{"id":8400,"date":"2025-08-05T14:42:11","date_gmt":"2025-08-05T05:42:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.dry-fog.com\/en\/?post_type=cases&p=8400"},"modified":"2025-08-05T14:42:11","modified_gmt":"2025-08-05T05:42:11","slug":"lives-011","status":"publish","type":"cases","link":"https:\/\/www.dry-fog.com\/en\/projects-technology\/cases\/lives-011\/","title":{"rendered":"Mist Cooling Keeps Horses Free from Summer Fatigue | Interview with Philipp Farm (Racehorses)"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\u201cWe didn\u2019t have a single case of summer fatigue thanks to the mist cooling system.
\nSome horse owners even chose to send their horses here for rest because we had mist cooling installed in the stables.\u201d<\/div>\n
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The Training Process<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n

All of our horses arrive in the autumn of their yearling year, after being raised freely on breeding farms. From there, we begin breaking them in\u2014helping them get used to human contact, being handled and washed, saddled, and eventually ridden\u2014so they\u2019re ready for racing.<\/p>\n

By the early summer of their two-year-old season, we usually send them to off-track stables near racetracks such as Hakodate, Tokyo, or Niigata. If they pass the gate test there, they make their debut in a maiden race. That\u2019s the typical process. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Rising Heat Even in Hokkaido<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n

As you know, Hokkaido\u2019s been getting hotter in recent years\u2014the summer temperatures now are clearly different from ten or twenty years ago. It used to be \u201ccool Hokkaido,\u201d but that\u2019s just not the case anymore. These days, in July and August, it\u2019s not unusual for the daytime temperature to top 30\u00b0C. Honestly, it\u2019s hotter than people on Honshu (Main Island of Japan) might think. <\/p>\n

That\u2019s a real problem from a training perspective. And on Honshu, a lot of stables already have mist cooling systems. So we decided to put in a mist cooling system too\u2014it\u2019s essential not just for training, but for the horses’ rest.<\/p>\n

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Don\u2019t Miss the Signs of Summer Fatigue (Heat Stress) <\/h3>\n<\/div>\n

It\u2019s actually pretty easy to spot summer fatigue in horses: darkening around the eyes, swollen legs, and a big drop in feed intake\u2014a horse that normally eats 8\u202fkg\/day will only eat about 4 kg. Those are all clear signs of summer fatigue.<\/p>\n

And once you start seeing those signs, the problems just keep snowballing. First, when their feed intake drops, they usually don\u2019t bounce back until around autumn, and they can\u2019t stay focused in the meantime. As their body overheats, they sweat more, their internal balance gets thrown off, and their overall condition goes downhill. When that kind of thing piles up day after day, it really takes a toll on their training results.<\/p>\n

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You can immediately tell when a horse is suffering from summer fatigue. But this summer, since installing the mist system, not a single horse showed symptoms. <\/div>\n

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Another Challenge: Transportation<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Before racing, the horses we raise are transported to off-track training centers or racetracks. And let me tell you, transportation is a lot more stressful for horses than most people realize. Even just moving them in a specialized horse transport vehicle can cause them to lose 20 to 30\u202fkg from stress and sweating.<\/p>\n

So, we can\u2019t just send them at their peak racing weight. We have to account for that expected loss and send them a bit above their racing weight. But if a horse is suffering from summer fatigue, they just won\u2019t eat enough in the first place.<\/p>\n

And with race schedules to keep, sometimes we have no choice but to send them even if they\u2019re showing mild signs of fatigue. But then the stress of transport piles on top of that, and their condition drops even further. Honestly, we\u2019d rather not send fatigued horses to the off-track training centers at all.<\/p>\n

On top of that, to race, they have to pass the gate test. You\u2019ve got to ask yourself: will the horse go into the gate properly? Can it stand still and wait? Will it burst out when the gate opens? If the horse is still struggling with summer fatigue, it can\u2019t stay focused during practice, and that causes problems.<\/p>\n

Accelerating from zero to top speed is already a huge burden on the horse, and they lose even more weight. If they pass the test, they go straight into the race, but if not, they\u2019re sent back to the training center, and the whole cycle of preparation and retesting starts all over again. It just means more burden for everyone, and nothing good comes out of it. <\/p>\n

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Compared to the outside air, the temperature inside the stable is much lower, so even in summer the horses never lost their appetite.<\/div>\n

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A Dramatic Change with Mist Cooling<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Since we put in the mist system, the situation changed dramatically. Even just a 2\u20133\u202f\u00b0C drop was enough to completely get rid of their summer fatigue. The horses eat well, their coats shine, they stay focused during training, and we can keep them at the right weight for transportation. Some owners have even said things like, \u201cSince you\u2019ve got mist cooling, I\u2019d like to leave my horse with you.\u201d That makes me really happy.<\/p>\n

Sometimes people ask, \u201cDoesn\u2019t using mist cooling in Hokkaido make the horses feel even hotter when they move to Honshu?\u201d But animals don\u2019t really \u201cget used\u201d to the summer heat. If it\u2019s hot, they get summer fatigue. That\u2019s why it\u2019s so important to take proper heat measures here in Hokkaido too. I believe the best thing for the horses is to give them the very best heat countermeasures we can, right where they are.<\/p>\n

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After finishing their training and returning to their stalls, many horses enjoy the mist so much that they drift off to sleep. <\/div>\n

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Mist Has Lightened the Load for Staff, Too<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

In summer, we don\u2019t have quite as many racehorses, so the staff usually has a bit more breathing room.
\nBut when a horse shows summer fatigue, everyone has to give up their days off and stay on constant watch, which is nerve-wracking and exhausting. This summer, though, thanks to the mist cooling, we managed to get through the summer without any problems. I was even able to relax a little and visit Honshu when friendly owners invited me. <\/p>\n

We\u2019ve also had a lot of inquiries and visits from nearby training farms curious about our mist system. I think more and more farms are going to start using it from now on.<\/p>\n

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\ud83d\udcccKey Results<\/h3>\n
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\nHere\u2019s a quick look at the outcomes at Philipp Farm with the CoolPescon system:<\/p>\n

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  • Stable temperature lowered by 2\u20133\u202f\u00b0C <\/li>\n<\/div>\n
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  • Zero cases of summer fatigue (heat stress) among horses <\/li>\n<\/div>\n
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  • Improved feed intake, coat condition, and training focus <\/li>\n<\/div>\n
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  • Increased trust from horse owners <\/li>\n<\/div>\n<\/ul>\n

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    \nThese results show that mist cooling with CoolPescon isn\u2019t just about lowering the temperature.
    \nAt Philipp Farm, it has become essential for safeguarding horse health, supporting performance, and strengthening trust with horse owners.\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":0,"template":"","cat_cases":[89],"tag_cases":[315,407,533],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dry-fog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/cases\/8400"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dry-fog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/cases"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dry-fog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/cases"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dry-fog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8400"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"cat_cases","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dry-fog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/cat_cases?post=8400"},{"taxonomy":"tag_cases","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dry-fog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tag_cases?post=8400"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}