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RE: [RC] New Endurance Horse Electrolyte Research - heidi

It's really easy to gravitate from extreme to the other in choosing an 
elyting protocol and NO ONE ( including Heidi) advocates NO electrolytes 
during endurance---Heidi's approach (and correct me if I'm wrong) is 
providing elytes via vast amounts of forage, which is more than sufficient 
for a large number of horses under certain circumstances.  The French team 
may insist they don't elyte their horses, but assuming they fed their horses 
during the day, then sure they did---they just may not have been doing so via 
an oral syringe, thus were probably providing elytes via forage, possibly via 
concentrate rations, or added to water, or offered free-choice.  There are 
LOTS of ways to skin that cat.

Basically, yes.  There are some semantics involved here, of course, but Susan 
makes a valid point.  E-lytes are naturally-occurring substances, and are found 
in food at levels sufficient for most work, for most horses.  Horses who 
readily eat vast amounts of forage and who are efficient in how they manage 
their food often do not need ANY additional supplementation.  (And Susan, I 
would add that that even means fast rides in heat and humidity, not just in 
slow rides in the NW, although weather is certainly a variable that must be 
plugged into the equation.)

There are indeed many variables.  First and foremost is the horse, followed 
closely by feed--both intake and quality/type of feed--and by having the horse 
adequately conditioned to the job that you ask him to do.  I suspect that the 
French are all over all three of these variables, and that that is why they 
have no need to add supplemental e-lytes.  

My beef is with the knee-jerk approach too often taken in our sport where 
e-lytes are just automatically supplemented, without first ascertaining that 
all the other variables have been met (and Susan, you frequently point out that 
the main nutritional issue with "running out of gas" is usually caloric, rather 
than e-lytes--I concur!!).  Some of the e-lyte protocols out there are 
downright alarming.

IF they must be supplemented at all (which is often questionable), then they 
SHOULD be given, as you say, in "salt-shaker" amounts, small doses frequently, 
with food.  But first, make sure you have a horse suitable to the task, that he 
eats sufficiently for the task, and that you have done your homework and have 
him in shape to do the task.  If you haven't done those things, then e-lytes 
are not the answer.

Heidi

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