Shane Glass, an assistant at Three Chimneys Farm, took care of Slew o' Gold in his air conditioned stall. Slew o' Gold is 27 years old and has Cushing's Disease, which puts his health at risk in hot weather. Photo by Charles Bertram | Staff

Glass is an assistant stallion manager for Three Chimneys Farm, and staying cool while tending to his hot-blooded charges is something he has all but given up on during the recent heat wave.

But for the aging bay stallion that ambles over to greet his caregiver, coping with the record temperatures that have settled over Central Kentucky in recent weeks has literally become a matter of life and death.

For the better part of the last five years, the 27-year-old stallion Slew o' Gold has battled Cushing's Disease, an incurable hormonal disorder that often affects older horses and -- among other things -- causes difficulty in regulating body temperature.

While summertime is always harsh for the son of Seattle Slew, the current oven-like conditions and his age put the two-time Eclipse Award winner at his breaking point. His temperature soared as high as 106 degrees. Normal range is between 99 and 101.

"This relentless heat wave we've had, we haven't experienced anything like this in several years," said Dan Rosenberg, president of Three Chimneys. "In previous years we've had misting fans for him ... but that just wasn't getting it done this year."

So when the typical treatments of cold baths, body clips, and medication failed to bring the retired stallion relief, the Three Chimneys staff turned to the hardware section. With help from their resident veterinarian Dr. Jim Morehead, the staff wrapped Slew o' Gold's stall in plastic and installed two air conditioning units on either side to help cool their ailing champion.

"It got to the point we were giving him baths like five, six, seven times a day to try and cool him down ... but it just was not keeping his temperature down," Glass said of Slew o' Gold, who has been retired from stud duty since 2002. "You could just tell (he was struggling). He had a lot of trouble breathing, his nostrils would flare like he'd just come off the track.

"A couple weeks ago, I called (Dr. Morehead), and he came out here around 7 at night and put in the air conditioners. And he's been feeling good ever since."

Slew o' Gold's condition is the most extreme, but the excessively hot weather has left virtually every horse at Three Chimneys downright cranky of late.

Turnout times have been altered so that horses avoid the heat of the day. And once the stallions are brought in from their respective paddocks, they are often given a cool shower before returning to their stalls to enjoy the breeze of the box fans that are strapped in front.

"They're miserable, but they deal with it, just like us," Rosenberg said. "Something that always sort of amused me is when it's very, very cold, I'll have a lot of clients calling up to say 'Is my horse OK?' and horses love cold weather. But when it's miserably hot, nobody calls up and says 'Is my horse OK?' And horses hate this weather."

Since getting his new window units two weeks ago, the changes in Slew o' Gold's demeanor and condition have taken a noticeable upswing.

His diminished appetite has been restored to full strength, and the brightness in his eyes showcases a far different horse than the lethargic, laboring animal that took up residence in his stall weeks ago.

"I went over to say goodbye to him the other week and he had his head down sleeping, just very relaxed," said Three Chimneys stallion manager Sandy Hatfield. "He's so much happier now. He would not have made it if we had not air conditioned his stall. It was that hard on him.