TopSpec Electrolytes – 1.5kg Hydration & Recovery Supplement

TopSpec Electrolytes – 1.5kg

A horse loses far more salt per litre of sweat than a person does, so replacing water alone after hard work leaves the job half done. TopSpec Electrolytes is a high-salt formula flavoured with wildberry, declared at 20.3% sodium, 37.6% chloride, 7.5% potassium and 0.4% each of calcium and magnesium, with glucose at 31.4% to aid uptake.

TopSpec are clear on two points that get missed. It is fed in addition to the salt already in the diet, not instead of it, and they recommend continuing for at least two days after the sweating rather than stopping the same evening. Replacement lags behind loss, and the deficit is still there the following morning.

Performance & Benefits

• High-salt formula: sodium 20.3% and chloride 37.6%, the two electrolytes lost in the greatest quantity in sweat.
• Potassium at 7.5%, calcium and magnesium at 0.4% each.
• Glucose at 31.4% from dextrose, which assists sodium uptake across the gut wall.
• Wildberry flavoured, so it goes into a feed without the horse turning away from it.
• Fed in addition to the salt already in the ration rather than replacing it.
• 1.5kg tub — the smallest size TopSpec produce, useful for occasional rather than daily use.

Suitable For

• Horses in hard, fast or endurance work.
• Competition horses on long or hot travelling days.
• Any horse sweating heavily in hot or humid weather.
• Horses on box rest recovering from an episode of heavy sweating.
• Not a daily baseline salt source — a plain salt lick or table salt covers routine maintenance, and TopSpec advise this preparation is used on top of that rather than instead of it.

Feeding

• TopSpec publish no fixed daily gram rate. They state that a 3kg tub lasts a 500kg horse 20 to 60 days depending on sweat losses, so a 1.5kg tub covers roughly 10 to 30 days at the same rates.
• Divide the daily amount equally between meals and mix well into a damp feed.
• Continue for at least two days after the sweating, not just the same evening.
• Feed in addition to the salt already in the diet, not instead of it.
• Plain fresh water must always be available alongside.

Composition & Analysis

• Composition: sodium chloride, dextrose, potassium chloride, magnesium sulphate, calcium carbonate.
• Analytical constituents: sodium 20.3%, potassium 7.5%, calcium 0.4%, magnesium 0.4%, chloride 37.6%, glucose 31.4%, phosphorus 0.0%.
• 1.5kg tub. Also sold by TopSpec in 3kg, 9kg and 20kg.
• TopSpec do not state BETA UFAS NOPS conformity on their Electrolytes page, unlike their Calmer and 10:10 Joint Support, so no such claim is made here.

Care & Caution

• Never feed electrolytes to a horse that has no water in front of it. Adding salt to a dehydrated horse without water available makes the dehydration worse.
• Do not offer electrolyte-dosed water as the only water source. Plain water must always be available alongside.
• A horse that will not drink after hard work, or that stays tucked up with a slow skin pinch, needs a vet rather than another dose.