RE: [RC] Horse Quencher? - Susan E. Garlinghouse, DVM
>Can horses get
hyponatremia??? <snip> I'd also
maybe be concerned about giving my horse that much of a sugar high the night
before the ride.
Yes, horses can fairly easily get hyponatremic, although
it’s very unlikely it would occur from drinking sa few gallons of
molasses water the night before a ride. The most common cause is sodium
loss via sweat, then drinking plain water to replace the fluid without also replacing the
electrolytes lost. You can also cause hyponatremia from administration of
unbalanced IV fluids, which obviously isn’t the case here.
I always thought it would be a really interesting research
project to evaluate differences in electrolyte losses in different regions,
since water and electrolyte losses vary based on humidity, heat index, neat
things like that. There have been similar studies, but not in endurance
horses. So the electrolyte losses would be different between horses in
Florida versus someplace out west that was hot and dry versus someplace else
where it was cool and dry. Very nifty stuff.
And yes, you might get a transient increase in plasma glucose
from the sweetened water, but the glucose curve would have tapered off by the
next morning. It would be risky in some horses with metabolic issues
(laminitis, PSSM, chronic tying up problems), but most of those horses
aren’t likely to be at an endurance ride (a few might).
My personal preference is to give several very small doses of
electrolytes prior to the ride to raise plasma sodium and encourage
drinking. I also like to bury them knee deep in hay because a gut full of
fiber also encourages the thirst mechanism through pathways similar to those of
sodium. I have a novice mare that is in her first season and she still
hasn’t quite got the hang of drinking as much as I’d like the night
before, and she does better if she’s a little salty. That
doesn’t mean a gigantic dose of salt at one time, because that can make
them nauseous and turn off appetite, which is counterproductive. But
I’m also not above trying to tempt her a bit with some flavored water,
though in her case, it’s just an extremely sloppy mash of beet pulp,
Ultium and a little apple juice. If a horse didn’t want mash, but
likes a reasonable amount of molasses in the water, it’s okay by me.
