If you find a horse shivering, immediately help him warm up with a blanket or shelter. He is literally shivering pounds away, and he is just as uncomfortable as you would be if you were cold enough to shiver. A horse who is losing weight over the winter is utilizing more calories than he is taking in.
A horse with no blanket will become cold if their coat gets soaked all the way through from standing in the rain. Once they can no longer insulate themselves, they will start shivering. This is their body's attempt to generate some heat.
A horse's hormonal response to sudden acute pain shows itself as an increased heart rate, trembling, sweating and, if possible, flight. Repeated infliction of pain (eg, 'needle fear') will provoke a 'fight' response. The degree of response does not necessarily correspond to the degree of tissue damage or pain.
Shivers, or equine shivering, is a rare, progressive neuromuscular disorder of horses. It is characterized by muscle tremors, difficulty holding up the hind limbs, and an unusual gait when the horse is asked to move backwards. Shivers is poorly understood and no effective treatment is available at this time.
They may shiver. However, shivering is also just a perfectly normal way to warm up, so a warm horse may shiver for a short while when he is cold and be happy. The cold horse will be seen shivering much more frequently or when all the other horses are not.
Blanket Fit
Make sure blankets are kept dry and do not put a blanket on a wet horse; wait until the horse is dry before blanketing. Or take a wet blanket off a horse to keep it from becoming chilled. Days that the temperature becomes warm remove the blanket so the horse does not sweat and become wet under the blanket.
Shivers can be similar to other musculoskeletal and neuromuscular disorders, especially during the early stages of the disease. A veterinary examination should rule out stringhalt, upward fixation of the patella, equine motor neuron disease, and even equine protozoal myeloencephalitis (EPM).
Q: How do you warm up a wet horse? Put on a cooler and hand walk him for ten minutes. Provide ample access to hay, which helps generate body heat.
If your older horse starts shivering, they need to be blanketed immediately- but don't worry about having an extra heavy blanket. Researchers have found evidence that medium-weight blankets seem to work just as well at raising the temperature of horses' fur.
Mildly affected horses show tenseness or trembling of the hind limbs and sudden jerky extensor movements of the tail that cause it to elevate. The degree of tail elevation varies considerably in different cases.
Horses sweat excessively during very hot conditions, and when they have been exercised intensely, especially when they are unfit. Horses also sweat when they have a high fever or are in pain or distress.
After a workout, it's normal for a horse to sweat profusely, but a horse who sweats even when standing still may need some help staying cool and will appreciate being hosed down. Sweat appears on the head, flanks and top of the rump when a horse is extremely hot and may be at risk of heat stress.
Infections most commonly occur during late fall and winter months. The most common clinical signs of equine coronavirus infections include a decreased appetite, fever (101.5-106.0°F), and lethargy.
If your horse does not drink enough to offset the fluid loss, she can become dehydrated. The most common signs of dehydration are poor performance, loss of skin elasticity, weakness and increased respiratory rate.
Coleman said horses' hair coats can effectively protecting them from cold temperatures, but they stand up less to wind and wet conditions. “If a horse's coat gets wet in rain or snow, it can dramatically chill them,” he said. “You may need to bring them inside a barn to dry and warm up.
Your horse will most likely be fine — again, this “quick tip” is intended for post-exercise horse care, where a horse's temperature is elevated and he is warm to the touch. A horse at normal temperature is at less risk for overheating if he gets wet.
Feeding the shiverer
Diets should be high in fibre and oil and low in starch and sugar. Starch and sugar foods include mixes (typically a minimum 25% starch and sugar, but often well in excess of 30%) and cereals (oats 50%, barley 60% and maize 70% starch, and minimal sugar), and grass (2-3% sugar in every bite).
Obviously, a horse shivers for the same reason we do, it's cold. It looks different though as their teeth don't chatter and their whole body starts shaking. For minor shivering you may not even notice much, especially if they are walking around.
One old-school method of drying your wet fuzzy horse is to stuff his cooler with hay or straw. This creates an airy insulating layer under the sheet or cooler that helps him dry quickly.
Depending on how wet your horse is, it may take him an hour or more to dry off completely after a ride. I often go back to work after a midday ride, leaving my horse's cooler on until I get home in the evening.
Shivering is a sure sign that your horse is cold. Reflexive contractions of the muscles, shivering helps the body keep warm but at great metabolic cost.
If your horse is wet use a wicking rug until it is dry. If you apply a night rug to a wet horse and leave it, the rug will absorb the moister and hold it close to the horse's body for many hours. Over-rugging can affect this natural thermoregulation and can also become a welfare issue is the horse over heats.
Humans share a lot with their horses — even disease. A handful of infections can be passed between the two species — some are easily treatable, some can be fatal. In most of these cases, humans contract disease from horses; it is possible but less likely for an infected human to pass disease to a horse.
The virus can spread from people to animals during close contact. More studies and surveillance are needed to understand how SARS-CoV-2 is spread between people and animals. People with suspected or confirmed COVID-19 should avoid contact with animals, including pets, livestock, and wildlife.