If they could be "toughen up" to retain electrolytes then the hoses on the US gulf coast would be the toughest horses in the world! During July, Aug and part of Sept (please forgive the incorrect abbreviations :-) ). They will stand in the pasture in the shade and sweat. In fact there are times in the summer when many of us down here will give electrolyte supplementation along with plain old salt when we are not working them. I don't think you can change what many 1000's of years of evolution has done by not giving them salts on a training ride.
I might not give them electrolytes on a normal or even hard training ride (but usually do) in the summer, they get them in their feed that night and the next morning. truman Mike Sofen wrote: >Ok, most of us now agree that electrolyte supplementation during an event is >a good thing. > >But I am still wondering about training rides. Has there been any research >done that indicates that horses "toughen" when trained in heat without >elytes? In other words, ensure that they eat and drink well but don't >supplement elytes - might their bodies become more efficient at utilizing >the natural elytes in their feed and stored in their bodies? > >Mike Sofen >ps: I've cc'd Gayle Ecker and Mike Lindeger > > =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net. Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/Ridecamp =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
