Hi Linda: here is a post that I just sent privately that may be of
use.:
When I have used electrolytes, I found that the particular horse that I
was ridding appeared to not like them nor did his digestive tract. The only
time after I found this apparent dis agreement with convention thinking about
the use of electrolytes, I only used them with his Mash and other food at a
vet check and had two slop buckets prepared one with electrolytes and one
without electrolytes and the horse could chose which one he wanted to
eat.
I have completed Tevis without using any syringe based application
of electrolytes. When I was racing, I mostly trained on hills and at
the warmest time of day. I think home work is the key to having a
healthy partner.
I've got a problem and I need advice. I
realize there are probably different answers but I'd like to hear them
all. I live in SE Tennessee and have been doing 25's on my 9 yr. old
mare for a couple of seasons. She is off the track and she does go into
race horse mode at the endurance rides. Trying to rate her speed is very
hard and tiring. At home, riding in the mountains she is a perfect trail
horse, very well behaved, even though we do a lot of racing and generally act
like a pack of wild Indians a lot of the time. She probably gets ridden
3 times a week for a total of 30-50 miles a week. I had never
electolyted her at any of the LD's but was told by the ride vets to do it if I
ever did a 50. She has access to loose mineral salt and salt blocks at
home. Well, I did my first 50 last month at LBL. I gave her a dose
of Lyte Now right before the race and a half dose at the first vet check which
was 18 miles out. She vetted thru okay but was not drinking and she
usually does after about 8-10 miles. We came in off the second loop, I
think it was 21 miles, and she had only taken a swallow or two and the vet
said she was beginning to dehydrate and to make her drink. Yeah,
right! We spent the hold with me sitting on the edge of the water tank
and she still didn't drink. The vet said to take it easy on the last
loop of 11 miles, so we just slow trotted that loop and she did start drinking
some but not a lot. She passed her last vet check but was still showing
some skin tenting. She had lost 50 lbs. but that also is not unusual for
her. I took her back to the vets the next morning and they said she
looked very fit. So now I'm looking at trying the OD 50 in 2 weeks and
don't know what to do about electrolytes. Help. Linda
Norton
