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Re: [RC] elytes,salt,and supplements - Patti KuvikFrom: <heidi@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> Subject: Re: [RC] elytes,salt,and supplements My old guy won't touch free choice salt in any form. I give him 1 tbsp in his grain and he seems fine with that. Sometimes I wonder if this means there is enough salt content in our local hay and maybe I'm overdosing him?... Can you even get hay tested for salt content? Forages are the natural source of essential e-lytes. E-lytes are somewhat equivalent to the "major minerals" found in forages - calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, sodium, potassium, chloride. These can all be easily tested for - see the "example reports" under "services" at http://www.equi-analytical.com/default.htm . But the ratios of these minerals to each other are also important. Horses on a high potassium forage may not voluntarily take in enough salt as the potassium will be preferentially secreted in large amounts in the urine, replacing sodium, so that sodium is highly conserved (reducing salt hunger). This can affect magnesium absorbtion even if there is enough dietary magnesium present. This discussion of grass tetany http://www.saltinstitute.org/47u.html reviews the mechanism involved (and applies to horses as well as ruminants). Patti Kuvik Vail AZ =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= 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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