Questions from a neophyte

["hn.heather" <hn.heather@wanadoo.fr>]

Hi Tom & Heidi

I've only just joined so forgive me if I'm dragging up old subjects.  I've addressed my post to you because your names pop up the most.

Carbo-loaders - which ones & when?  During rides? What distance?  During training?

Electrolytes - What do you recommend?  Most of the 'lytes available in France are heavily loaded with glucose or dextrose.  Would you pre-load & for how long before a ride?

Would you give 'lytes on the trail or at vets?

I have a particular problem with my gelding who virtually stops drinking once we leave home to go to a major ride.  He often starts a major ride slightly dehydrated.  Am I exacerbating the problem by pre-loading?  At major rides he has a bucket of beet pulp juice in his stable & he drinks a lot of this.  Is this OK?  This is unmolassed beet pulp.

This same horse had a problem in Oct with an low but irregular hr 78kms into a 90kms race ride.  We pulled him because we weren't sure what we risked by carrying on.  Someone suggested that irregular heart rates are linked to electrolyte imbalance & that the pre-loading could have caused the imbalance.  I thought that excess electrolytes just got excreted.  This same horse has recently completed 200kms in 2 days with no probs. as my horse vet said that the vast majority of irregular hr's/murmurs go away with exercise.

Thanks & I look forward to hearing back from you.

Happy Christmas

Heather & Darrar who says "damn, thought the irregular hr thing would work, must think of something else......."