Ridecamp: Re: [RC] [RC] B.C.A.A. Complex

>Pray tell us how you determine
> what is a "normal amount?"  Playing Devil's Advocate here, care to
> enlighten us? IMHO, this is a big time moving target. Bottom line, best
> take I've heard is "doesn't matter...he will "flush" what he doesn't
> need".

Other posters have been giving proper amounts and times to dose here since
forever.  And no, you can't just indiscriminately stuff e-lytes down.  The
horse will only consume so much water, and if you don't have water there, he
CAN'T flush them.  I've seen some instances where e-lytes have been
overdone--horses get pulled and treated.  Pretty good incentive not to
overdo it...  I know I'm the Lone Ranger here, but I tend to err on the side
of caution regarding e-lytes.  No one seems to like the suggestion that if
you are overriding the horse's needs for e-lytes, it is also possible to
slow down.  At the beginning of a horse's career, it is my own feeling that
you should be carefully feeling your way along to determine how many e-lytes
are needed to be normal for a given horse, rather than just tossing them in
willy-nilly.  If one is not running at the front (which, also my opinion,
one should not be doing at the beginning of a horse's career anyway), one
has time to make sure the horse learns to eat and drink properly, etc.
before trying to determine how much of a deficit he has.  Example--we took a
couple of geldings on their first LD back in April.  Trip was a bit tough.
Both were kind of wary about what was going on.  They didn't eat well in the
trailer, nor did they eat well in camp pre-ride.  E-lytes??  NO WAY!   We
went out and rode--SLOWLY.  Our riding time for an LD was 5:04.  Yep, we got
dinged some for gut sounds and hydration.  We weren't going fast, and
weren't in any trouble.  By the halfway point, they were thinking that food
and water were pretty good concepts.  By the end, they were hoovering up
everything in sight and sounding like big suction devices at the water
tanks.  Took some getting to the edge to make them think it was a good idea.
Second LD--both ate and drank on the trip over.  Both ate and drank
everything in sight pre-ride.  Neither passed up a water tank all day
without at least a sip (tanks were plentiful, but they still checked out
every one).  Net result--A's and A-minuses for guts and hydration all day,
and a considerably faster time--(3:50-something, on an LD where the fastest
times were something over 3 hours).  Time to move upward, and cautiously
feel our way a little further.  Three years down the pike, we'll know how
much we can rely on what they can consume, and whether we need to add any to
stay "normal."  No scientific generalization like reading the individual
horse--and with better availability of ride-site testing, even doing
bloodwork from time to time to see if one is providing adequate replacement.

Heidi


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