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Re: [RC] Beet Pulp - Truman PrevattSERA has had a livestock scale available at our rides for about 6 years now. Most people record and track their horse's weight and we keep those records. I suspect there are between data on between 1000 and 2000 (maybe more by now) horses at rides all over the region in all weather conditions from a cold rainy Jan ride in FL to a hot muggy August ride in Georgia.No one has done an extensive look at the data but I've looked at some - enough to make a few observations. People normally weight their horse for the first time on Friday when they check in. On rides with all checks in camp - which are the majority - most people weight their horses at the checks. Most of our rides are "tack off" so the horses are weight without tack at all times. Most horses are weighed when they get a completion and some weigh a couple hours later. In the SE region there is normally water every 5 to 7 miles either supplied by Mother Nature or the ride manager. Rides with long stretches without available water is uncommon. It is also not uncommon for water to be available via osmosis for the entire ride. Observations: Average Weight Loss: The average weight loss we see is between 35 and 40 pounds or between 3.5 and 4.5% of the original weight. There is, however, a great variance. Some horses would lose up to 50 pounds and some would actually gain weight during the ride. The highest weight loss I have seen was 70 pounds at 25 miles of a ride. That horse was pulled and while not treated they were watching it closely and ready if it didn't recover as fast as the vet would have liked. The second highest was 50 pounds at 15 miles - this will be discussed below. Distribution of Weight Loss: This is probably the most interesting. The vast majority of the horses lost the largest portion of weight the first loop ( about 15 miles). It was quite normal for a horse to lose 30 pounds the first 15 miles and on 35 total in 50 miles. There are some reasons that this would happen. Weight loss comes from direct fluid loss and solid and fluid loss in manure. A horse dumps a lot more manure early in a ride and not as much late ( are at least mine do). Some of this may also have to do with some horses not wanting to drink early hence there is no replacement. But most horses do not continue to lose at the same rate (approximately 2 pounds per mile) the last 35 as they do the first 15 and stay in the ride. Many horses will actually lose a large amount of weight the first 15 miles and gained weight the remainder of the ride. The more horse (actually a 16 hand mule) that lost 50 pounds gained back 20 pounds the rest of the day to finish only 30 pounds down which turned out to be about 2.7 of his initial weight. There was one horse that actually gained weight on every loop to finish about 10 pound up. This horse did this on several rides. This horse also finished within the top three on each ride and won BC on each ride. Think there might be a correlation there ;-) ? Super Hydration - possible?: There were a group of horses whose riders protocol I know. These horses probably have the potential of being "super hydrated." These horse would tend to lose large amounts of weight up to 40 pounds the first loop and then gain it back. That is they would lose more that the first loop average but gain back weight to finish at about the average at the end of the ride. On explanation was these horses really had taken on more fluid than needed and rapidly dumped the excess once they started. Water which will be a majority of the weight loss goes at about 2.1 pounds a quart (actually 2.086352 ) or 8.35 pounds a gallon. Hence 35 pound weight loss can be made up by a horse drinking 4.2 gallons of water. So if horses are drinking well and water is available they can make up a large water loss. My Horse" The (many) times I have done my horse weighs in a 1000 pounds. Maybe 996 one time and 1005 the next but on the average 1000.On a 50 he will normally lose 15 to 20 pounds the first loop and finish about 10 to 12 pounds down at the end. One thing about the Bird is he normally drinks early in a ride - which I think shows up in the first loop stats. He also tends to eat like a pig most of the ride. Sometimes at the first check he's a little wired so may not eat as much there as the other checks but he always drinks. His weight loss pattern tends to be independent of weather and/or terrain. On hot days he just drinks more. When I have weighed him a couple hours after the finish he's been back to his check in weight. I feed a basic commercial feed (Farr XTN) dry. His hay and alfalfa are fed dry. He gets no beet pulp except what is in XTN. At checks he gets about a pound or so of XTN and all the hay, alfalfa and/or grass he wants. If someone else has something there he thinks he likes better, he normally sneaks a couple bits of that ;-) . Truman Susan E. Garlinghouse, D.V.M. wrote: * Also, my comments are *directed at what I presume to be hydrated horses. If they are suffering *from significant dehydration or lack of gut fill, you're right, they *have more serious problems. -- "The opposite of a correct statement is a false statement. The opposite of a profound truth may well be another profound truth." Niels Bohr -- Nobel Laureate, Physics =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= 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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