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RE: [RC] [RC] Study on electrolyte/ulcers - heidiI would love to hear more on this topic as a newbie who is a little intimidated by the idea of e-lyting since I have never done it with my event horses except occasionally. I would hate to start doing something if it is going to cause ulcers in my horse. Juli, I've gotten to the point that I just about always delete e-lyte posts on ridecamp, in part because it seems to be one of those things that people tend to approach rather mindlessly just because "everybody does it." Well, not everybody does it, and many non-electrolyted horses do just fine. My comments below are anecdotal--I have no formal studies to back them up. But they come from observing close to 20,000 endurance starters from a veterinary perspective over 20+ years, in addition to riding over 6000 miles, sometimes fairly competitively. 1) I think we see just as many--if not more--problems in endurance horses from overuse and inappropriate use of e-lytes as we do from any lack of them. 2) I think many people mis-diagnose problems as being e-lyte problems when they are, in fact, energy problems or lack of conditioning to do what has been asked. Or, in some cases, simply horses that are not suited to the sport. 3) I think it is a big mistake to e-lyte horses at all until they have been worked up through the ranks in the sport to the point where one can make really intelligent decisions about their individual needs. 4) Do I think e-lytes contribute to ulcers in endurance horses? You betcha. In the horse's diet, e-lytes come from forages. A working, healthy endurance horse can and should be consuming as much as 40 lbs of some sort of forage daily. That amount contains MORE e-lytes (and reasonably balanced ones) than he will lose in sweat. We do not use e-lytes in our endurance horses at all. One of my horses participated in 2 different bloodwork studies at rides, and was one of the better-balanced horses there--at one of those, on a hot and somewhat humid day, he won the 75-miler and won BC. Another of my non-e-lyted horses top tenned something like 16 rides in one season, including one BC. These horses ate well, drank well, and stayed in good weight all season. I would not rule out their use--and I do believe there are individuals that need them. But I think they are greatly overused in our sport, much to the detriment of our horses. Others will view these comments as heretical--but since you asked, I figured it was time somebody told "the rest of the story." Heidi =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= 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!! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
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