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Feeding endurance horses
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Endurance Riding - Feed well to win
Feeding requirements:
Endurance
riding it seems, has gained big popularity over the past few years. Equine
athletes are expected to perform well over a wide range of environmental
conditions and very long distances. Endurance horses are trained, or
"conditioned" for long distance
rides over a long period of time. Training of a top horse athlete may take
up to 2 -3 years. Correct nutrition is of major importance in this field
of equine endeavour.
A well balanced
diet is an absolute must if the horse is expected to be healthy and to be
performing well. There are seven integral parts of the equine diet:
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Fibre:
Fibre, also
sometimes referred to as, cellulose or lignin is the integral part of
plants and is found to a greater or lesser degree in almost all common
feeds fed to horses. Fibre should form a bulk of the ration. It functions
as a stimulant of the gut movements and keeps the muscles of the digestive
tract "toned up". The fibre also traps water in the large bowel
which can act as a "back up" source during the long distance
exercise.
If the fibre is
not supplied in adequate quantities, the horse is much more likely suffer
from digestive upsets and vices such as wood chewing. An example of a good
source of fibre is hay or pasture.
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Energy:
Energy is
supplied mainly by carbohydrates (sugars, starches) and to a lesser degree
by fat and protein. The major source of carbohydrates is usually cereal
grains such as oats or corn. These are the most common source of the energy
used in horses.
However, many
endurance horses seem to be more sensitive to oversupply of energy in
grains which can lead to tying up and other metabolic
disorders.
Recently,
vegetable oils seem to be gaining popularity as an energy source for long
distance riding horses. Oils are classed as slow release energy
feeds, which can supply the energy continuously over the long
distance ride. It is thought that horses once used to the fats in their
ration can use this form of the energy very efficiently.
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Protein:
Proteins are
the main building blocks of the horse's body. It is required for most body
functions and plays an integral part in muscle, bone and hoof development
and maintenance.
The horse
continually uses protein to build and or to repair damaged tissues. This
indicates that a horse needs a continuous supply of proteins in their
diet. Proteins are made up of about 20 protein building blocks called
amino acids. The horse can
produce only about half
of these in its body. The rest must be supplied to the horse in the diet.
Each protein is
composed of various amounts of different amino acids in exact proportions.
If a particular amino acid is present at a very small level, then only a
small amount of protein can be made and the rest of the amino acids will
be wasted.
This shows that
not only the amount, but also the quality or make-up of the
protein supplied is important.
An
example of a good quality protein source is soybean meal, combined with an
amino acid balancer such as Promix.
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Vitamins:
Vitamins are
nutrients that horses require in very small quantities for normal body
functions. Vitamins can be divided into fat and water soluble. In a hard
working horse under the stress, the requirements of many vitamins can
increase markedly. It would be too risky to rely on nature to supply
adequate levels of these vitamins. In a working horse of a particular
importance are:
Vitamin A:
Needed for
energy metabolism, vision, healthy skin and blood and bone formation.
Naturally present in grass and various herbage, it can be adversely
affected in a hay making process. In
Aminovite
Plus and Folactin
Blue.
Vitamin E:
Needed as a
natural "tissue protecting agent" (antioxidant), is involved in
a proper functioning of an immune system and when added to the diet it
often improves endurance and overall performance.
Muscle-E is the
best source. Do not mix with Iron tonics in the same feed!
The B Group Vitamins:
Primarily
involved in energy metabolism, therefore horse in training has an
increased requirement for these vitamins. In Salkavite, also some
of the B Group vitamins in
Aminovite Plus.
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Minerals and
Trace Elements:
The horse
requires at least 16 different minerals in diet. Some are needed in large
amounts, such as calcium, phosphorus, sodium, chloride, potassium,
magnesium and sulphur. These are called macro minerals. Some, such as
iron, zinc, copper etc. are needed in a very small amounts. These are
called trace minerals. Minerals have very important functions.
Supplementation
of a diet with minerals is quite complex. Not only correct
minerals have
to be supplied in correct proportions, but also their interaction has to
be taken into account. For example, the level of calcium in the diet
affects how much
phosphorus,
magnesium, zinc and copper are absorbed from the same diet. Due to
increased demands for minerals by performance horses, there is a need for
supplementation.
Ranvet's
Folactin
Blue has been especially formulated to cater for specific needs and
demands of performance horses.
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HYDRATION REQUIREMENTS:
Ensuring an
adequate water supply is an essential part of a basic care for a horse.
Electrolytes such as sodium, chloride, potassium, magnesium, calcium and
phosphate maintain normal functions of tissues and cells.
Water:
Water is the
main component of the body. It makes up about 60 % of the body weight. It
ensures continual flow of electrolytes, food and waste particles to take
place. It is also the most important component of sweat. Horse's
requirements for water increase dramatically when fed dry rations and
during the hot weather and after exercise where the horse must replace the
water lost as a sweat.
During long
distance exercise it is of a great importance to offer water to horses as
often as possible. The ability of a horse to replace lost water during an
endurance ride is highly valued by endurance riders since these horses are
more likely to perform better. Horses should be allowed to cool down for
about 20-30 minutes before allowing a free access to water. Alternatively
about 2litres of water may be offered every 10 minutes or so and then a
free access is allowed after about 30-40 minutes after the end of
exercise.
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Electrolytes:
Loss of electrolytes can greatly affect the performance, may lead to
inappetence and it is thought to be involved in a
tying-up syndrome. The
electrolyte part of the horse's sweat is made up of chloride, sodium,
potassium and to a lesser degree calcium and magnesium. Factors such as
long, slow exercise, hot weather nervousness and profound sweating are
thought to cause increased loss of chloride and calcium proportions. These
horses are also likely to have an increased build up of alkaline salts
(bi-carbonate) in the blood.
On the
other hand, horses involved in a fast, short exercise, fed higher levels
of grains are likely to lose more potassium. Due to the type of work they
are likely to deplete their levels of alkaline salts and become
acidotic. A good example of an electrolyte replacer for fast
working horses is Salkavite or Ranvet's Electrolyte Replacer.
It is
imperative that a correct electrolyte replacement is fed to your horse. If
in doubt, discuss the details with your veterinarian.
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