ridecamp@endurance.net: Re: how much bran for a ride?

Re: how much bran for a ride?

Truman Prevatt (prevatt@lds.loral.com)
Mon, 26 Jun 1995 09:22:03 -0400

Welcome from the heat/humidity and more recently the rain capitol of the
world. It's monsoon season here and we are getting it. One common thread
in conversations when FL endurance riders meet is hydration. In fact one
of the netters from FL, a PhD in pharmacology who has been too shy to speak
up, is working on an electrolyte mix. Maybe we can convience this person to
share her work.

My view is to train the horse to drink any and all water, from a clean
stream to the dirtest, yechest mudhole. Drink early, drink often and drink
lots is my motto. I also cool the horse by applying water with a sponge
whenever pass through water. I save the bran for feeding at vet checks. I
have in front of the hrose, grass hay, alfalfa hay, water and a wet brand
mash made up of brand, grain, apples, carrots, etc. I also give a brand
mash for a meal or two after the ride. I perfer to give electrolytes by
syringe. That way the taste of the electroltes don't interfer with the
horse eatting and drinking and I can control and I know the amount she is
getting. I don't give electrolytes until we are ready to go back out.
Some horses will stop eatting if you give electrolytes.

As for wet hay, my horse tends not to eat wet hay, but she drinks large
amouts of water at almost ever opporunity - so I don't get too concerned
with feeding dry hay.

>A friend and I have a question.
>
>At the last two endurance rides I have been at it has been very hot
>or humid. Both vets talked about the importance of giving the
>horses plenty of electrolytes/bran mash, wet hay, etc.
>
>
>At the last ride, I brought almost a 5 gal bucket of bran, and
>between arriving Friday and leaving Sunday, I almost went through
>the whole thing. My mare loves bran mashes and will eat very soupu
>bran more than she will drink plain water. SInce I wanted her
>really hydrated before the ride, I gave her several mashes the
>Friday before and a small one the morning of the ride.
>
>-Is this too much bran?
>
>At home I do not bran on a regular basis, only after hard rides to
>add electrolytes.
>
>My mare did not seem to have any adverse reaction to this much bran,
>if anythng her poops were still a little hard.
>
>Karen
>
>To: ENDURANCE@MOSCOW.COM

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The race is not always to the swift, but to those that keep running.

Truman and Mystic "The Horse from HELL" Storm

prevatt@lds.loral.com
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