<< << Tom: You wrote use a starch powder instead of grain after a hard ride
to increase
uptake and reduce soreness. Please give me your ideas on what powder, where
is it
obtained and whether it should be fed during the ride also and in what
amounts. ( I want
to add here I always listen to what others offer but I am slow to adapt all
their
suggestions due to my cautious nature. There needs to be a balance between
"if it's not
broke don't fix it" and rapid change looking for improvement.)>>
Jim, since I have vowed not to confuse issues by selling any of my products
here, go to GNC and get Champion Nutrition's Heavy Weight Gainer in vanilla
flavor (avoid the citrus flavors because of caffeine content). Feeing four
ounces of this as a paste (mix with water) is a good after-race dose and
could be used during the race.
> You also wrote that recent results showed a 60% drop in blood GAG's
after a ride. So
I have some questions to further explore this. Is there only one level of
blood GAG's
that are considered normal? Can we increase this level prior to hard work
or does the
body just waste any amounts over what is needed like it does with vitamins?
How long
does it take oral GAG's to increase blood GAG's significantly.>
With training, over time, blood, and joint, GAGs increase. This was the
first study I've seen of blood GAGs. Don't know what's considered normal.
>Are blood GAG's pulled
quickly into joints as the synovial fluid breaks down or do I not
understand the
process. I'm assuming our attempt here is to lessen DJD in horses and
thereby lengthen
their careers and reduce future chronic pain. (Do I have this right?)>
Don't know, Jim.
> What I'm leading to are two main questions. Does it do any good to
supplement a horse
with GAG's when there blood GAG's are normal? (I then need to know or
assume that my
horse's level is normal except after hard rides).
I'm certain it does make a beneficial difference--that is, assuming these
horse's we're testing are at normal blood GAG levels.
> Does it do a lot of good to feed GAG's immediately after an E ride? This
is within
AERC rules assuming it is not a multiday ride.>
This would be a logical assumption, from my limited knowledge of the time
course of the supplemental distribution. Any state of depletion should be
eased with supplementation. The blood deficits in the horses in the study
rebounded to 1/2 deficits relatively quickly (hours).
ti