2
WHY DO HORSES SWEAT?
The evaporation of sweat is a horse’s major cooling mechanism.
Eighty per cent of the energy produced in working muscles is in the
form of heat. This heat needs to be expelled to prevent the horse’s
body from overheating. The blood transfers this heat to the skin
and lungs where it can be expelled. Seventy per cent of this heat is
expelled via sweat which evaporates. The remainder is expelled via
the lungs as the horse breathes.
WHAT IS SWEAT?
Horses can sweat up to 15 litres per hour during intense exercise
and can lose up to 60 litres per day.
Electrolytes play a vital role in maintaining many of a horse’s bodily
functions including correct hydration levels, electrochemical balance;
important for correct nerve transmissions and ability for the muscles
to contract, and rigidity of the cells.
Sweat consists of fluid (water) and a very important group of
dissolved minerals and compounds collectively known as electrolytes.
Often also referred to as ‘salts’, the minerals include sodium, chloride,
potassium, calcium, phosphate and magnesium and compounds such
as glucose, bicarbonate and ammonia.
So why not just table salt?
Horse sweat is a highly concentrated electrolyte solution and whilst
sodium could be considered the most important electrolyte due to
its function in increasing a horse’s water uptake, all electrolytes are
lost in sweat to some degree. Each electrolyte plays a vital role in the
functioning of a horse’s body, particularly when undertaking intense
exercise. Therefore it is very important that the correct balance of
electrolytes is available to the horse to ensure it can continue to
function successfully when under exertion.
WHY DOES HORSE SWEAT LATHER?
INTERESTING
FACT
Horse sweat contains a protein called latherin.
This acts like a detergent and helps to spread
sweat on the horse’s skin into a thin film
speeding up evaporation and cooling.
THE SCIENCE OF SWEAT
VIR049 - SOS_20ppBrochure_2014ed.indd 2
11/09/14 6:41 AM