Re: Electrolyte Comparisson - updated; input from Susan?

["Susan Garlinghouse" <suendavid@worldnet.att.net>]

> Susan G or others:   Does anyone have any information on preferable lyte
> ratios?   I know Susan is cautious about doing anything that smacks of
> product endorsement, but perhaps there is some product-neutral info about
the
> ideal relationships of these ions to one another.   I know it varies
> w/individual horses, but still, any generalizations?

I don't have any clear preferences between any of the brands that are
specifically formulated for endurance horses.  They're close enough that you
just have to mess around and find out what works for your individual horse.
Some qualified folks swear by one but get tummy pains with another, another
one likes the way one brand blends up in the blender, etc etc.

I prefer any of the endurance brands where the manufacturer tells you
exactly what's in there, in what concentrations and how much of what is
being delivered per dose.  Don't jerk my chain pretending its a "secret
formulation" if you want my business or recommendation.  If there's research
backing it up, it better be published in the peer-reviewed journals for all
to see, not just some numbers drummed up in the back room and kept
"in-house".  Real research doesn't work that way, at least outside weaponry
and aerospace.

I don't suggest any of the general e'lyte formulas sold for general
maintenance, non-endurance horses, like Apple-Dex and the like.  They don't
supply the right electrolytes in the right ratios or concentrations for
endurance horses.  If someone gives you a bucket for free, use it at home,
not at rides.

Otherwise, all you need to supply at home is free-choice, loose, plain white
salt.  Doesn't have to be fancy-shmancy, designer salt from the Lost Mines
of Brazil.  If you want all those "extra" mysterious minerals, then throw a
handful of dirt into the white salt and hey presto, your own designer blend.
That and free-choice, good quality hay is all you need, e'lyte-wise.


> Also, can horses become hyperkalemic from too much potassium?   People
sure
> can.......

As long as the horse is well-hydrated, no, the equine kidneys do a better
job at regulating potassium than human kidneys do.  You can get hyperkalemic
with hypertonic IV fluids or in a severely dehydrated horse then given a
large dose of electrolytes, though.  A good reason to be proactive with the
e'lytes before the horse gets into trouble, not after the fact. :-)

Susan G