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Liquid replacement for your horse - when & why?

We humans sometimes need to restore our fluid balance after illness or hard physical exertion and therefore drink fluid replacement. But what about horses - do they need fluid replacement and if so when?


When you have a horse it is important to remember that when the horse exits and sweats it loses electrolytes. Lack of electrolytes is something that can be dangerous if you do not compensate for this loss - which is extremely important to consider if you have a horse in competitive condition who is trained hard. Failure to compensate for these shortcomings can lead to impaired performance and, in the worst case, collapse.


To get an understanding of how much a horse can sweat, I want to take a study from SLU - Swedish University of Agriculture as an example. During a stimulated trot race in 35 degree heat, a horse can lose up to 12 kg of fluid. This creates an understanding of the importance of replenishing these depots after hard training and competition to help the horse perform at its peak. The horse has a sweat known as hypertension - which means that the sweat contains a higher concentration of ions than blood and other body fluids. When a horse sweats, it loses substances such as: sodium, potassium, chloride, calcium, magnesium, manganese and zinc.


Do you know that your horse regularly gets sweaty or if you train or compete in warm conditions? Then it is good to give the horse supplement in the form of electrolytes or salt.