Re: full recovery at vet checks?

[CMKSAGEHIL@aol.com]

In a message dated 2/19/99 12:56:56 PM Pacific Standard Time, Tivers@aol.com
writes:

<< The higher energy use will produce more body heat and cause more sweat. But
 sweat, as long as water and electrolytes are fed, is not a bad thing. Maybe
 Heidi or Susan have more in-depth views on this. In our horses, one that
 doesn't sweat scares me to death. >>

Yes, sweat is good--in fact, very necessary to dissipate body heat.  But that
brings up another comment.  One of the things that I think is important to the
endurance horse who works for hours and hours is the maintenance of a fiber
fill in the gut.  There's a lot more to this than just the free fatty acid
aspect for energy--it also serves as a gigantic reserve of both water and
electrolytes that the horse can draw upon all day.  It is far easier to
maintain this reserve if the horse is continuing to consume roughage as much
as possible during the ride.  All this carb discussion has focused on energy,
without much said about cooling.  It is far easier for the horse to remain
hydrated if he continues to be ravenous for his roughage, and any lessening of
this by increasing carbs unduly (and yes, Tom, if I remember right, we agreed
that high blood glucose suppresses appetite) would logically have negative
effects on the maintenance of this fiber fill (read water and electrolyte
reservoir).  There are also fluid shifts in the gut itself due to ingestion of
carbs.  I know the research folks have looked at the fluid shifts into the GI
tract with ingestion of carbs, and I don't know how significant they would be
with the amounts being fed.  I don't know of any research on the former
problem, but others out there who follow the literature more closely than I do
may know.  Still, I would wonder if that is one reason why some horses can't
handle carbs--dehydration and electrolyte problems can certainly lead to tying
up.  Just something to think about...

Heidi