Endurance.Net Ridecamp Archives

Good post, Heidi.  I'm not sure where the assumption entered the discussion that the early morning meal some of us feed is concentrates.  I know it isn't in my case...it's mostly beet pulp, with a bit of their regular feed (custom blend, beet pulp based) mixed in for flavor.  This regimen works for our boys, so we're not going to change it.

 

Dawn in Texas

 

On 11/3/07, heidi@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx <heidi@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

I think you need to qualify that it's a heavy *concentrate* meal that doesn't work well.  I feed very little concentrate anyway, and certainly don't "up" it just prior to a ride--but I do make sure they have hay in front of them 24/7, right up to the time I saddle up and ride off.  I've had horses that will readily eat 40+ lbs of hay daily, and I sure don't back them off of that pre-ride--and it is my impression (also augmented by Susan G's posts) that the expanding of the stomach is the starting point of a reflex that causes motility in the hindgut--necessary to keep those VFAs coming...  So I'd submit that it isn't the fullness of the stomach that's the problem--it's what's in the stomach that's the problem.  A bunch of concentrates will give the horse a sugar "high"--and yeah, then he sure as heck won't be hungry until maybe he is already behind the power curve, so to speak.  Likewise, I've never had them "not run well" because of the fullness of the stomach--when they've come straight off of forage.

Heidi

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net.
Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/Ridecamp
Subscribe/Unsubscribe http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/logon.asp

Ride Long and Ride Safe!!

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=