Hey .. great references!? Thanks!? I've got an Excel spreadsheet, too, to calculate energy requirements.? I can add in the mineral info.? I'd be very interested to see yours, too, especially since I probably won't get around to updating mine for a while.??
So my next ?question :) ?is what do you use to judge what your particular ?horse needs?
Certainly, if your horse has had a problem with thumps, ?cramps, etc. that would be a signal that he needed more ?electrolytes. ?However, the whole idea is to avoid those ?problems, so what do you go by?
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You look at how much he's getting in his forage and feed?(using hay analysis or published averages).
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An 1100lb (500kg) horse needs approximately 18g (moderate work level)?to 41g (very heavy work level) of sodium/day.
If he's eating hay and oats to meet his energy requirements (6lbs alfalfa/16kbs bermuda/2lbs oats for moderate work,
8/20/4 for very heavy work) he's getting from 12.8g to 16.5g sodium.
This is per day requirement - not just "race" day - from the new (2007) NRC, which accounts for sweat loss in work.
Which leaves him short 6g to 24.5g of sodium on a daily basis (that's?0.5 to 2.5 ounces/day of loose salt beyond what he gets in his hay & feed).
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In addition, he's likely getting 4 to 5x?his daily requirement for potassium, which can affect salt seeking behavior.
And approximately double his calcium requirement which could?raise gut pH (more base) which can affect asorption of other minerals and ability to mobilise calcium stores.
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The National Research Council has put up a program?you can use to calculate?Daily Requirements (these are minimums, not necessarily optimum) at
http://nrc88.nas.edu/nrh/?. It doesn't account for maintaining reasonable ratios but it will give you the basics.
If you're math challenged, I'll send my Excel spread sheets to anyone who requests them (only have the 1100lb/500kg weight one done so far for "work", will have done for other weights in a few weeks if not sooner - if you have my old ones, these are being updated per new NRC guidelines).
