Last program I talked about dehydration that occurs in sport horses and mentioned that checking the mucous membrane color and moisture, capillary refill time, and skin tenting at the shoulder could give you an idea if your horse is dehydrated.  Today I am going to give you some ideas on preventing dehydration and loss of electrolytes that are recommended by Dr. Dane Frazier.  Thirst is stimulated basically by the sodium content in the horse’s blood.  When horses consume regular water that has low sodium content, and they lose sodium and other electrolytes in sweat, the sodium content in the horse’s body decreases and they are not stimulated to drink.  To avoid this problem, electrolytes must be administered to horses orally. 

Although sodium affects thirst, it is not the only electrolyte that needs to be supplemented.  Potassium affects the heart as well as function of the intestinal tract and skeletal muscles.  Calcium and magnesium are also necessary for proper neurotransmitter function and a deficiency of chloride can cause the pH of the blood to increase.  Dr. Frazier recommends mixing your own electrolytes.  You can mix 2 parts light salt, which is potassium chloride and sodium chloride, with 1 part calcium carbonate and 1 part magnesium oxide.  Light salt is available in most grocery stores and calcium carbonate and magnesium oxide should be available at your feed store.  You can add a little presweetened Kool Aid to the mixture and administer it directly into the horse’s mouth through a 60cc syringe with a catheter tip.  Giving this mixture every couple of hours helps to replace electrolytes that are going to be lost and prevent problems before they occur.