>Right-O. Speaking of electrolytes, I have
seen virtual chemistry labs at some >of these rides. Riders mixing this and
that and the other stuff. And the poor >horses have to eat that! I have not
found the need to dose electrolytes yet, just >starting 50's.
Just keep in mind that sometimes with
electrolytes in hot humid weather especially, you may not see something 'not
quite right' until way past when you should have been supplementing
more.
>I have raced hard and fast 25's in hot, humid
Florida weather and here is what >has worked so far. I always give 1-2
tablespoons of loose mineral salt per day >along with the mineral salt lick
and Source. At rides, I roll little baby carrots (3->4) in the loose salt
and feed those, Before during and after. Cut up apples will >work also,
anything that is wet and will hold the salt.
Whatever works is okay by me. But
especially when you start moving up to 50s, just an ounce or so isn't going to
replace the amount of salt he's losing in the sweat.
>I also give citrus, oranges, grapefruit,
tangerines and they love it. Citrus has >potassium, calcium and vitamin C.
Yes, they do. But you would have to feed 18
pounds of oranges, peel and all, to equal the calcium in a pound of alfalfa;
or 27 pounds to equal the potassium. So its fine as a treat or way to
get some extra water into them or to get them to eat other things, but
probably not a real important strategy in replacing minerals. :-)
>I also feed watermelon and cantaloupe (not
just at races but whenever they are >in season) I am not a big grain
feeder as about 70 % of my feeding program is >T&A
T&A? Should I even be asking? I
can't wait to hear what Howard will suggest.<vbg>
>and strait alfalfa.
Also keep in mind *especially* in very hot humid
climates, that alot of extra protein is just adding to the heat load the horse
needs to get rid of by sweating.
> I read from one ridecamper that she
liked to see salt crust on her horse and >that is how she knows she is
giving enough salt. If that is an accurate gage, >than my herd is o'tay. I
have to rinse them daily in the summer after being out
I would agree with that if the salt crust is
still showing up at the *end* of the ride. Almost any horse in hot
weather at something more than a crawl should be producing some salt crust at
the beginning, but that's no guarentee that the horse won't become depleted by
the end of the day, right? Disgusting as it is, since its hard to judge
a salt crust if the horse is still actively sweating, tasting the sweat isn't
an entirely bad way to make a rough guess either, though of course, not a
precise one. If the horse stops sweating as much as he should be, that
should set off fire alarms. Without adequate electrolytes on board,
horses *cannot* sweat adequate amounts even though they may not be
dehydrated.
Good luck. :-)
Susan G