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Is it a MYTH that when you wash a horse in cold water it can cause kidney damage2007-11-24 21:17:57

My family and I are horse people. We own horses and are around them all the time. While washing our horse, someone told us that by using cold water to wash a horse, it can cause kidney damage or failure. We've never heard of this, nor have we had any of our horses suffer from kidney damage. Is this true, or is is just an old wives tale?

Answers:

A lot of the racing and polo yards I worked in never had running hot water so we always washed down with cold water and never had a problem.

That's like saying getting in a cold pool or shower will damage my kidneys - makes no sense. I'd ignore them.

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People say dumb thing all the time.

But what do you like cold water or warm water?

If you say cold water. Take a cold shower.

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It's a myth. There was a study performed at the Atlanta Olympics that showed that hosing a horse with cold water or pouring buckets of it over him is actually a very efficient way to cool them off and it does not damage them (They suggested hosing/pouring, sweatscraping, then hosing/pouring, sweatscraping, as the best way to cool a horse off quickly).

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its a myth. my barn hoses off all of the 100[?] horses with cold hose water.. so yeah. its a myth. all my stables horses are fine. i was my pony in cold water every day [except for in the winter and fall!]

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what do you think happens when it rains?

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It's a myth. You don't always get warm water at shows, events or racetracks. There would be millions of horses on dialysis machines if this were fact lol.

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I've never heard of it. Washing my gelding in cold water has never bothered him, so I'm pretty sure it's a myth.

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what? that's crazy! if you think about the logistics of it, it makes no sense! skin is waterproof! and horses are meant to live outside- in the rain, sleet, and snow. all of these are indeed wet, and two of them cold. horses in the wild don't fall over dead from kidney damage each time a cloud rolls in... you should tell the person who told you this to actually think about how impossible this myth is. it just doesn't work.

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When bathing a horse, if you are using cold water, as I did for years, start below the knees and hocks spraying water there first. If the horse is hot, like after a ride, this is very important. Doing this will bring down the horse's body temperature but will do no harm because, as you probably know, there are no muscles below the knee and hock to tighten up. As for kidney damage, I know that if a horse is hot over the kidneys (on top of back, just behind where end of a saddle lays) putting cold water there can cause muscles to constrict and this may lead to a horse "tying up". Symptoms of tying up are similar to colic. (that is why it is a good idea to use the cold water on the lower legs first and not over the back) A veterinarian will be needed to properly diagnose and treat if this happens.

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yes it is a mith i wash my 3 horses and 6 of the barn owners horses in cold water all the time to go to shows for 4 years and nothing has ever hapend and i read books about horses all the time and i hav never heard about that befor.