Thanks, for Another Electrolyte question

["steven" <trails@jps.net>]

Hi Susan: That was a great explanation of the process.
Thank You
Steven Proe

----- Original Message -----
From: "Susan Garlinghouse" <suendavid@worldnet.att.net>
To: <diggsma@flash.net>; <ridecamp@endurance.net>
Sent: Wednesday, April 18, 2001 7:57 PM
Subject: RC: Re: RE: Another Electrolyte question


>
> > Hello,
> > I've been trying to follow this thread. I have a question. About someone
> >
> > saying NOT to give electrolytes if the horse has not had a drink, why?
> > Is there a medical reason? Please clarify.
> > thanks,
> > anna.
>
>
> When salt hits the stomach, the physiological response of the body is to
> immediately dilute it down to a particular tonicity or
> concentration---simpler terms, it adds water to it so the body can absorb
it
> more easily.  The source of that water is from the blood.  So, worst case,
> let's say your horse has been sweating really hard, hasn't been drinking
at
> all, his skin tenting is just awful, his gums are tacky and dry, no doubt
> about it that the boy is really dehydrated.  Now you've added salt to the
> system and even more water is removed from the blood to go into the
stomach.
> That bit extra (which actually can be fairly substantial) *can* be enough
to
> totally push the horse over the edge into a metabolic crash.  So under
those
> circumstances, adding salt on top of being dehydrated hasn't helped the
> horse at all.
>
> OK, second scenario.  Let's take the same really dehydrated horse above
that
> hasn't had any electrolytes all day.  He's got dried salt crust all over
> him, and has been losing electrolytes with the sweat all day.  He finally
> decides to stop and really tank up, just drains the buckets dry and hey
> presto, he goes over the edge into a metabolic crash *anyway*.  What
> happened this time is that alot of water moved from the GI tract into the
> blood, but because he's deficient in electrolytes, the blood doesn't have
> all the electrolytes needed to maintain cellular function---because where
> the word electrolyte came from is just a substance that carries electrical
> charge in cells to maintain function.  Too much water, not enough
> electrolyte is just as bad as too much electrolyte and not enough water on
> board.
>
> So if you ever have a horse that's this dehydrated at a ride, *you*
probably
> shouldn't do anything except get your butt over to the vet, because
> he/she'll have a better handle on what the horse needs to correct the
> problem without pushing the horse over the edge.  Alot of the time, that's
> when and why they'll start running IV fluids---supplying both water and
> e'lytes in the right balance so the horse doesn't fall over.
>
> So, here's what you do to avoid both of the above scenarios.  If you give
> electrolytes via syringe in small (ie 1-2 oz) and frequent (every few
hours,
> depending on the ride, heat and humidity) starting before the start of the
> ride and LONG before the horse has had a chance to get depleted in
anything,
> then that will do two primary things.  1) it's going to get little bits of
> e'lytes into the system so the horse doesn't get depleted throughout the
> day, and because the doses are small, there's not as much fluid having to
be
> shuffled into the stomach, plus less upset tummy; and 2) assuming the
horse
> never gets electrolyte-depleted, then the salt concentrations in the blood
> will get just a little higher than normal---that's perfectly normal, and
> okay, and what happens is that the slightly higher salt concentration is
> going to kick in some pretty complex endocrine responses, one of which
> signals the kidneys to filter out the excess salt, and another of which
> tells the horse he's thirsty so how 'bout taking a drink.  He's not really
> dehydrated at that point, but this is a good way to sortof fool the system
> into thinking he is; and to help get a horse to start drinking earlier in
> the ride *before* he actually gets so dehydrated that you're running into
> one of the two scenarios described above.
>
> I know this is kind of a Romper Room explanation, but Corrine is right,
> fluid balance and acid-base is pretty complex and hey, reading ridecamp
> shouldn't be like studying for an exam.  Anyway, hope this clarified the
> whole when-to-electrolyte-and-when-not-to-and-why-not thing. :-)
>
> Susan G
>
>
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