Ridecamp: Re: [RC] Leonard--aka "cool dude"

>I am wondering if our "need" to electrolyte so much
> may, in fact, be due to the distances we haul and the horses being in
> deficit before the race begins.  People often note that in the "old days"
> nobody electrolyted like this--I am wondering if they were hauling these
> distances then. Thoughts?

Yes, we were frequently hauling a long way, back in the '70's, because there
just plain weren't very many rides.  My very first ride was about a 10-hour
haul from home.  I think there are several factors that have influenced the
electrolytes needed these days.  One is that many more horses now are raised
in confinement situations on diets that contain more concentrates, and never
fully develop their hindguts.  It isn't just the energy produced there that
is a factor, but that hindgut full of forage also serves as a reservoir of
both electrolytes and water.  In my experience, the horses that don't need
lytes are the ones that never stop eating for ANYTHING, and will consume in
the range of 4% of their body weight in good quality roughage when in heavy
work.  Another factor that has affected need for lytes, IMO, is the fact
that in the last 3 to 4 decades, horses (not just Arabs, but all breeds)
have been bred consistently AWAY from working type.  I see a difference in
electrolyte needs in family lines, and although this is not a hard-and-fast
thing, there is a tendency for horses of predominantly modern show lines to
have a higher need for lytes, and most of the horses that don't need them or
need less of them are of older lines, and are of a more serviceable riding
type all around.  And this isn't just true of Arabs--I've seen it in QH's
and others as well.  The old ranch-style QH's don't need near the
"supportive care" that the modern ones do, just like we see with the Arabs.

Hauling is certainly an added stress, but again, when a horse hoovers down
every morsel fed to him in the trailer and sucks down half a bucket of water
every time you open the hatch and offer him some, he doesn't tend to come to
 the ride with any particular deficits.

Heidi


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