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RE: [RC] Feeding before a ride - Chapter Two - Susan E. Garlinghouse, DVMOkay, Chapter 2. I wanted to point out that there some *disadvantages* to getting up in the middle of the night to feed the horse an additional meal, even though they don't directly affect glucose, endocrine and all those fancy-shmancy things. 1) You're disturbing your own rest, and you're probably be in better shape the next day as a rider helping your horse if you slept straight through. If you feel you didn't expend adequate horsemanship brownie points by getting up to feed in the middle of the night, then feel free to get off the horse the next day and use the extra energy jogging up all the hills. 2) Your horse's rest was interrupted by your getting up, whether you turn on lights, generator, heat up water or not. He has enough to do the next day, let him alone to munch his hay and doze without more distractions. If he's banging buckets at 3 a.m., you didn't feed him enough hay or mash the night before. If he ate a vat full and is still banging his bucket, then congratulations on owning a good eater. Feed him from a soft rubber tub and park far enough away from your neighbors that he doesn't wake them up too, until he figures out that room service no longer shows up at 3 a.m. 3) If your crew is trying to sleep next to you, as mine does, then he will be a much happier camper and crew slave if he isn't awakened up until absolutely necessary. 4) Your neighbors will be much happier if you do not wake THEM up in the middle of the night. Base camp will remain a happier place, and happy neighbors are a lot more likely to lend a hand when a real crisis does inevitably occur, like getting tires stuck in sand, losing your keys or realizing you didn't bring enough rum. All of this applies as much, or more, if you're doing a multiday. Give him his mash the evening before, and bury him in hay. (You might be able to make an argument towards coming out to walk a horse after a significant ride to keep his muscles loose, but that's a different discussion.) Bottom line, there is NO physiologic reason to get up to feed in the middle of the night, and clear disadvantages to doing so. If your horse needs his fuel tanks topped off before the ride, it's better done the evening before, period. Plus forage should be for days before (if not always). About the ONLY thing that I personally want to give my horse right before she starts is a diluted dose of salt. I don't think I'm significantly supplementing her onboard elytes by doing so, but if I bump up her plasma sodium levels at the beginning of the ride, then the thirst mechanism is also bumped a little and she starts drinking very early on. Heidi doesn't agree with dosing elytes and that's fine. My mare is coming along well learning to take good care of herself, and eating/drinking well a couple miles into the ride, so I'll probably back off on that until we're further down the road and I have her individual needs figured out a little better. Susan Garlinghouse, DVM =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= 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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