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Electrolyte help?



Cathy Falconer talerra@bellsouth.net
Hi Everyone,
I am new to this list and I just did my first 25 mile CTR.  I know that probably isn't much for most of you guys but for me and my horse it was! :o)   I tried to learn all I could about distance riding before trying a ride for myself and have actually been participating in list discussions and learning from friends for a little over a year.  I thought I knew about electrolytes but this was my first occasion to use them in a ride situation. 

I live in Florida and it was close to 90 degrees at the end of my ride.  I gave powdered elctrolytes (CherryLytes by Farnum since that is the only one I found my horse will eat) at both meals the day before and the morning meal the day of the ride.  I tried to give LyteNow paste the night before the meal but he promptly spit it out all over me despite my best efforts to keep his head up until he swallowed.  He drank pretty well the day before and overnight and he went really well and sweated really well for most of the ride.   The ride officials kept stressing the importance of electrolytes so I tried to give them to him again on the last vet stop at 16 miles.  I tried the LyteNow and thought I got most of a dose into him this time.  He had only drank a few sips here and there on the ride up to then but he did drink several deep gulps right before I gave the electrolytes at the last vet stop.  I knew that I shouldn't give them to him if he hadn't drank and I asked my riding companion if I should give them even though he'd only drank the best right at that stop, she said yes so I gave them to him.  The thing is from that stop on he didn't sweat well at all, he stayed mostly dry and then he started acting tired and just "off".  Things were going so well up to that point I am wondering if I should not have given him the electrolytes and if they caused his reaction.  He never would drink any of the last 9 miles but he wasn't overly dehydrated after the ride either according to the vet so I have no idea if I had done the right thing or not.  Did he just poop out on me after the 16 miles or did giving him the electrolytes cause him problems?  The difference between the horse I had before the stop and the horse I had a mile or so after the stop was remarkable.

This is a 12 year old paso fino and I had conditioned him approximately 3 times a week over gradually longer distances for the past 3 months.  Can anybody shed some light on this for me and/or give me their tips for electrolyte use?   I did read the FAQ first but I wanted to get answers to my specific situation. I realize this has probably been discussed to death on this list so please feel free to email me directly at talerra@bellsouth.net 

Thanks so much,
-Cathy



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