Re: Electrolyte question

["Susan Evans Garlinghouse" <suendavid@worldnet.att.net>]

>arrived in camp (night before) until 1/2 way through the 2nd loop the next
>day.  I was advised to:
>A.  Start electrolyting him 2 days before, 1 ounce 2x daily (which of
>course I did, I didn't know any different) Supposedly this would "tank him
>up", this advice was given by 100 milers who I considered to be The Experts

After any deficits have been taken care of, the body won't store extra
electrolytes.  The majority of the minerals in electrolytes are absorbed in
the small intestine, so the any excess electrolytes you fed on Thursday are
long since flushed out by the kidneys and gone by Saturday.  Assuming you
have salt available at home before you leave for base camp, extra
supplementing won't help.  It's okay to supplement with a small amount
before the start so that some electrolytes are moving through the gut as the
ride progresses, but tanking up for days before the ride is mostly just
giving the kidneys something to do.  One other thing to pay attention to,
though, is letting the horse tank up on *hay*.  Having that reservoir in the
hindgut is critically important, for various reasons.  Although the data on
this is still a little limited (and I don't have much right here in front of
me), food in the hindgut probably provides a reservoir of certain
electrolytes derived from the food itself.


>C. Don't use those store bought electrolytes, make your own using 1/3 salt,
>1/3 light salt and 1/3 dolomite (don't know about this, but am using
>Enduralyte to be on the safe side)

Alot of the store-bought electrolytes aren't formulated to replace 'lytes in
the proportion that they're needed/are lost by an endurance horse.  Also,
alot of them contain bicarb, which is contraindicated for endurance.
Occasionally I'm given a bucket of store-bought stuff, and I'll dump it into
the salt box at home, but for rides, you're better off using one of the
preparations formulated specifically for endurance, or use the formula you
described.

>So, Sunny and I need to know when to give the first dose of electrolytes if
>she's drinking right, of course.

Make sure she has salt available at home.  If you're trailering a long ways,
you can give her just a bit before you leave, and if the ride is expected to
be hot, humid or whatever, you can give a bit more before the start.
Whether or not you syringe during the ride you'll have to judge yourself,
based on previous discussions and your own knowledge of your horse and
circumstances.


>Also, can I add Tums to Enduralyte or do I need to get some dolomite?  I've
>heard that Enduralyte doesn't have enough calcium and a horse could get the
>"thumps".

Most vet checks will have some alfalfa available.  That's fine.


>One more thing, how much dolomite needs to be added per ounce of
>electrolytes?
>Thanks in advance, Rachael & Sunny & Cien

If you're going to add stuff, you might as well just make up the 1/3 mix
from the recipe above.  Otherwise, how much depends on the formula of the
'lytes you already have, which is tedious.

Susan Garlinghouse




=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net.    
Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/RideCamp   
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=