Re: hydration (was My horse was on IV at 2000 Tevis)

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

> So is soaking the elytes in with beetpulp + a few gallons of water an
> adequate plan for preloading & avoiding the dehydration effect in a less
> than stellar drinker?  Or is that still too small of an amount of water
> (what is "plenty")?
>
> Thx,
> Michelle

Just came across this in my still-too-full inbox (obviously, I'm still way
behind) and wanted to answer it anyway.  I don't especially care for relying
solely on e'lytes in the feed to provide enough salt during a ride.
Although horses do develop a salt appetite when they're depleted, and then
will voluntarily eat it, the salt appetite tends to lag time-wise behind the
true elyte status.  That is, a horse that started to become depleted at Mile
25 may not start to think about it until Mile 60---and if not otherwise
supplemented, he's been traveling with an electrolyte depletion for 35
miles, and therefore at higher risk for associated conditions, such as tying
up, thumps, etc.

The other thing is that most animals don't really like alot of salt in their
food.  There's alot of variation depending on species and plasma status, but
most livestock will start to refuse feed (or maybe just eat less) when the
salt concentration is above about 1%---that's less than an ounce or so in a
five pound pan of mash, and not even close to what he'll need to replace his
e;lyte losses throughout the day.  Same goes for just providing water with
e'lytes added to it.

The best results I've seen with encouraging horses to drink is to 1) stuff
them as full of hay and beet pulp as you can for 3-4 days before the ride to
provide a fluid reservoir in the hindgut to draw on during the ride, and 2)
start orally syringing e'lytes at home, small amounts frequently (1-2 oz) ,
during the trip, at base camp and every hour or two throughout the ride.  If
you can increase their plasma sodium concentrations well BEFORE they start
trotting and sweating, you can usually kick start that associated thirst
response before they're truly dehydrated.  And the other side of THAT coin
is that you have to actually provide plenty of good, fresh water to them as
often as possible---I was once talking to a rider who was concerned about
her horse's dehydration and his not drinking.  I asked if she'd really
offered the horse water and her reply was that, well, they'd passed a couple
of water stops, but the horse didn't seem to really notice them, so they
just kept going.  Of course, I'm not suggesting you're doing that, Michelle,
but it's worth jumping up and down and screaming to actually give the horse
whatever it takes to get him to relax and have a really good drink.

I can't think of a more important skill for a horse to develop.  The more
bloodwork I'm looking at from rides, the more concerned I am about some of
the trends I'm seeing, and frankly, it scares the hell out of me.

Susan G