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RE: [RC] [RC] elytes - heidiI do know that it is not good advice to replace ALL that is lost during a ride. That must be done in the hours and days following >>>>the event.And, one needs to take into account the fact that the horse is getting elytes from the food it eats. So one should not merely calculate the amount of elytes lost and then add that amount back bysupplementation.This is amusing to me since I quit giving electrolytes at the last vet check *during* the ride (don't give them after completing) and that has been against the advice of every vet I have ever heard lecture on electrolytes. Maybe it was Susan Garlinghouse who said the horse would bounce back faster if given electrolytes for a couple of days after the ride? I also don't give them in advance. Not because I am so smart...just because I hated to start bothering him sooner than I had to and I figured he had time to bounce back naturally...plus, I'm LAZY. So, aren't any other vets going to weigh in on this? I know in the past their opinion was to give afterwards. Have they changed? What about you Roger? You've always been fascinated by these details. OK, I'll weigh in. With pre-ride e-lyting, yes, certainly the trip to the ride can be stressful and hot and all that, but it also usually is a time when water intake is limited. So giving pre-ride e-lytes may not only predispose the kidneys to already be "dumping" e-lytes but may also cause additional dehydration due to the fact that the horse has limited access to replace the water that he has to use to pee them out. So Angie, your unwillingness to mess with your horse any sooner than you "have to" may actually be doing him a favor. For horses who don't drink well upon arrival in camp (something most horses will learn by their 2nd or 3rd effort, in my experience, if they aren't "naturals" at it), if you want that badly to use them in this sport, you may need to think about taking an extra day off for travel.... As for post-ride e-lytes, Truman was right about the profile that most of the e-lyte loss occurs in the early part of the ride. After that, even those horses not receiving extra e-lytes tend to start to replenish, from their hindgut reserve and from the food they eat. This early loss is due to hormonal influence due to excitement and stress, and as the horse begins to settle into the job, this influence tends to diminish. Now, here's where knowing your horse certainly plays into it. If your horse doesn't do this "settling in" and rebounding very well, then he is a candidate for e-lytes, certainly. But unless he is really "wired" this way, he should be becoming more and more efficient with his own e-lytes as the day wears on. So yes, while it may be a day or two before his e-lyte profiles are "normal" again, they are nonetheless tending to improve on their own even as he continues to work. So no, you likely aren't doing your horse any particular disservice by not e-lyting him post-ride, although yes, he could perhaps utilize a few then. Again, if you have a horse that really "washes out" then post-ride e-lyting would be a good idea. But for most horses, it isn't necessary. Hope that convoluted paragraph makes sense.... 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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