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RE: [RC] Electrolytes - heidi
Beth, my "favored brand" of electrolytes is still just plain old
food. Electrolytes are not innocuous (yes, you CAN overdose, or misdose), and furthermore, until a horse has some base on it, you really have no clue if it actually NEEDS additional elytes.
I don't use added elytes at all, and Steph recently reported on riding
in hot, humid Malaysia without dosing with elytes. Some highly competitive groups (notably the French) have quit using them as well.
So don't just start using elytes as a knee-jerk reaction to the fact
that "everybody" seems to use them. Get to know your horse first, let him get hungry and thirsty a few times so that he LEARNS to eat and drink, and keep in mind that the main reason why horses hit the wall has to do with overriding their conditioning and their calories, NOT to elyte loss. Once you have some time and some rides on your horse, you then have a basis for deciding if fine-tuning with elytes is indicated or not. (To date, I've not had a horse that needed them--and in years past, I've been fairly competitive, although I'm now a mid-to-back-of-pack rider due to my own limitations.)
Heidi
I'm sure I'll get 50 different opinions here (or more...) but: I was wondering what type of electrolyte paste folks use -- are there a few brands that most folks tend to use over the others?
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