keep horse cool and hydrated, keep horse cool in summer, how to keep horse cool in summer, keep horse hydrated
6 Cool-Down Strategies continued
5 Offer water.
Allowing your
hot horse to drink
also has cooling effects,
as the water
temperature and
your horse’s interior
temperature equalize.
Of course, water
also helps to keep
him hydrated. Severe
dehydration
can lead to organ
damage. Myth alert!
There are no health
risks associated with letting a hot horse
drink cold water. And there’s no such thing
as giving your horse “too much” water.
6 Add electrolytes.
Your
exercising horse
loses electrolytes
HEIDI NYLAND PHOTO
To replace electrolytes,
use plain salt.
See the checklist
at right.
versus outside the cell. There are even differences
in concentrations between the structures
inside the cells.
Another function of electrolytes, especially
sodium, is to “hold” water in your
horse’s body. To maintain proper hydration
levels, his brain constantly monitors
sodium concentration. Thirst is triggered if
the concentration of sodium gets too high;
salt hunger is triggered if sodium gets too
low. (For how to safely replace electrolytes,
see right.)
JANIS TREMPER PHOTO
There are no health
risks associated with
letting a hot horse
drink cold water.
along with water in
his sweat. His cells
function like small
batteries with different
concentrations
of electrolytes inside
HorseLink Magazine
21
Electrolyte-Replacement
Checklist
There’s a place for electrolyte supplements,
but they have to be used correctly.
Use this checklist to get started.
❏ Use plain salt to meet your horse’s
baseline sodium and chloride needs.
Give him 1 ounce per day in winter,
2 ounces per day in summer.
❏ If your horse is working two hours
or less at low sweating rates, or one
hour or less at moderate sweating
rates, add 1 extra ounce of salt for
each hour of low sweating work, 2
ounces for each hour of moderate
sweating.
❏ If your horse is working longer than
the times above, feed the extra salt
only to meet the needs of the first
two hours (or the one hour of moderate
sweating), then use an electrolyte
replacement for any additional
work above that level.
❏ Crucial! Give your horse as much
water as he wants, as often as he
wants it!
July 2010
Click here
for a PDF
download
of this
important
checklist.
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