RC: Re: carbs and heart rate

[CMKSAGEHIL@aol.com]

In a message dated 1/14/00 8:32:26 PM Pacific Standard Time, 
Trailrite@aol.com writes:

<<  Thank you for trying to clear things up with me about the large meals vs 
 blood flow to the stomach area.  But when and what would you call a large 
 meal for a horse?  Since they should be eating roughage most of the day is 
 this considered 1 large meal?  >>

Good point, Tammy.  A horse's stomach is only about twice the size of a 
human's stomach--not designed for "meal" feeding at all.  One of the problems 
in the horse is to keep sufficient feed moving at all times to keep that huge 
hind gut stimulated and getting its share of circulation.  Since hind gut 
motility is stimulated by a phenomenon callled the gastro-colic reflex 
(wherein food in the stomach is sensed by the innervation to the stomach, and 
there is a reflex stimulated by that which causes the colon to be active), 
keeping the horse eating at every possible point during a ride will do much 
to keep gut motility going.  Keep in mind that we have to ride the whole 
horse--not just the musculoskeletal system.  We don't want anything "rushing" 
anywhere--but rather as much of a steady state as possible during the whole 
ride, where the gut continues to receive an adequate share of both 
circulation and stimulation.  And back to those old VFA's--if the gut is not 
moving, the horse is not absorbing VFA's as he should, thus running out of an 
important energy source.  (Which, in turn, feeds those muscles!)  Sometimes 
it is easy to get so intent on one little area of metabolism that we lose 
sight of the whole horse--and we have to get the whole horse across the 
finish line in one piece to complete, let alone win.

Heidi