Ridecamp: Re: [RC] thumps

    I am aboslutely convinced thumps are genetically predisposed.  Gary and
I had two full brother geldings who were both marvelous endurance horses
EXCEPT that both were predisposed to thumps (esp. in hot weather--even when
other vet scores were all As) ; they also took a longer time to recover  at
VCs than our other endurance horses.  None of our other endurance horses
have ever thumped except these two brothers.
    We finally arrived at a formula that worked, as tested in a particularly
hot Californios 100: LyteNow at half doses every hour.  (Higher in calcium
than other e-lytes.)
    Also, Mike Thomlinson, DVM, recommended to us once that the liquid
calcium administered to cows was used for horses that tended to thump on the
international rides he vetted . . .  I tried it once as a precautionary and
thought it burned my horse's mouth, but it might be worth having around in
the event of.  Hopefully not necessary if you follow the "little bit every
hour"  approach.
    Another thing Dr. Thomlinson told us was to limit alfalfa.  Just a tiny
bit daily, but then do feed more of it right before a race.  (Apparently the
horse's body learns its getting so much calcium from the alfalfa it figures
it doesn't need to store it, if you feed alot of it--I've done that with
e-lytes fed on a daily basis and gotten in Big Trouble, so makes sense to
me.)
    Hope this helps!

----- Original Message -----
From: "John & Sue Greenall" <greenall@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: <ridecamp@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Tuesday, June 18, 2002 2:23 PM
Subject: [RC] thumps


> Can there be a "slight" case of thumps?  As in tying up, there are
> degrees?  Will calcium always correct it?  Can a horse have a
> "predisposition" for thumps (like tying up)?  So we have all heard
> that electrolytes will "prevent" thumps, but is there a "magic
> number" for the amount of Ca+ needed to do this?  And if the horse
> is thumping, is there a source of Ca+ (such as cows get) that is
> recommended for horses?
> Yep, gotta new Morgan that seems to stress out in company and
> "thump".  I think?
> John and Sue Greenall
> mailto:greenall@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
> http://www.vermontel.com/~greenall
>
> =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
>  Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net.
>  Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/Ridecamp
> =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
>
>



=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
 Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net.
 Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/Ridecamp
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=