Keeping Your Horse Cool and Loose in Summer

As the days are getting longer, the temperatures are rising and we’re starting to feel the difference in the sun. Pretty soon we’ll be in the middle of summer, and keeping horses cool as well as their muscles loose and helping them warm up and cool down for exercise and horse shows becomes a challenge.

We’ve tested numerous products to help horses loosen up and recover faster after workouts, shows, long days on the trail or trailer, and it always comes back to the Draper Anti-Sweat Sheet. Call me biased, but I’ve used similar therapeutic products, and Draper just blows away the competition. Lightweight and durable, it’s also comfortable for my horses in even the heat of summer, which is great for when I need the therapeutic benefits of Celliant that Draper Therapies products offer, but without adding more heat to the already hot summer days.

I often throw my anti-sweat sheet on for trailering on mornings when it’s a hair too warm for a stable sheet, but I still want to keep my horses comfortable and loose on the ride over to whatever show, fox hunt, or trail head we are hauling out to. It’s great also for after a workout, and I love to use it in place of a traditional Irish knit sweat sheet, to help my horse cool out after being hosed down. The mesh allows for great air flow, while helping to relax muscles and reduce recovery time after a hard workout, long day on trail, or out at shows.

I’m in the process of ensuring I have both an anti-sweat sheet and a stable sheet for every horse in my stable, as I really do use them that often. I have a few horses that can share, but love that I can order anywhere from a size 70″ – 86″ which is great considering my smallest trail horse is between a 70 – 72, and my field hunter Clydesdale cross is an 84 – 86. And of course there’s my WBs, OTTBs and my Arab, coming in somewhere in between.

My oldest anti-sweat sheet is going on 2 years old, and still going strong. It was one of my very first Draper Therapies purchases, and used on almost every single one of all 8 of my horses (yes, I have eight horses….don’t ask lol!). The fact that it’s been left on overnight (you’re not supposed to – that’s why they make stable sheets, whoops!), shipped in, washed (over and over and over again), packed and dragged to shows, hunter paces, hunts, and even gone camping with me and is still in one piece is impressive in itself! AND because Celliant is a part of the fabric and washer and dryer safe, it still has the same great therapeutic products it had when I first bought it.

Do you currently use an anti-sweat sheet? If so, do you use it year round or only in certain seasons? Whether you’re a traditional Irish knit person, or  a fellow Draper Therapies Anti-Sweat sheet believer, share your story with us too!

-CJ Millar