08/04/2026
𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐡 𝐔𝐩𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐞: 𝐃𝐨𝐞𝐬 𝐒𝐰𝐞𝐚𝐭 𝐒𝐜𝐫𝐚𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐈𝐦𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐂𝐨𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠?
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.
𝐌𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐥𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐌𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐝𝐬
This study used five Thoroughbreds that exercised on a treadmill until their pulmonary artery temperature reached 108°F (42°C).
The researchers then evaluated five cooling methods:
• Control: Horses were walked only with no additional cooling
• Fan: Horses were walked with fans moving air at 6.7 mph (3 m/s)
• Intermittent Water: Horses were walked and 1 gallon (4 liters) of cold water (50°F/10°C) was applied over the body every 4 minutes
• Intermittent Water + Scraping: Horses were walked and 1 gallon (4 liters) of cold water (50°F/10°C) was applied over the body every 4 minutes and immediately scraped off
• Continuous Water: Horses stood stationary while tap water (79°F/26°C) 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 102°F (39°C).
𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐬
💧 Continuous water application (without scraping) was by far the most effective method, with horses reaching the target temperature in 2.1 ± 0.6 minutes.
💧 Intermittent cold water application was the next most effective. Interestingly, horses whose water was not scraped off cooled slightly faster (9.8 ± 2.4 minutes) than horses whose water was scraped (11.6 ± 2.0 minutes).
💧 The control and fan-only treatments were the least effective, requiring 25.4 ± 6.0 minutes and 14.5 ± 6.0 minutes, respectively.
𝐃𝐢𝐬𝐜𝐮𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧
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.
𝐓𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐚𝐰𝐚𝐲𝐬
🧊 Continuous application of water is the fastest way to cool a horse.
🧊 Intermittent cold water is also effective when continuous hosing isn't possible.
🧊 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.
