With the very hot summer we have had, it was very welcome that there is now an extended National Hunt summer break. This meant that on a lot of the hottest days we were not racing and could exercise the horses nice and early.
The horses and staff did acclimatise well to the weather and, after the first few days, seemed to cope well. We did not have any horses overheating or getting stressed in the heat. We are lucky to have very open barns that stay cool, and we could also spray the horses during the day to help keep them cool. Having had a good spring, it meant we made plenty of good haylage for the coming winter. We have also secured a high-quality batch to top that up.
The hot weather throughout June and July meant the grass in the fields burnt off, so we were feeding the horses there every day to keep them in good condition. Luckily, all the winter horses came into their stables in late July, so it has not been a huge problem for us. This is very different from the poor dairy farmers, who are already having to use their winter forage.
