08/12/2026
To scrape or not to scrape? It has been a heated discussion for many years, but more recent studies have shown that continuous cold water without scraping is the most efficient way to cool off a hot horse. Isn't science cool? Always helping us learn how to better our equine partner's lives!
๐๐๐ฌ๐๐๐ซ๐๐ก ๐๐ฉ๐๐๐ญ๐: ๐๐จ๐๐ฌ ๐๐ฐ๐๐๐ญ ๐๐๐ซ๐๐ฉ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐๐ฆ๐ฉ๐ซ๐จ๐ฏ๐ ๐๐จ๐จ๐ฅ๐ข๐ง๐ ?
When you're working a horse during the heat of summer, cooling them down quickly and effectively is important. One of the most common ways to do that is with a hose. But this is where the debate begins: Should you leave the water on the horse, or should you scrape it off?
I still remember the first time I heard this debate. I was an undergraduate in an equine program, taking care of the college horses during a hot Missouri summer. We were told you could never, and I mean never, leave water on a horse. The reasoning was that the horse's body heat would warm the water, creating an insulating layer that would actually slow cooling instead of helping it.
It's a belief that has been passed around horse barns for decades. But is it actually true?
A study by Takahashi et al. (2020) put this long-held recommendation to the test, comparing sweat scraping with four other cooling methods to determine which cooled horses most effectively. Let's dive into the research and see what they found.
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This study used five Thoroughbreds that exercised on a treadmill until their pulmonary artery temperature reached 108ยฐF (42ยฐC).
The researchers then evaluated five cooling methods:
โข Control: Horses were walked only with no additional cooling
โข Fan: Horses were walked with fans moving air at 6.7 mph (3 m/s)
โข Intermittent Water: Horses were walked and 1 gallon (4 liters) of cold water (50ยฐF/10ยฐC) was applied over the body every 4 minutes
โข Intermittent Water + Scraping: Horses were walked and 1 gallon (4 liters) of cold water (50ยฐF/10ยฐC) was applied over the body every 4 minutes and immediately scraped off
โข Continuous Water: Horses stood stationary while tap water (79ยฐF/26ยฐC) was continuously applied
Researchers measured re**al temperature 30 minutes after exercise and recorded how long it took each horse's pulmonary artery temperature to drop below 102ยฐF (39ยฐC).
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๐ง Continuous water application (without scraping) was by far the most effective method, with horses reaching the target temperature in 2.1 ยฑ 0.6 minutes.
๐ง Intermittent cold water application was the next most effective. Interestingly, horses whose water was not scraped off cooled slightly faster (9.8 ยฑ 2.4 minutes) than horses whose water was scraped (11.6 ยฑ 2.0 minutes).
๐ง The control and fan-only treatments were the least effective, requiring 25.4 ยฑ 6.0 minutes and 14.5 ยฑ 6.0 minutes, respectively.
๐๐ข๐ฌ๐๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ฌ๐ข๐จ๐ง
This study found no cooling advantage to scraping water off a horse. In fact, horses cooled just as well, or even slightly faster, when the water was left on.
The authors concluded that continuous water application is the most effective way to cool an overheated horse because cool water continually absorbs heat from the body and carries it away. While continuous hosing isn't always practical, intermittent application of cold water is still highly effective, and scraping the water off doesn't appear to improve cooling.
๐๐๐ค๐๐๐ฐ๐๐ฒ๐ฌ
๐ง Continuous application of water is the fastest way to cool a horse.
๐ง Intermittent cold water is also effective when continuous hosing isn't possible.
๐ง This study found no evidence that sweat scraping improves cooling.
These findings challenge one of the most common recommendations passed down through horse barns for decades. At least based on this research, you can put the sweat scraper down and focus on getting plenty of cool water onto your horse instead.
Do you still use a sweat scraper after hosing your horse?
Cheers,
Dr. DeBoer
Takahashi Y, Ohmura H, Mukai K, Shiose T, Takahashi T. A comparison of five cooling methods in hot and humid environments in Thoroughbred horses. Journal of Equine Veterinary Science. 2020;91:103130.
