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RE: [RC] Excessive SALT block licker - Susan E. Garlinghouse, D.V.M.Sometimes horses develop excessive salt licking as a stable vice, which in your case might have evolved as a result of stall confinement and discomfort during the founder episode. In some extreme cases, they also start drinking so much water (independently or along with the salt intake) as to cause kidney problems, called medullary washout. If your pony just likes to lick the thing but isn't going through outrageous amounts (say, more than a few ounces a day), don't worry about it. If she's actually ingesting more than 4-5 ounces, then limit her access to salt. As for the high potassium on the chem. panel, don't worry about it if the other parameters are normal. When blood is drawn, the red blood cells continue to slowly leak potassium into the plasma or serum. If it took awhile for the sample to get spun down, the results can come back artificially high, but it's not a true reflection of plasma potassium status in the living animal (unless your horse is HYPP and the blood was taken during an attack). Hope this helps. Susan Garlinghouse, DVM -----Original Message----- From: ridecamp-owner@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:ridecamp-owner@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Jerri Larsen Sent: Saturday, January 08, 2005 9:39 AM To: ridecamp@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Subject: [RC] Excessive SALT block licker I have a pony that had foundered but now recovered and is on a pretty balanced diet, but however is an excessive salt block licker... I also had blood work done and she is high in potassium... I soak all her hay and soak and rinse all her beet pulp... Any body have a good vet that you could ask, what might cause these situations? Thanks Jerri/Montana =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= 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!! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= 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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