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Re: [RC] Grain At Rides - Heidi SmithDepending on the circumstances (ie, more than 2-3 hours since the last meal and eating more than about 4 pounds of ANY type of feed) will produce fluid shifts up to 4-5 gallons from the plasma volume into the GI tract for several hours. In research ponies, the decrease in plasma volume was between 15-24%, which is a huge amount if the animal is already fighting off dehydration effects. While it varies from horse to horse, I've found that mine tend to drink just about as much whether they have wet feed or dry feed--so getting an extra gallon or so in via the feed is fairly significant in terms of lessening this effect. I'm okay with small amounts of alfalfa here and there throughout the ride for the extra calcium. My only addition is that I don't like feeding grain less than four hours before the start. By then, it isn't helping with the overall energy picture and his gas tank should have long since been filled to the brim. Ditto the alfalfa. I prefer it to adding calcium supplements, personally, plus the horses often seem to like it during the ride. My only concern is really HOT rides--and if it is a 100-miler, there is usually some point later in the day that it is beginning to cool off anyway. I've used a somewhat shorter window with grain pre-ride (2 hours) but then I never feed much then, either--maybe a pound, tops. (And I tend to only do that with horses that are really campaigning hard. Not there yet with the one that is helping me struggle my own way back up through LDs as I try to get my own self fit again, for example.) I agree that the gas tank should already be pretty well full. But then I'm also used to horses who will happily continue to consume 40# of grass hay daily right up to the minute I get into the saddle and at every possible opportunity through the ride, and I'm faced this year for the first time with a horse who is somewhat put off from eating hay by the trip, so am now playing with beet pulp and Senior with him. He's liking it at home, so am hoping that will translate to the road trip. (And to his credit, he is also learning better. And he starts eating better once he's done a loop. Plus I think it will help immensely when we get some succulent first cutting in a few more weeks...) Heidi =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net. Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/Ridecamp Subscribe/Unsubscribe http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/logon.asp Ride Long and Ride Safe!! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
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