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“Not Gonna Suddenly Have a Heart Attack”: Equestrian Debunked A Common Myth Around Horses’ Lives

Published 03/15/2023, 3:30 PM EDT

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While there are numerous myths out there, the myths about horses have a fair share. Even if you don’t have a horse or never ride, it’s certain that you’ve definitely heard some misconceptions, at least one of them. Apart from traditions and folklore, there are other new myths that aren’t true in any sense. Well, they needed to be categorized and corrected by an expert.

Likewise, an equestrian once shared a video calling off the misconceptions about horses. Among the 10 bizarre myths she mentioned, there was one about an unusual reason for heart attacks in horses.

Equestrian corrected misbeliefs

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A person whose social media name is Han Equestrian shared a YouTube video in 2019 that clarified a plethora of myths related to this. While addressing those, she mentioned the myth related to heart attacks in horses. The concept was that, if you hose a horse with cold water, it might have a heart attack and die.

However, she shared how horses are very adaptive to temperature change and cold water will not even harm them. Scoffing, she added, “Horses are very tough and very difficult to temperature change. So, I promised just because they get some cold water on them, they’re not gonna suddenly have a heart attack.”

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In fact, she further went on to share how a cold bath will help the animal relax its limbs after a very extensive ride. Han added, “I mean obviously don’t go hosing your horse with cold water on a cold day for no reason…they’re just gonna get cold, they’re not gonna have a heart attack.”

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Certainly, this misconception is based on the post-workout dehydration that they face. Presumably, their heated body protests against the cold water and causes severe pain. But that’s definitely not the case, as they are considered one of the toughest of animals. Moreover, it’s imperative to cool down their body after intense work to provide relaxation. However, Han mentioned some other theories to support her opinion.

Han backs her point of view

The equestrian stated, “There’s also a ton of research done on this back in 1996, for the Atlanta Olympic Games. Obviously, the temperature there were gonna be extremely hot and very very humid. And they found that the best possible way to cool your horse down after an intense work was cold water.”

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Furthermore, she described the process of bathing the horses in Atlanta. Han shared, ‘…scrape it off immediately, cold water again. Repeat. And just keep repeating the process.” In fact, Han backed her theory implying that if that was something harmful or life-threatening for the horses, then the Olympics authority would have never suggested something like that.

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Regardless of whether you are an equestrian or not, we must pass on authentic facts to the next generation. So, before spreading misconceptions, one should learn about the facts. Are there any other bizarre myths you’ve heard about?

 

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Written by:

Soumili Chatterjee

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Soumili Chatterjee is a US Sports author for EssentiallySports. She secured her bachelor’s and master's degree in English literature from the University of Calcutta. After being a technical and blog writer for nearly three years, it was her ardent love for sports that steered her career toward the sports industry.
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Edited by:

Anupama Ghosh