending on their age and health requirements.

18/06/2026

Do you know the cost of keeping a donkey? 🫏🩵

We all know horses can be very expensive to keep and donkeys are no different. They also need all the requirements that a horse does and often can actually end up costing more money due to needing more careful management requirements!

Donkeys still need preventative care including veterinary care such as dentals, vaccinations and parasite control plus need to see a farrier or trimmer regularly to maintain good foot health. Donkey feet are not designed well for the UK climate and environment so they can struggle with foot health if not cared for carefully.

As many of our donkey owners agree - donkeys can become a very expensive hobby! We are biased though as donkey fans and think they are definitely worth the commitment!

Take a look at the following web page from The Donkey Sanctuary where they explain all the potential costs associated with donkey ownership

We have gathered together a list of costs to keep a pair of donkeys and the equipment donkey owners will need towards their donkeys' care.