Sorry to hear about your scare. You might want to read Pete Leberge's
(stories on the WEB) description of the 95 OD. Only 10 riders finished
with the last 8 finishing within a hour of trail closing. There is also a
description of the Barn Builder which was a "survival ride" in FL last Dec.
This ride started with 70 degrees and 90 some % humidity. The results
were not good, one colic, one horse triped at the finish from being too
tired, etc. The War Eagle in AL in March as similar with about 1/2 of the
50 (over 20 horses) and 1/3 of the 25's pulled, all but one for metabolics.
Here again a horse tripped at the end because of tirdness. This was a very
humid ride.
I believe the horses in the East have an advantage in handling adverse heat
conditions because they are exposed to it and train in it. When the ROC
was held at LBL (Kentucky) it took its toll on the horses not used to the
heat/humidity.
My persoanl belief is that for hot rides it is only going to get hotter as
the day goes on, so I tend to make time when I can - early, in the shade,
etc. However, the best time is not the first hour. While it is cooler at
that time the humidity is the higest. Usually about an hour after the ride
starts seems to be the best time.
Under these conditions I am very concerned with the metabolic indicatiors,
in particular gut sounds. If the gut shuts down, bad things can happen.
So I question the vet about the gut sounds. Since this is a somewhat
subjective measure, I will check them myself after the ckeck and again
before I go back out if the vet doesn't say an "A". While I have not had
colic at a ride, I would try to get the horse to drink and drink and drink,
assuming she would. If I could I would send for help and start walking
slowly. I'd also check the gut sounds (probably none) and if the horse
showed interest in eatting I let her eat.
If I am not wrong Equilytes are a permixed electrolyte supplement. In most
of these there is very little electrolye present - especially considering
the amount the horse loses. I have had great success with endurolytes.
Misty seems to recover much better since I started using endurolytes. I
used a home made mixture before. I give about an ounce (35 mm film can
full) at every vet check. Under hot/humid conditions I will go up to
double that amount. This is assuming she is drinking well.
If the horse is not drinking well, I don't give any electrolytes. I gave
electrolytes at the Edenburg Gap crew point on the 94 OD. It was a warm
day (low 80) and a little humid, but not bad for East cost June weather.
This point is about 62 miles in the ride. From the 54 mile vet check to
this point it is all up and down accross finger ridges and because of the
dry spring weather there was no trail water.
At the crew stop Misty drink some water and I electrolyted and off we went.
The mistake - I was about 2 1/2 hours ahead of the vet closing and had
plenty of time. I should have taked 15 minutes and let the horse get fully
hydrated. Giving the electrolytes caused more harm than good at that
point. By the time we got to the next check her gut sounds were very
dimished and we pulled. She drink about five gallons of water there and
was fine in two hours when we arrived back at camp. BTW the head vet was
the vet that checked her at 68 miles. I talked with him the next moring
about electrolytes. He suggested I try endurolytes and I think they have
made a difference.
One final thing. I want the horse eatting. Grass along the trail, hay,
brand mash with grain, apples, carrots, anything at all as long as she is
eatting. Eatting keeps the gut moving. When the gut stops so will the
horse. Many horses stop drinking when they stop eatting. So the hotter
the day the more time I take to let the horse eat. I have evolved to the
procedures I now use and they seem to be working fairly well. At the Long
Leaf 100 in Mississippi in April, at 70 miles the vet didn't check the gut
and I asked him why not. His comment was he could hardly hear the heart
beat from the gut sounds so the gut was doing fine. That is what I like to
hear.
Hope you have better luck next time.
Truman
Original Post (edited)
>
>I started using Equilytes at the Diablo Vista ride and they seemed to work
>fine for Shatirr. Because of the heat, I had increased the dosage from 1/2
>tube doses to 1 tube at the 1st check right before leaving and a second tube
>before leaving the lunch stop. I have been told that up to a certain extent,
>excess electrolytes end up in the urine and aren't a problem as long as the
>horse is drinking well. I waited untill he'd filled up on food and water,
>and he ate and drank well consistantly durring the ride.
>
>I took lots of time to scoop him down, but in retrospect, I could have done
>more of it.But not much more.
>
>The vet at the clinic speculated that it may have been heat stroke.
>
>Do you folks back east see this type of problem with the heat and humidity?
>What other precautions do you take? Even seasoned riders with 40+ rides
>without a pull, were getting pulled.
>
>What's the best thing to do when a colic starts out on a trail like this?
>My best call was to continue back to camp slowly. Thank god it was downhill.
>
>Could the icy cold water at the top of the hill caused his colic, even
>though we were only there 10 minutes, and continued moving afterwards??
>
>Any insights would be appreciated!
>
>Linda
>
>P.S. This ride was _extremely_ well vetted and assisted, with all of the
>vets and volunteers doing a great job at making the best of a terrible day.
>
>One horse died on the trail in the morning, of a heart attack. These folks
>were camped next to me, so I knew a bit about the mare, and knew the riders
>friends. It was a 1st time horse that wouldn't be controlled, and did lots
>of running away early on, and the rider was going to pull her at lunch, but
>she collapsed about three miles from camp after being hand walked the last
>6 or so miles.
>
>My special thanks to Dr Robert Steere (Steele?) of Petaluma who spent hours
>with Shatirr; he was everything I could have hoped for under the circumstances.
>Dr Mike Tomlinson was there too, and kept a concerned eye on us and was great
>support... Mike you give the spirit a lift just because you are who you are!
>Helen Harvey, you were great! I know you would have been there for any horse,
>but you were there for us and your attention was *very* appreciated!
>
>Sigh....
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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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