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[RC] Electrolyte Religion - katswig@xxxxxxxxxxxxxHeidi said: It is the religious fervor with which people approach e-lyting that bothers me--with little or no understanding of the physiology of what is being done. In the past, I have not noticed a religious fervor with respect to electrolyting but many of its proponents have historically been saying something of the essence "it doesn't matter if you give the horse too many electrolytes because it will just pee out the ones it doesn't need...as long as it is well hydrated." I am not, nor have I ever been, convinced that this is true. This is not only because I doubt that there are many endurance horses are sufficiently well hydrated during competition that they can afford the fluids necessary to pee out copious quantities of excess electrolytes so "I'll just give the horse a bunch and let it pee out the ones it doesn't need" puts a metabolic stress with respect to fluid levels that an endurance horse, that is probably at least marginally dehydrated anyway, REALLY shouldn't be subjected to if it is at all possible to avoid. But also because providing excesses of electrolytes (especially of calcium and magnesium, which the body doesn't automatically just "pee out") can cause all kinds of unhappy imbalances on their own as the body tries to figure out what to do with them. Hypercalcimia and hypermagnesmia (i.e. too MUCH calcium and magnesium) ARE clincial conditions that occur and cause problems. And many studies are being done with respect to hyperkalemia (too much potassium) as well, both in working horses and resting horses. And now, with this most recent study on electrolytes and ulcers, it suggests to me that the problem is not only that the body has to deal with the excess electrolytes after they are absorbed from the gut, but that they seem to be causing problems before they even get absorbed. In my experience, the biggest problem with many of the proponents of electrolyte supplementation is not the religious fervor that many of them have, but rather the false doctrine of "it can't hurt to provide too much." If anybody really wants me to, I can go back into the Ridecamp Archives and find and quote posts of people preaching this doctrine. kat Orange County, Calif. -------------------------------------------------------------------- mail2web - Check your email from the web at http://mail2web.com/ . =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- 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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