Electrolyte balance is critical for equine health and performance, with sweat losses during work creating welfare risks from dehydration and metabolic imbalances that require careful management strategies.
Electrolyte management welfare failures occur most often during transport, competition, and endurance events where horses are unable to access water freely or where electrolyte supplementation is poorly matched to actual losses. The event horse or endurance horse pushed beyond physiological limits without adequate electrolyte and fluid replacement faces significant suffering from dehydration, muscle cramping, and metabolic disturbance. Welfare-centered electrolyte management begins with constant water access, free-choice salt, and supplementation calibrated to work intensity and environmental conditions. Competition regulations that mandate veterinary inspections at endurance events, and allow elimination of metabolically compromised horses, are examples of welfare-protective governance in equine sport.