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RE: [RC] RC:Core Temp - Steph TeeterAs to the electrolytes. Steph said: messes with osmotic balance in gut (high concentration of salt in one dose). <<< What happened to the old line that if a horse's electrolytes were depleted, that drinking clear water would disrupt the osmotic balance? Angie it's been a while since college, so please take my comments as those of a lowly rider, not a vet or physiologist. but - the principle is: water follows salt. wherever the concentration of salt is highest, water will go and seek equilibrium, given the channel/ability to do so. without enough water the body can't circulate substrate adequately (blood becomes thick/sludgy) and if the guts are not active (can also be a result of over-exertion)then stuff, including salt may simply stay in the gut rather than get circulated to the cells that need it. (or even worse case scenario draw water back into the gut to normalize the salt concentration). the risk of over-hydration (diluting the amount of salt in the body fluid) by drinking too much is (I think) much lower than the risk of dehydration. There have been many studies demonstrating that horses lose great amounts of salt during exertion. And we know there are also studies (the French) that demonstrate that drenching with electrolytes doesn't improve performance... and we know of many cases where horses have done well w/o electrolyte supplementation. (I just rode 120km in very hot and humid conditions in Malaysia with no e-lyte supplementation during the ride - the horse drank/ate all night, hydration was excellent). So this begs the question: if e-lytes are lost in exertion, but horses can still perform well w/o supplementation, then why are we told that we must actively replace the salts that are lost, during the exertion? How do these horses do it w/o replacement during competition. Is there enough of an e-lyte reserve in a fully loaded gut to re-supply the system during exertion? hmmmmm?? Steph =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= 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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