RC: Re: carbs and heart rate

[DreamWeaver <karen@chaton.gardnerville.nv.us>]

At 08:30 PM 01/15/2000 -0500, Trailrite@aol.com wrote:
>The grain is plain oats, beet pulp, brans, etc.... and I'm counting all of
>the vet cks. and ending with the 5th day of total amount of supplements
>consumed.
>  Does that make more sense?

Yeah, so you were just figuring everything else you fed besides hay.  That 
does make more sense.  I know some horses do indeed eat a lot of grain 
during endurance rides, some do well with it but many don't.  It's just 
hard to get them to eat that much, and if you're riding every day for a 
week there are only so many hours in a day, as you well know, and most of 
their eating time is usually spent eating hay or grazing on grass.  I see 
horses that eat a lot of grain often have problems keeping weight and I 
know that Katie doesn't have that problem <g>.

I should point out too, that I also supplement with Carbo Charge - if you 
add in that additional 2 oz. every 2 hours of competition that they usually 
get then they are probably intaking the same amount of carbs as a horse 
that is eating more grain.  Susan Garlinghouse told me once that she thinks 
the CC is probably easier on their guts (during competition) than if they 
were eating grain meals....and that's probably true providing that they are 
eating hay continually.

You said you fed plain oats.  Is that regular old oats, or crimped 
oats?  Do you do anything to them? (soak them, feed them dry, mix them in 
bran?)  I haven't tried that (but I'm willing to try anything).  The horses 
are sure funny aren't they. At the June XP Rocky ate all the beet pulp I 
had brought and I had to borrow more.  At Death Valley he wouldn't eat it 
at all.  I think they are more finicky than I am, but my husband says 
no.......;^)

k