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Horses and ponies are undoubtedly tolerant
of environmental changes, having evolved
very successfully to survive in the harshest
of climatic conditions. When the going gets
tough, horses can tolerate a total loss
of body fat and up to 50% loss of body protein,
but the loss of only 15% of body water can
be fatal, clearly demonstrating the need
to maintain the correct body fluid balance.
Body fluids naturally
contain what we call electrolytes – the
word electrolyte derived from two words
- electron meaning ‘charged’ and lyte meaning
‘dissolved in’. The charged particles dissolved
in body fluids are properly called ions,
but more commonly just ‘body salts’ and
are essential to life.
When caring for a horse
or pony, the nutrients needed in order of
importance are firstly water, secondly,
electrolytes and thirdly, dietary energy,
which is food. The reason electrolytes are
more important than food is that they play
a fundamental role in regulation of body
temperature. An exercising horse produces
a lot of heat in the muscles and the horse
copes by sweating large amounts of body
fluids to keep cool.
As an example, an event
horse competing on a pleasant, not hot,
day may lose up to 10 litres of fluids during
the warm up and three competition phases.
That figure could be a lot higher for an
advanced horse on a hot summer day. The
sweat contains body salts and significant
losses can have dramatic adverse effects
on the horse’s temperature regulation and
cardiovascular mechanisms, detailed discussion
of which is beyond the scope of this article.
Electrolytes are essential
for water balance and also correct muscle
function. When a horse sweats, water is
lost, along with sodium, *bicarbonates,
chloride and potassium, therefore when considering
an electrolyte, look primarily at the content
of these, along with magnesium and calcium,
which should all be incorporated into an
electrolyte product in the correct, balanced
ratios.
With rising temperatures,
the working horse that is electrolyte deficient
will find it harder to retain water in the
body tissues even if drinking and so may
stop sweating, leading to a false assumption
that he is not too hot, which can be very
dangerous and even fatal.
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When at rest, the electrolyte deficient
horse may show unusual eating habits, even
eating dirt and soil in search of electrolytes.
Long term deficiency can lead to kidney
problems.
A horse in hard work may
need twice as much electrolyte as one that
is resting and if ‘hard work’ is defined
as something that makes a horse sweat significantly,
it could just be a summer hack on a very
hot day! Sweating significantly means the
horse’s neck, chest and sides are wet, not
just a patch under the saddle. As sweating
to this extent results in the loss of large
amounts of all the main electrolytes, daily
replacement is essential.
The management of electrolytes
is based on the need to replace what is
lost, because electrolytes are soluble,
therefore any excess is simply excreted
in the urine not stored by the horse. Electrolytes
cannot therefore be fed in advance of anticipated
losses.
Offering electrolytes
in water is not always the best way to feed
them, as the horse only gets as much as
he drinks. When a horse is refusing to drink
this may mean an electrolyte deficiency
and a water deficit. The need to also offer
clean fresh water alongside the electrolyte
can make this method impractical at a competition,
so a much better option commonly used is
to add the daily electrolyte to the manger
feed. Don’t worry needlessly about over-supplementing
electrolytes, as they are water soluble
and provided fresh, clean drinking water
is always available, are easily eliminated.
On the other hand, an electrolyte deficiency
can have far reaching consequences.
Fatigue in horses is
inextricably linked to water and electrolyte
balance and if summers are going to get
hotter, then understanding the need for
electrolytes in the diet is of growing importance
and crucial to the long term health and
wellbeing all horses and ponies, especially
those working in hot weather.
* Excessive supplementation
of bicarbonates and carbonates may contravene
Jockey Club and FEI Regulations (known as
the practice of ‘milkshaking’).
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This article has been kindly provided
TRM Ireland, manufacturers of Stride,
Stride HA and Stride MP. For further information
or advice, please visit their website www.trm-ireland.com,
email info@trm-ireland.com,
telephone +353-45-434258 or write to TRM
Ltd. Industrial Estate. Newbridge. Co. Kildare.
Ireland.
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