Summer holidays are approaching and for shorter or longer periods you will be forced to part with your horse friend. Given the temperatures, usually high in the summer, you can opt to give him a little vacation too, different from the daily routine you normally have, but making sure that it is as less boring as possible. First of all, in summer periods of rest, decrease the feed and increase the forages to avoid an overload of energy. During your holidays, avoid leaving your horse in the box for too long. Before leaving, he agrees with the team that hosts him on his daily work so that daily and prolonged leisure is guaranteed outside the garage. Carousel, a few hours of freedom in the indoor riding arena, in the rod or in the paddock can be an excellent solution. The horse is not made to stand still in the box, so avoid it being locked up in your absence for too many hours, ask the owners of the stable or a stable friend you trust to provide! It goes without saying that in the stable, in your absence, there should always be someone who takes care of its management at 360 °: he must remove the bands if your horse has them, he must move it and he must do a general check of the state of health, paying attention the signals sent to him by the horse. In summary, your “substitute” should remove and put on the bands, check if he has a possible malaise or colic, if he is sweaty, if he is hot, if he is sad and bored, in short, do a general check-up daily.

Another important tip: water! In the summer it gets very hot, so make sure that clean, fresh water is always available, both in the box and in the paddock, to avoid dehydration colic. Another tip is to lightly wet the dish without changing its composition. This avoids dust if there are flours in the feed and helps rehydrate after sweating.

With small tricks these rest periods will help the horse to regenerate and recharge for the next season, and you will return to the race more charged and competitive.