Endurance.Net Ridecamp Archives

My close, personal friend, the Duck has often told me that most endurance horses do not need electrolyte supplementation.  That most riders do not put the horse into deficient frequently enough to merit it.

 

I believe him.

 

And, my advice to those who do, why not just administer IV fluids at vet checks and "get it over with"?

The prophylaxis that is "electrolyte supplementation" is a guise for what the horse really needs....more fluids because the horse was put into a state of deficient, i.e.,  a blood-thickening, muscle stiffening, heart-taxing deficient that, with a reasonable rider, riding with a reasonable goal in mind, would never have breached.

 

Frank

 

On 1/31/08, heidi@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx <heidi@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

> Dr G is right--anything can be a toxin--salt, water, feed, even
> oxygen, if taken in too great amounts or improperly. In all the
> discussion about elytes, I think it is important to mention the
> necessity of pre-electrolyting. I have come full circle in
> electrolyting, from pre-dosing and dosing throughout a ride, to not
> giving any, and back again. I ride a foxtrotter, who has less margin of
> error in how she manages her body fluids and electrolytes as compared to
> the average Arab. I have found that it is quite safe to give elytes the
> night before, as the horse is not dehydrated at that point, and it may
> encourage her to drink more that night, thus sending her out on the
> trail better hydrated than had she not been dosed.


Huh??  No "necessity" for pre-e-lyting in general, UNLESS you have a specific horse with a specific need (which you may, by your description, but just being a Foxtrotter doesn't make her inefficient)...

Yes, you may get her to drink more, but if that is because she has to get rid of e-lytes that are causing dehydration at a tissue level, what have you accomplished?

I'm not picking on ya, buddy, and you may well be riding a horse that needs some supplementation.  But again, go with what the individual needs, and don't try to generalize for other horses.

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!!

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=