Ask The Equine Nutritionist

I checked my horse the other day to see if he was dehydrated, and he was a little bit. his skin doesnt snap back at all, it goes down slowly for about 4-5 seconds , so I'm a little concerned. My friend gave me some electrolytes that I'm going to give him, . He's just a little dehydrated, so should I even bother with it? Could it hurt him in any way if I do? I really want him to have them, as he's worked hard and sometimes sweats up a lot. He has salt in his feed bucket and in the field, and always has water. What do you think?

Should I continue giving electrolytes, even after he's better? I thought about doing that, as a preventative in hot humid weather because he does sweat so much, but is it possible to overdose electrolytes?

He definitely sounds dehydrated, and dehydration is something you have to be careful of in this hot weather. I would check into his water supply, make sure it is clean and fresh and palatable. Does he have easy, constant, access to it?

In this hot humid weather I would definitely be giving him electrolytes but I would do a really thorough check of his water supply.
MAKE SURE HE CAN ALWAYS DRINK IT. Put you hand in there to make sure it isn't carrying a charge, smell it to make sure it does not have a bad odor, even taste it.

And yes continue with the electrolytes until the weather gets cooler.

Dr. Melyni Worth Ph.D. - 2004 (c)

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