I am curious for those that have taken the time to respond to the electrolyte thread, when you mention a "dose" (see below as an example) are you actually giving the recommended dosage for the particular electrolytes or are you breaking up the the recommended dosage and giving more frequently. I think this distinction would be helpful in the discussion, especially for those that are new to the sport. Just using the example below it seems that in a 50 mile ride that this person is giving electrolytes at frequecies less then every 15 miles and giving e-lytes around every 20 miles for the 100. I wonder if this is the recommended dose or is the dose spread out and given more frequently. Some of the electrolytes, such as endura max, seem pretty strong/harsh and the recommended dosage seems pretty high if I remember correctly. I can't imagine giving a horse the full dose less then every 15 miles. Again, I don't ride in a humid region so perhaps this is why this seems like a lot of electrolytes for a 50 mile ride. Many instructions recommend dosing every two hours without any consideration to weather conditions or speed traveling.
I am not making these comments to be judgemental on whether electrolytes are needed or not needed. I am just trying to make sure that I am interpreting what is posted correctly.
Kim Fuess
Horses sweat in a way that is qualitatiovely differently than humans - I read somewhere that they excrete much more minerals than we do, I think magnesium was one of them. I typically use 4 doses for a 50 mile ride, including the one right before starting, and 7-8 doses for a 100 miler.
