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RE: [RC] Ol' Time E'olytes - heidiI did it once, Frank, but I'll happily do it again. If a horse eats voraciously, and drinks readily, and is going at speeds to which he is conditioned, and is not being ridden past what he has been conditioned to do, and has no pain issues that one can find, but still tends to lag toward the ends of rides or have pulse issues, then I would certainly look at e-lytes as being his issue, and would use them. If any of the other aspects above are issues, then e-lytes would not be the first thing that crosses my mind. Eating well and drinking well are usually a combination of suitability issues and training issues. Additionally, many horses are taken too fast too soon on distances that are too short to trigger him to drink well. E-lyting is a short-cut to solve that problem--and not necessarily a good one. If a horse has eating or drinking issues, consider long trail rides or camping trips where he will learn to do so in a less stressful environment. What has also worked well for some is to set the horse up at home in whatever living circumstance he will find himself in at the ride--ie tied to the trailer, panels at trailer, hot fence at trailer, whatever--so that he feels at home and relaxed in that containment system and eats and drinks normally there. And consider taking him into situations (working cattle, going on BCH rides, etc.) where he goes slowly but is out ALL DAY. Train at the speeds you will use at rides--or faster. So when you go to rides, the speed won't be particularly stressful. See how he does at his first few rides, and really analyze his performance step by step to see if you crossed the line on any of these things. And if you did, don't think, "Oh, gee, he needs e-lytes." Think instead, "Oh, gee, I need to address those issues." If you approach the sport in that manner, very few horses demonstrate a need for extra e-lytes until they pass the stage of mid-pack completions on 50s. And some never do demonstrate such a need. Far better to have sorted out those issues than to make assumptions.... 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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