Re: re: commercial feeds and endurance horses

["Susan Garlinghouse" <suendavid@worldnet.att.net>]

>Do horses really need a high fat feed for endurance?  By >high fat I am
talking the 10% range.  I found a feed that >sounded good, its a 10%
protein, and a 10% fat and >8% fiber.  Digestible energy is 1,625 Kcals/lb.
>Ingredients are Barlely, oats, corn, beet pulp, soybean >oil, molasses and
apple nectar liquid.  It is a low sugar >formulation, not a lot of molasses.
I now feed cob, and Susan some comments on the amount of fat necessary in a
diet.  Thanks, Louise


A high fat diet is not a *requirement* for endurance as, say, adequate fiber
or water is.  Think about what fat provides in its most basic
components---nothing but calories and that's about it.  Energy (calories) is
the diet component that tends to be in shortest supply in a really
hard-working horse, and because fat supplies calories in the most
concentrated form, it's a natural answer to help keep weight on the horse.
But, if your horse is able to maintain good weight with just hay, beet pulp
and less than 8-10 pounds of grain a day, then no, you certainly don't
"need" fat in the ration.  There are some very successful endurance horses
(like Karen Chaton's horse Weaver) that has absolutely no trouble staying
fat as a pig, so there's no need to add it.

There are some metabolic benefits that seem to come from feeding fat, and
it's an individual thing whether those benefits are worthwhile in each
situation.  For example, feedinga high fat ration seems to provide a
glycogen-sparing effect, which would be handy for very high-performing
horses that seriously race.  80% of the horses in endurance don't race
anywhere close to that level.  Plus, it's thought that you have to feed a
10% fat ration to get those particular benefits (that's 10% of the *total*
diet, not just feeding a few pounds of a 10% mix).

Fat also has a thermal benefit in that it produces very little or no
metabolic waste heat that the horse has to dissipate during hot weather
through sweating or increased respiration.  That's why I like feeding
endurance horses fat as a way to put on weight rather than high-protein
feeds---protein *does* produce a lot of waste heat, which then adds to heat
load.  Sp especially in very hot climates, added fat minimizes the heat load
a horse needs to get rid of.

And, the primary benefit of fat is that it doesn't contribute to potential
cecal acidosis, colic or laminitis as large amounts of starch does.  So if
you do have a horse that needs some extra calories, adding some fat is a lot
safer than adding more and more grain.  My personal recommendations are
never to feed a horse more than about 4 pounds of grain per meal, and never
more than about ten pounds a day total.  If a horse needs more calories than
that, then replacing part of the hay ration with beet pulp, and adding fat
in one form or another rarely fails to put on enough weight (assuming the
horse is physiologically capable of digesting and absorbing the calories
being provided).

Okay, so back to the 10% fat provided by the Manna Elite or the Grand Prix
Granola you described.  Even though the mix itself is 10% fat, your total
ration is well under that---because the majority of your ration is still
made up by hay, beet pulp or whatever, all of them considerably lower in
fat.  So a ration that provides 15 pounds of grass hay, 5 pounds of beet
pulp (dry weight) and five pounds of a 10% fat grain mix is overall only
around a 5% total fat ration.  You have to feed ALOT of fat to get to a 10%
total fat ration, more than most people ever get close to.

So, the take home info is that no, you don't *need* a 10% fat diet to ride
endurance horses successfully.  There are some particular benefits to added
fat, but they're not absolutely critical for 99% of the horses out there.
For most horses, it's just a good way to add more calories without adding
more grain.

As far as what *is* absolutely necessary, just the 3% or so that's normally
in hay, grain, or pasture is enough for good health.  They don't need the
"fat" per se, but they do need the nutrients contained in the lipid portion
of the feed---the fat soluble vitamins A, D and E, mostly.

Does that help?

Susan G