Why Are My Cows Wet?!

It may be slightly hard to tell, these pictures are of my pet cow Ghost from last nights check.

The night was gorgeous. Perfectly still and clear. A million stars shining overhead. Dust kicked up with each step I took. I love night checks. Ghost came over to visit as she so often does while I walked quietly through the herd in the dark. Following along while I walk she demands her share of scratches. I need to remember to bring a curry comb.

As I scratched her itchy spots I noticed my wrists, above the gloves on my hands, got damp where they touched her. I turned on the light to see her glistening with water drops.

She was covered in a fine mist.

I went looking for another cow I could get close enough to see the water drops on and found Rose laying nearby. She was wet too.

I rechecked the sky. Still clear and bright. I kicked at the ground. Still dusty.

The going theory is that the cows were warm from the very nice day. The dew point was 27 degrees. It was no where near that, still well above freezing. But maybe the added warmth from the cows cooling after a hot day caused condensation/dew to form?

I stopped and checked the horses on the way back to the house. They were dry.