RC: OMNI blood results/Potassium Chloride

["guest@endurance.net" <guest@endurance.net>]

Barb Peck bpeck@together.net
Barb Peck
bpeck@together.net		

RE: OMNI's blood results

Roger:

Your horses's potassium (K) and chloride were both a tad low, 
but I didn't see sodium listed (Na).  Was that in the normal
range?

Here's why I ask:
I competed my big horse last year, and had blood drawn
(hematology, muscle enzymes, electrolytes) to make
sure I wasn't missing something..

At the end of the season (600 miles but only 1 25 mile race): 

  Sodium levels were mid- range normal, Potassium was a tad low
and chloride were a tad low. (pretty close to your horses ranges)
The chloride being low bothered me as much or more than the K being low.
The only other thing not in the normal range was the neutrophil
count, and my Vet thought this showed he was stressed.

SODIUM CHLORIDE:
I always thought that if the correct amount of Na was supplied, 
then the correct amount of Chloride was supplied,  so why was that low?

I had a friend at the hospital look over the bloods results.
(She's not an Equine practicioner... so this is just her theory)

She thought that he was running a DAILY deficiet of potassium and
chloride. Sodium was sufficient.
Electrolyting him during/after hard rides probably just
saved my butt from getting him in trouble if he was running a deficiet
to begin with.

Since cloride is bound to sodium ( CL molecule weighs more)..
How do I get more chloride in the horse without sodium?..
I can only think of additional (K)Cl.

So. I started mixing his daily maintenance salt ration and put it
in the daily 2 lbs of grain he gets :
30- 40g daily, 3 parts Red mineralized/2 parts potassium Chloride/
1 part sodium chloride.
(Without looking at my calculations, this supplys *about* 18g
of chloride).
The potassium Cl is Mortons iodized "lite" salt.


Unfortunately, when blood tested last month my Vet
didn't send the blood to the same lab, so I didn't
get K, NA, Cl to see how much the K/Cl has come up.
Gotta do blood again, to see if my daily mix is doing
what I want it to do... I still may have to increase the
maintenance (K) Cl..


Was Omni's sodium in the normal range?

Thanks Roger, for your post. It brings alot of good
stuff to light.

I'm only an occassional competitor (but have the obsessive
trait to do it right by the animal that alot of RideCampers
have). So,

I seriously think people are going to have to "tailor"
their electrolyte program (maintenance and work/weather)
to the individual horse.

Barb