Re: RC: Re: are electrolytes a must?

[DreamWeaver <nvrider@home.com>]

At 05:47 PM 09/22/2001 -0600, Susan Garlinghouse wrote:
Proper e'lyting will do
>alot towards keeping your horse hydrated and proper hydration will keep the
>elytes doing what they're supposed to be doing in the right places and at
>the right times.  I can't stress strongly enough that if you're planning on
>going to a ride more than ten miles in length, and planning on actually
>climbing into the saddle and riding the darn thing, you should be elyting
>your horse.

.....uhhhh yeah, listen to Susan!

I've seen people ride a lot of miles without using electrolytes.  I think 
that is because we have a lot of amazing horses out there who perform well 
in spite of us.  Now, we know better thru ongoing research that we can 
really help our horses out by electrolyting them.  And just because a horse 
finishes a ride and looks great on the outside, doesn't necessarily mean 
anything --- it's easy to be fooled.  It's what is going on inside that 
matters and without doing bloodwork along with weighing the horses I don't 
know any rider that can really know what is going on inside of their horse. 
Wishful thinking, perhaps......but in reality if more people spent more 
time developing an appropriate electrolyte regimen on their horse we would 
probably have less metabolic problems (though that also includes how people 
ride, it's an overall management issue).  Don't we all want to believe that 
we really know our horses?

Personally, I don't think that you can use your climate as an excuse not to 
electrolyte.  No matter where you ride. I don't think it matters if you 
ride where it's hot, or hot and humid, or hot and dry, or 
whatever.......our horses are sweating, they get hot and we owe it to them 
to keep them healthy and not just in good shape when they finish a ride, 
but we need to pay a lot more attention to post-ride recoveries and how our 
horses are doing in the days following a ride.

Here is a page I put together comparing electrolyte 
brands:  http://members.tripod.com/ridephotos/electrolytes/compare.html

Happy Trails,

Karen
in NV
& Rocky, 4,480 miles
& Weaver, 4,620 miles
http://members.tripod.com/ridephotos/
http://www.endurohorse.com