June 2005

Electrolytes Done Right

Improperly administered electrolytes can do your horse more harm than good.

Horses in hard work, under heavy stress, often need to have electrolytes supplemented.

Hot weather gets many people reaching for an electrolyte supplement for their horse, but often they have little understanding about electrolytes or what they do. This is scary because, used improperly, electrolytes can make the risk of dehydration or electrolyte-related performance problems worse.

Electrolytes are nothing more than minerals dissolved in the horse’s blood stream. The horse must take in electrolytes/minerals year round to replace those lost in urine, saliva, bile, tears, intestinal tract secretions. Electrolytes are also lost in sweat, but in most cases the sweat losses are only part of the horse’s total daily needs. …