Horses that are being asked for light to moderate work in warmer weather may not require electrolyte supplementation.
A dehydrated horse is more at risk of fatigue and heat stroke, reports The Horse. To combat this, a horse may increase his water consumption by 15 to 30 percent In hot and humid weather, and by 200 to 300 percent when they are in heavy work in hot and humid weather.
Supplementing a horse's diet with electrolytes can encourage him to drink more water, but there is little research to prove whether the increased water intake is beneficial in horses in light and moderate work.
Alyson Snyder of Middle Tennessee State University reported at the 2023 Equine Science Society Symposium in Grapevine, Texas, on a study she conducted in September 2022. Snyder used 11 stock-type horses in consistent work, supplementing five of them with a low dose of sodium chloride and potassium chloride and adding sugar to the six other horse's feed.
Venous blood samples were taken in the morning for five days to measure blood glucose levels and plasma was sent to Cornell University for testing. The horse's buckets were regularly checked and refilled.
Snyder noted that as temperatures over the five days increased, so did water consumption. Riders and instructors were unaware of which group horses fell into. They reported that the horses receiving the electrolyte supplementation fatigued faster in morning and midday rides than the control group.
However, they saw no difference in cooldown time between the two groups. Additionally, supplemented horses had no change in plasma concentrations.
All horses consumed more water, and on the hottest day, all the horses sweated more and had similar cool-down times. Snyder concluded that horses in light to moderate work may not need low-dose electrolyte supplementation.
Read more at The Horse.
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