Working horses are at increased risk of ulcers in the upper region of the stomach.
Feeding hay, preferably lucerne immediately after exercise puts a lot of saliva into the stomach to buffer and protect the upper stomach. Also hay will help to promote water intake and will provide calories and amino acids to help with muscle recovery post-exercise.
Electrolytes are the minerals a horse loses in its sweat after intensive work. Some of the main ways to replenish electrolytes lost are:
- make sure the daily diet is meeting requirements for electrolytes
- provide free access to plain salt (sodium, chloride, NaCl)
- feed plenty of forage (a rich source of potassium and magnesium)
- use a quality electrolyte supplement on days when sweat losses are highest (especially during hot, humid weather)
- if you are adding salt and electrolytes to your horse's feed and he stops eating, it could be because you are exceeding his requirement for these minerals which makes the feed taste horrible. Reduce or remove them for a few days until his appetite returns and then slowly reintroduce them.
Feeding you horse after exercise is a little more complex. Close attention need to be paid to what is fed immediately after exercise for horses in hard to very hard work. These horses experience significant water and electrolyte losses and will burn through muscle glycogen and experience muscle fatigue.
5 important points to remember when feeding after exercise:
1. Re-hydrate the horse
2. Replace electrolytes lost
3. Refill and rebuffer the stomach
4. Replenish muscle glycogen (the muscle store of glucose)
5. Feed the muscles and provide building blocks for muscle building