feeding salt before a known hot event...

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tobysg

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So, this is all hypothetical at the moment by the way!

I am taking my horse to a show next weekend, I have checked the weather and it says it is going to be 29 degrees in the show area!!

I am hacking her there which is about 1 1/2 miles (along a shady road at the crack of dawn), consequently, I have nowhere to tie her etc, at the showground.
I 'think' there will be shady places although there is no guarantee of this.
I am taking a car of stuff up so the horse will have access to water and probably hay at some points.

Before I knew the weather, she was going to do a mini jumping class with a young rider, two inhand classes and a ridden class, then possibly a larger jumping class/working hunter with me depending on timings and way of going, what we feel like on the day and how much food I buy with my cash!

She takes A LOT of warming in for ridden showing, as she is very fizzy and excited. This is not an option (unless she behaves)!


So, bearing in mind the waffling I have done above, it is clear the horse will be working hard and will need to remain hydrated and kept cool.


The main question being, should I give the horse salt in her feed leading up to the competition to replace what the electrolytes she loses through the inevitable sweating and also increase her appetite for water?

After all this, I bet it changes and bloody rains!!!
 
I would warm her up less, should make her less fizzy, more warming up just makes a horse fitter and more hyper. Also feed speedibeet rather than hay to get water and salts in to her, agree with electrolytes.
 
Don't feed salt - or electrolytes - as a one off in advance.

If you up the salt concertration in her body before she has the chance to sweat it out then she will either be very thirsty or overload on water, diluting her body salt concentration back to where it was. Neither are good.

You need to replace the salt she looses at the time or shortly after. You might want to take something like horse quencher to offer her in buckets of water at the show, or you can get electrolytes in a bottle like water. You could take a solid salt lick and offer it to her - or just good old table salt on your hand. But make sure she has loads of water available to her at the same time.

The feed salt / electroyltes / salt lick or which ever you choose when you get home.
 
We tend to feed a very sloppy sugar beet feed the night before. I would then use sugarbeet water at the competition, or a wet feed. I often syringe electrolytes down at a ride, which helps minimise dehydration.
 
As an endurance rider I add salt to my horses feeds every day and electrolytes after a ride especially if they have sweated up. Everyday I make the feeds wet/sloppy so they take in extra fluids

Make sure that the horse has drank before you give electrolytes
 
I used to feed something called Blood Salts to my sweaty mare when she was eventing.

I would also wet her with a sponge when warming up, which helped keep her cool, it would have evaporated by the time we went in..

If you feed hay, soak it with a bucket of water.

Feed electrolytes after the event, not on the run up.

Don't over ride her, you will probably find she doesn't need as much warming up, stand in the shade whenever possible, make your shows concise and effective, not endless circles..
 
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