Endurance.Net Ridecamp Archives

Liz Masters wrote:
> If the horse is sweating and losing salts, minerals etc.  How are they 
> replenished without the use of e-lytes?

A horse that has little conditioning on him will sweat out large amounts of 
electrolytes.  The mixture of sweat, dust and electrolytes makes a thick, sudsy 
lather.  As your horse is conditioned, he will sweat more efficiently, exuding less 
and less electrolytes.  His "lather" will gradually disappear and his sweat will 
appear clearer and more watery.  Does a horse's sweat ever get to the point that NO 
electrolytes are lost?  No, but a well-conditioned horse should be able to 
successfully complete a 50-mile ride without electrolyte supplimentation assuming 
moderate pace and moderate weather conditions.  That is not to say that horses 
wouldn't benefit from some supplimentation, but if you have to give electrolytes just 
to get your horse through the ride, then your horse is not properly conditioned for 
the task. At the other extreme, if you have done your homework, don't supplement and 
your horse top tens looking like he hadn't done any work at all, perhaps the old "If 
it ain't broke, don't fix it" applies.


=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net.
Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/Ridecamp
Subscribe/Unsubscribe http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/logon.asp

Ride Long and Ride Safe!!

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=