SPARE a thought for people who work outdoors with little reprieve from the hot sun over summer.
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Farrier David Cookson stands next to a furnace, grinds horse shoes and manoeuvres 600 kilogram animals all day.
He said the trick was to keep hydrated because there wasn’t much else he could do.
But he wouldn’t swap his job for a desk under airconditioning any day.
“I couldn’t put up with that,” he said.
He does get worried about heatstroke and is always conscious of the danger.
“It’s always a worry but you just have to drink lots of water,” he said.
Bradgate Park stud hand Emily Cahill recently had six weeks off. She arrived back at work when the mercury hit about 30 degrees.
The heat was a shock but, like Mr Cookson, there is nowhere else she would rather be.
“I get to hang out with horses all day,” she said.
“I wouldn’t like to hide inside.”
Ms Cahill applies sunscreen up to four times a day and wears long sleeves and long pants to work.
It’s a small price to pay to ensure she doesn’t get sunburnt.
But it’s not her health Ms Cahill is worried about. Her biggest concern is the horses.
“You have to make sure they always have lots of water and most of the paddocks have shade cloths,” she said.
Orange residents had a slight reprieve from the heat yesterday but the temperature is expected to climb back over 30 degrees tomorrow, Thursday and Friday.