Horse works it sweats

When a horse works, it sweats. It sweats even more when it is not fully fit. When the weather is hot and humid the sweat really pours off, and a horse can lose as much as 15 litres of sweat in an hour. While sweating is a horse's natural method of cooling down its body, excessive sweat losses can cause an electrolyte imbalance in its system. If not corrected, this electrolyte imbalance can quickly lead to premature fatigue, reduced stamina, muscle cramps and poor recovery after exercise. The overall result is sub-standard performance and general lethargy.

For sustained and maximum performance, electrolyte losses must be replaced on a daily basis.

In a training environment, electrolyte losses (and subsequent imbalance) cannot be corrected unless the horse receives some form of electrolyte replacer in its daily ration. While common salt (30g ‑60g per day) is essential, the high performance horse needs a more complex electrolyte intake in order to sustain peak performance under stress conditions. The electrolytes that a horse in work loses each day are Sodium, Potassium, Magnesium, Calcium, Chlorides, Sulphates, Phosphates and Bicarbonates. These electrolytes are lost in sweat, urine and faeces, and the loss in accentuated by heat and humidity, nerves and travel.

Salkavite replaces all the electrolytes lost by a horse in work. Specifically formulated to replace all the electrolytes that a horse in work loses. Just 30g ‑ 60g a day is all that is required. It is recommended that 309 60g of salt (NaCI) should also be given The essential electrolytes provided recharges the horses system, boosting recovery rate and performance. Calcium's role as an electrolyte is one which is frequently overlooked. Calcium losses in sweat can be high, particularly in long distance competitions when excessive losses result in a condition referred to as “ thumps" or "heaves". Calcium is vital for the maintenance of normal muscle contractions and activity, both in the muscles of propulsion and in the hear muscle. Ranvet's Salkavite provides 2,500mg of Calcium per 30g dose.

The electrolyte levels in a 30g dose of Salkavite. One daily 30g dose provides a horse with the following electrolyte levels:

Sodium 3,600mg

Potassium 400mg

Calcium 2,500mg

Magnesium 400mg

Chloride 3,800mg

Phosphate 3,400mg

Sulphate 1,300mg

High grain diets and hard physical work significantly increase a horse's daily requirements for B Group vitamins. Along with the electrolytes, B Group vitamins are also lost in the sweat and consequently require replacement on a daily basis.

The cereal grains fed to a horse in work provide the major source of energy. For maximum release of this energy from the grains, horses require a supplementary intake of B Group vitamins, and that is precisely what Salkavite provides.

Why are B Group vitamins so essential?

Apart from the important role B Group vitamins play in the utilization of carbohydrates and the release of energy, these vitamins are needed for a multiplicity of essential body functions Any serious deficiencies can cause lack of co‑ordination, nervousness, loss of appetite, anaemia and less efficient metabolism of nutrients in general. With the diet of a stabled horse consisting largely of cereal grains, protein meals, chaff and dried hays, any natural forms of B Group vitamins are generally in short supply. In fact, the typical stable diet actually pre‑disposes a horse to Vitamin B deficiencies, especially when it is subjected to the physical stress of training and racing. It was the recognition of the vital role and function of the B Group of vitamins that warranted their inclusion in the formulation.

Apart from the losses in sweat, B Group vitamins (with the exception of Vitamin B12) are not stored in the horse's system, which further highlights the need for daily supplementation. At carefully selected levels, all essential vitamins associated with the B Group are included. When given on a regular daily basis, Salkavite ensures that constant blood levels of B Group vitamins are maintained.

The B Group vitamins that provided.

Each kilogram provides the following levels of B Group vitamins:

Thiamine (B 1) 2,819mg

Riboflavin (B2) 3,404mg

Pyridoxine (B6) 157rng

Niacin 10,445mg

Cyanocobalamin (B12) 14.34mg

Choline 5,103mg

Folic Acid 816mg

Inositol 8,775mg

Vitamin E (3,604mg/kg) and Rutin (1,766mg/kg) are also included in the SALKAVITE formulation due to their acknowledged benefits to a horse subjected to extreme physical stress. If you train high performance horses, electrolyte and B Group vitamin losses are a fact of life which you must not only be aware of but cater for on a daily basis. Under stress conditions, two of the factors most likely to cause sub‑standard performance are (a) electrolyte and body fluid losses and (b) inadequate intake of B Group vitamins. In meeting a horse's requirements for work and to combat the effects of stress you have the ideal therapy in Ranvet's SALKAVITE. Feed it daily to replace electrolytes lost in the sweat and to maximise energy release from high grain diets.

Blood analysis determines electrolyte levels.

Salkavite's electrolyte balance is critical and correct. It has been arrived at as a result of over 20 years of ongoing intensive laboratory assessment of the effects of stress on equine athletes. Bloods are analysed before a horse works, and after both fast and slow work. Electrolyte levels are carefully monitored right up to the time the horse returns to an at rest stage.

You should also consider the use of Neutrolene Plus and Humavyte

The pH of a horse's blood has a direct influence on the animal's capacity to sustain performance. For this reason, it is strongly recommended that Salkavite be used in conjunction with Neutrolene Plus, Ranvet's body acid neutralizer and alkali reserve replacer.

Salkavite is precisely what horses in work need.

Daily dose rates.

Racehorses

As routine: 30g daily

Day before race: 60g over 2 feeds

After a race: extra 30g in night feed.

Stallions (during the season) 30g daily.

Yearlings (sale preparation): 30‑60g daily.

Endurance horses: 30g daily plus extra 309 in night feed after day's ride.

Polo ponies and Eventers: 30g daily plus extra 30g in night feed after event.

Travelling horses: 60‑90g prior to journey 309 in water on trip.

Packs and usage rates.

At an average dose of 30g, usage will be approximately as follows:

2kg bucket 66 horse days

5kg bucket 166 horse days

16kg drum 533 horse days

Routine administration.

Salkavite is normally given dry, mixed in with the feed. However, it may be given in the drinking water (at slightly increased levels), or as a saline drench per medium of a stomach tube (160g in 2 litres of lukewarm water). It is recommended that the daily dose be given in the first feed after a horse has worked.