I agree with your post 100%. The reason for my question is that there are so many brands and formulas of electrolytes available specifically for endurance riding that I was curious as to what was used in the study. With the electrolytes I use, my horse will eat them out of my hand and will eat them when mixed with feed. I have other brands that are sitting on my shelf unused because they are so harsh they burned my mouth when I tasted them. I saw no difference in performance of the horse when using the harsh e lytes or the mild e lytes. I am fortunate that I live in a region where I can ride my horse most of the time without any supplementation of e lytes. I know this is not the case for some parts of the country and for some particular horses. So the more educated I become on this the better. Someday, I may end up with a horse that need supplementation or end up in riding conditions that demand the use of electrolytes.
As far as frequency goes, I am curious as to whether it is more of an irritant to the stomach lining to give small doses more often. I have always broken up a "dose" of electrolytes in several smaller portions given more frequently as not to overload the horses system with e lytes. So I am curious if dosing this way could have a negative effect on the stomach lining even though it may have a positive effect metabolically. It always seems that the recommended dose is very concentrated and I have never been comfortable following those directions.
As for adding buffers, I am curious how Neighlox is used. The last time I saw a sample of Neighlox it was in a pelleted form. How much of the buffer does one add to electrolytes to gain the effect of coating the stomach lining?
Also, thank you to those that answered my post today. I received many good leads and will share anything l learn with ridecamp.
Kim Fuess
Have any, or all of you, ever tasted or eaten electrolytes? Get them on an open sore and you'll feel what it feels like in a stomach that may already be ulcerated. Then imagine eating an ounce or so every 2 hours during work and the stress of competition and adding a double dose in the heat of the day, and at the end of that day you have injested up to 6-8 ozs. of this chemical. What would that do to a human? What are they doing to the horses?
Tomys test would be that anyone who uses them should try them on theirselves first. Who has a recipe for electrolyte gumbo? There has to be a way to replace the sweat thru ions that are not so turgid and rancid to the stomach. ts
