Tag Archives: electrolyte supplements

Horse Care

The importance of giving your horse electrolytes in the winter

Most of us horse owners recognize the value of electrolyte supplementation during the hot summer months.  After working one’s horse hard, or coming back from a long trail ride, or even bringing horses in on a hot day, we can see the sweat marks that indicate a horse may need electrolytes to replenish the lost salt and potassium.  However, electrolyte supplementation is at least equally important during the winter months.

Those of us who have access to an indoor arena are able to ride and work our horses year round.  During periods of hard work, regardless of temperature, horses will sweat and lose electrolytes.  By using a supplement such as Buckeye Nutrition’s Perform ‘N Win or Perfect Balance by Peak Performance, we can help our horses stay healthy by replacing valuable electrolytes lost.

Horse Electroloytes

A second reason to use electrolytes during the winter months is to encourage water consumption.  Many horses’ water consumption drops dramatically during the winter, and this can easily lead to impaction colic.  During the spring, summer, and fall, horses are able to graze and have access to fresh grass.  During the winter, when fresh grass is not available, horses have to rely on hay for their forage requirements.  The water content in grass is significantly higher, around 5 times higher, than that of hay.  Therefore, horses are able to ingest a good amount of their required water intake just by grazing on fresh grass.  Horses’ water consumption also declines when their water is cold.  So, during the winter, we have a situation where our horse is not getting water from forage, and is not inclined to drink as much from water troughs or buckets.  By adding a good, salt or sodium based electrolyte to their feed, we can help increase thirst, and improve water consumption, and hopefully avoid impaction colic issues.

When choosing an electrolyte, I tend to look for the ones that are low in dextrose or other sugars, and gravitate towards those that are sodium based.  If you have a horse with HYPP, you have to be careful about potassium intake, so look for an electrolyte that is specifically designed for horses with HYPP.

waterheater

Other ways to encourage water consumption include filling water buckets with warm water, or using heated buckets or water heaters if you are using a trough.  Ideal water temperature is around 40 degrees.  This year, I am making use of Eccotemp’s Horse Washer, which is a portable hot water on demand system.  I do not have access to hot water in my barn, and after a few years of lugging buckets of hot water down to the barn every morning and evening, I decided to make life a little easier on myself.  This system connects to my hydrant and to a propane tank.  I simply turn it on, and have instant hot or warm water to fill my water buckets with.

Combining these steps with electrolyte supplementation will hopefully lead to a healthy and happy horse this winter.  Most electrolytes can be added either to your horse’s feed or water.  If you add an electrolyte to water, you should also remember to put a second bucket of just plain water up as well.

Click here to shop a full selection fo Electrolytes

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This blog was written by Grant – one of Big Dee’s Showroom Managers

Horse Supplements

Keep Your Horse Hydrated with Electrolyte Supplements

Imagine this:

It’s hot. You’re sweating, your mouth is as dry as the Sahara desert. You just whizzed around a course in the heat of the day. You reach over grab a Gatorade and sloshes down like you are barreling down a luge in the Olympics. So here’s the thing. By taking that swig of Gatorade you replenished most of what you lost while cooking in the sun… But, what about your horse?

What is an electrolyte?

Electrolytes are positively and negatively charged ions that are formed when minerals and other salts dissolve in water. Similar to the ocean, the body’s fluids (blood, plasma, saliva, etc.) are full of salts and minerals. They are important because they are what the cells use to maintain voltage stability across cell membranes. Electrolytes carry electrical impulses such as muscle contractions & nerve impulses across themselves and to other cells. Without electrolytes, the cells in the body couldn’t properly communicate with each other and perform essential functions.

Horse Electrolyte SupplementsHow do we lose electrolytes?

Electrolytes are typically lost through sweat. The three main salts that need to be replaced are sodium, chloride and potassium. Calcium and magnesium can also be lost through sweat but typically on a much smaller scale than the other three. Each salt plays an important role in the body. Sodium helps to maintain blood pressure and balance water levels in the body. Chloride balances the alkalinity (acids and bases) of the body fluids. Potassium helps balances the cellular fluid and is vital for optimal muscle, heart and kidney function.

When should I use electrolytes?

Electrolyte supplementation is not necessary for every horse, every day. As long as the horse has access to fresh water and free choice minerals/salt, the horse’s electrolytes should be in balance. Conditions in which you would want to consider the use of electrolytes would be:

  • Heavy workload/training in which the horse sweats considerably much
  • Long trailer hauls (especially in the heat)
  • Endurance events such as racing, cross-country/eventing, competitive trail or other long riding/driving events

Ideally, if you know you and your horse will be engaging in activities like those mentioned above electrolyte supplementation would occur before, during and after the event. However, there are times when those activities are not foreseen.

A few signs that your horse may be in need of electrolytes:

  • Excessive sweating
  • Lack of thirst
  • Increased capillary refill time
  • Loss of skin elasticity
  • Poor performance
  • Abnormal heart rhythm or rate
  • Lethargy
  • Diaphragm spasms/thumps

What types of electrolytes are out there?

There are typically 3 types of electrolytes on the market. The recommended time of administration on these electrolyte supplements can vary greatly, so it’s important to read the manufacturer’s instructions to find the one that is right for you.

  • Powder/Granules: Electrolytes that come in the form of powder or granules are typically given as a top dressing to feed or put in the horse’s water. Oftentimes these come in flavors appealing to the horse such as apple, orange or cherry. This form of supplement would be ideal for those horses that are less picky of eaters.
  • Liquid: This form of electrolyte is often put directly in the horse’s drinking water or as a drench. Drenches are ideal for those horse owners that are practiced in drenching. Otherwise, we recommend contacting your veterinarian regarding the correct procedure. The liquid that is given through the horse’s water is good for a horse that will still drink water, but needs an electrolyte boost.
  • Paste: Paste electrolytes are administered to the horse orally. By giving the paste, you know that the horse is getting most, if not all, of the electrolytes.