'I just wish they’d stand under the trees more than they do'

While this week's heatwave is having a direct effect on racing and horses in training, it also adds complications for those responsible for keeping them during other stages of their lives.

Jenny Norris, one of Britain’s leading yearling consignors, will have around 25 youngsters to prepare for sales season including a few with more imminent assignments at next month’s Goffs UK Premier Yearling Sale and the Tattersalls Somerville at the start of September.

Yearlings will be with her for several months of handling and gentle exercise that will get them ready to cope with the auction experience and be equipped to head into yards later on. As has been the practise in many training stables, she has adapted her timetable.

"We’re just starting earlier and then having a couple of hours off in the middle of the day and coming back later," she explained.

"With the yearlings, I’ve been doing it the Aussie way, having them out in the night and in in the day, and putting extra salt or electrolytes in their feed."

Norris is having to use her judgement for many scenarios. With hard ground caused by the hot weather, she is constantly on guard for any feet cracking up and must decide when shoes need to be on or off.

Jenny Norris has around 25 yearlings to prepare for the salesCredit: Laura Green

She also doesn’t want a potentially valuable yearling to bleach its coat in the sun, but the process of persuading a young horse to wear a rug can be tricky as they can be surprised by it and charge off around the paddocks.

"They get hosed off a lot and the sensation of the water running over them does help to put a rug on," she said.

Norris, whose operation is based near Andover in Hampshire, has had horses such as Shalaa and Glorious Journey pass through her hands, and she also caters for mares and foals as well as yearlings.

"They’re all in paddocks that have got trees and shelter, they can get out of the sun," said Norris. "It’s interesting watching them, a lot of them seem to stand around the water tanks during the day, right in the bright sunlight, which seems ridiculous, but as the temperature drops they tend to wander off.

"But you do wonder, 'Why aren’t you standing under the trees?' It seems you can take a horse to water but you can’t make it drink."

She adds: "I’m checking them more than I normally would, instead of twice a day I might be out three or four times to make sure they’re okay.

"The good thing about this weather, in my opinion, is that at least they’ve acclimatised to it. We’ve had a nice, warm couple of weeks, it shouldn’t really hit them sideways but obviously you’ve got to make sure they’re all coping."

With their desert roots, the thoroughbred ought generally to be able to handle warm weather and the vast majority of operations, big or small, will have decided it was still most practical to keep some or all of them outside.

In Warwickshire at Salcey Forest Stud, manager Daniel Creighton was hopeful that temperatures were just a shade cooler than those further south and east.

He had taken the precaution of bringing his mares and young foals in for the few most brutal daytime hours, but was hopeful this would be necessary only for Monday and Tuesday’s meteorological assault.

"I’d be a bit more concerned about the foals than any other horses, they’d probably stick with their mother rather than going into the shade and the mother wouldn’t know if the foal was a bit too hot," he said.

"They’re quite tolerant of the heat, to be fair, but I just wish they’d stand under the trees more than they do.

"Then I’m checking them more often in the day to make sure the mares that are out are okay. It’s hot but it’s definitely not reached 40 degrees, not yet anyway, and we have a bit of a breeze."

Aside from those assiduously watered lawns and sports venues, the landscape has been quickly changing from a green to golden colour across Britain. It provides difficulties for grass management, with rain required in order to apply fertiliser and stimulate the paddocks to get growing again.

"It’s amazing how well the horses look on what looks like brown grass in places, but I’m obviously feeding them twice a day so they’re getting the vitamins and minerals they need," said Norris.

"I did even put a little bit of hay out to see if they needed it, they picked at it but they are clearly quite happy."

Norris does wonder whether, longer-term, the industry will have to consider more applications to combat hot weather. From her time working in Australia, she remembers individual fans being used in stables at farms and at the sales.

Daniel Creighton manages Salcey Forest StudCredit: Debbie Burt

She said: "I appreciate we’ve had these high temperatures before but I just think this is becoming more consistent. It’s not just the odd year, we’re seeming to get more extreme temperatures.

"The winter was incredibly mild but we’ve had minimal rain compared to what we’re used to. You’ve got to just try to do your best to manage it going forward, keep the staff and the horses happy and everyone as hydrated as possible."

Creighton, who tends to specialise in foals, also has a handful of yearlings that he is beginning to get ready. Monday, though, was a quiet session on that front.

"We’re just trying not to exert them as much as we normally would, and it’s the same with the staff," he said. "We got all the jobs done early in the morning and had a good long break between 11 and mid-afternoon to check the horses. I wouldn’t expect them to be working hard in this weather for two days, anyway."

For now, though, it’s only the humans who get the ice creams and lollies.

"I did see someone, probably for a riding horse, who was making big ice cubes with apples and carrots in, but I don’t know if my yearlings would go for that," said Norris. "Sometimes they don’t eat them at the best of times."

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