Re: Electrolytes

[Michael I Lindinger <mlinding@uoguelph.ca>]

Hi Beth, good questions. Regarding provision of electrolyte supplement
please see my recent postings on ridecamp.

Equine sweat contains 10 times! the amount of salt per liter of water than
does human sweat. This is why electrolyte supplementation is so important
in horses that are performing prolonged exercise. I refer you to studies
published in Equine Vet Journal (may 1995) by L.J. McCutcheon.

All the best, Mike


On Thu, 16 Apr 1998, Beth Glace wrote:

> Hello Mike,
> I was glad you chimed in.  My knowledge of human physiology led me to 
> doubt that horses became less efficient if routinely given 
> electrolytes.  But, since my research experience has been  solely in 
> humans I hesitated to contradict that notion.  
> You mentioned preloading with 1 gallon an electrolyte solution prior 
> to exercise.  How do you ensure that the horse will drink this amount 
> of fluid?  Are you syringing the electrolytes, and does this induce 
> thirst sufficient to result in that amount of fluid consumption?  
> Human sweat is hypotonic to plasma, and therefore during exercise 
> plama becomes increasingly hypertonic.  Is this similar 
> in horses?  I've heard that potassium losses via sweat are much 
> greater in horses than humans.   Does the osmolality of their sweat 
> significantly different  from humans?   I'd really appreciate any 
> information you could supply, or if you could direct me to a good 
> text. 
> Thanks,
> 
> Beth Glace, MS
> Research Associate/Sports Nutritionist
> Lenox Hill Hospital
> NY, NY
>