Farmlands catalogue - 1 Feb - 28 Feb 2021 - NO LONGER VALID - page 33 *

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• PLAN365· Articles in the Plan365 section allow Farmlands suppliers to share best practice and the latest advances in rural technology, to help shareholders with their farming needs all year round. THỊNKING AHEAD Benefits of electrolytes for performance horses A well-balanced diet is essential for working horses to ensure they receive all the required nutrients that are important for fitness, recovery and overall health. Plenty of forage and a well formulated performance horse feed is a great start, however when deciding on which supplements to include, the huge amount of different products available in the market can sometimes make this a challenging decision. While the majority of these supplements offer considerable benefits and play an important role in the diet, the first supplement that should be considered for a working horse is electrolytes. Electrolytes are salts that play an important role in maintaining osmotic |A well-balanced diet is important for the fitness, recovery and overall health of working horses. the competition already dehydrated. requirements can be based on pressure, fluid balance and normal Some horses sweat more than others, different amounts of sweat loss. nerve and muscle activity. The most important electrolytes are sodium so it's important to monitor sweat Body weight loss during exercise is a loss to determine what needs to be good way to estimate the amount of (Na+), potassium (K+), chloride (CI-) replaced. Underestimation of sweat fluid loss, where 1kg of body weight loss equals 1 litre of body water and and magnesium (Mg++). These are lost daily through sweat and urine in losses can occur on hot dry days due to rapid evaporation from the skin salt loss. vast amounts when the weather is as the horse may dry quickly even When choosing an electrolyte, it is hot and the horse is working hard, though there has been a considerable electrolyte loss. important to select a product that trying to dissipate excessive body heat. The major losses are of chloride contains the correct proportions of Substantial loss of electrolytes the nutrients lost in sweat. McMillan followed by sodium and potassium. causes fatigue and muscle weakness, eventually decreasing the thirst Electrolytes are available from Therefore these are the most Farmlands and have been formulated important electrolytes to replace. response to dehydration. Research has to mimic the composition of horse's All horses that work hard enough also found that electrolyte deficiencies are a significant causative factor for muscle soreness and tying up in sweat, so all nutrients are replaced in to break a good sweat will require electrolytes if they are to recover the correct proportions. For further assistance and advice quickly and rehydrate. Travel and stress can also induce heavy sweating - a horse travelling a few hours to a horses. The restoration of correct on designing a diet for your dietary electrolyte balance can significantly improve this condition. Since most of the electrolyte loss in performance horse, consult a competition on a hot day may lose up reputable equine nutritionist. to 25 litres of sweat and if these losses the horse occurs through sweating, one method of calculating electrolyte Article supplied by Luisa Wood, Equine Nutritionist are not replaced, the horse may start wwW.FARMLANDS.CO.NZ Farmlands Co-operative Society Limited | February 2021. All rights reserved. THE FARMLANDER | 33

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