Connie Hoge has set up a new group on yahoo on the topic of electrolytes. Click here to visit the group or to join!
What do I do in regards to electrolyte supplementation on my own horses during rides? I add plain salt to my horses soaked mashes. I try to preload them a little ahead of traveling and of course try to do what I can post ride to help them recover after the event is over. I don’t syringe elytes and rarely use an actual electrolyte powder but when I do I use “Perfect Balance” brand.
I go through a 50 pound bag of plain white loose salt once or twice a year (cost: $7 per bag) – actually maybe every 8 months depending upon how soon I buy the new bag before the old one gets used up. I put a couple of cups of salt in each of the horses feed bins in each stall every couple of weeks. I don’t use salt blocks because the horses as a group don’t get enough salt that way. Except for Bo as he thinks it’s candy and chomps them all up. I read something once that said that in order for most horses to get the salt they need from a salt block it would cause their tongues to get sore.
When I first started Chief I wanted to see how he would do if I managed him differently from previous horses. Years ago I did use syringes and elytes. I haven’t for years and years and have to say that I think that my horses do better this way. They eat better, drink better, and I don’t have the mess, hassle or cost of dealing with electrolyte syringing. My thinking on this topic has changed over the years for sure. When I first started in this sport syringe elyting was the thing to do. I just accepted it as the status quo and thought that it was something I had to do.
Competing endurance horses definitely need electrolytes, some more than others but consider that when my horses are eating and drinking better than a horse next to them that just got e-lyte syringed that they are taking in as much or more in electrolyte replenishment and are much better off getting it with a meal. I feel that if I have a horse that can’t compete in rides without having to have electrolytes forced down them then that is a horse that I am not interested in competing on. I know that sounds harsh and I”m not trying to put anybody down that feels differently or has a horse that metabolically isn’t capable of handing the stresses of an endurance ride without additional supplementation. It’s just not a right fit for me and my style of riding.
I think some horses do well in spite of whatever we do with or to them. It doesn’t matter if we elyte them or not. Or have the best fitting tack or even a great trimmer or shoer. All those things help but some horses are going to do well no matter what, and some are going to need a lot of extra help and support. The faster you go the more you need to provide more support. That’s got a lot to do with why I usually ride the way I do – conservatively and in a way that my horses come through the rides in good shape without it taking a lot out of them or pushing them. I’m going to start slowing down more and more as my strength and stamina are coming back.
I just wanted to update this to include a link to a .pdf file that contains some interesting research on endurance horses and electrolytes. I have posted this before but thought it might be worth repeating:
http://enduranceridestuff.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2008/09/endurance_exercise.pdf
an excerpt:
Introduction
To replace electrolytes lost in sweat during endurance competition, riders frequently supplement
horses with hypertonic oral electrolyte pastes. Sweat losses in Na+, Cl- and K+ during a 10 hour
endurance competition can be grossly estimated respectively to 300g, 550g and 120g. Oral pastes
administered to endurance horses usually bring less than 5g of each ion per syringe. Therefore, their
utility during long distance endurance rides is questionable.
and
Results
Before 2002, on each international event, at least one horse and most often several horses presented
anorexia or stopped voluntary drinking during the ride. In the absence of electrolyte supplementation,
no horse stopped drinking or eating; consequently, the horses were considered easier to manage by the
riders. The frequency of elimination or withdrawals for metabolic troubles was significantly reduced
(P < 0.05) since 2002. There was no statistical difference in the performance of the supplemented and
non-supplemented horses. From 2002 to 2004, French team horses contributed to get 4 medals without
any electrolyte supplementation.
Conclusion
Electrolyte supplementation in well-conditioned horses is not essential during long distance endurance
rides.
I’ve struggled with whether to syringe or not. I’ve tried it both ways and didn’t really notice a difference when I syringed versus letting them eat it (or not eat it, as it might be). I’ve also made up a little “sports” drink for them that they seem to like and choose whether or not to drink. When I do syringe, it’s very conservative and only after they ahve eaten and drank good. I haven’t had any problems I’ve tried to “solve” by elyting, so far just have done it conservatively as a prevantative. I do like preloading though. Usually start 3 days before travelling to a ride. After that I don’t worry too much about doing it at the ride. At wild west I did experiement with syringing and thought the method I used was easy to do on the trail. The amount of elytes was pretty insignificant IMO and I’m not sure if it actually made a real difference.
Just random thoughts.