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Hi Lois,
OK, it's a nutrition question, so you know I gotta jump in on this one.
First of all, stored fat is stored energy, so literally, by definition,
any feed that supplies energy (in excess) is also putting on weight.
You can't supply energy without the risk of adding weight, IF the energy
is excessive. If the supplied energy equals the energy required on a
daily basis for work, maintenance, etc., then the horse stays the same
weight (disregarding water changes, muscle changes, etc.). And
obviously, if the horse is burning off more energy than he's taking in,
he's going to lose weight.
Of the feeds you listed, the only one which would be considered an
"energy feed" is the oats. Nutritionists categorize feeds based on
fiber and protein levels. As a general rule of thumb, as fiber content
increases, energy decreases. Taken to the extreme, corn oil has zero
fiber and is 100% energy in the form of fat, 8.98 Mcal/kg. At the other
extreme (of horse feeds), ground corn cobs are around 75-80% fiber and
very low (1.22 Mcal/kg) in energy. See the relationship between fiber
and energy? Grains are low in fiber, so higher in energy. Hays are
high in fiber, so lower in energy. So if you delete the oats from your
horse's ration, you're reducing the amount of energy, which will lead to
weight loss, assuming the amount of energy being expended exceeds the
amount of energy being fed. Energy is also being supplied by the other
feeds you listed, of course, but the oats are the most concentrated
source.
Overall, without analysing the minutiae of it, your ration seems OK
nutritionally. Fiber, protein, calcium-phosphorus are all OK. If he
were my horse, I'd ride the weight off, not try to reduce his rations
too much. In other words, I'd keep on with what you were already
doing---put him to work and don't increase the energy portion of his
ration. If don't know what you feed as a "working" ration, but a higher
energy level then could be explained by lots of things---increased
overall fitness level, glucose-insulin levels, glycemic index of the
feeds you're supplying, on and on.
However, are you really sure your horse needs to lose weight? I'm not
trying to second-guess your veterinarian, but there *are* alot of vets
(and other folks as well) who assume that an endurance horse should be
greyhound lean with very little palpable body fat. This assumption has
been based on the fact that marathon HUMAN runners do better with
minimal body fat. This isn't necessarily true with horses, and there IS
data, both empirical from research and anecdotal from very experienced
competitiors, that distance horses do better with a little cover over
the ribs. If you look at the hundred-mile horses that are really
racking up the miles (like Saxx, Cougar's Fete, Kooter, Patric, Rio,
lots of others), they are NOT super-lean. Solid and muscles like rocks,
yes, but still with a bit of fat over the ribs. Obviously, I haven't
seen your horse, so I don't know if he's a real tub o' guts or what. If
he is a serious pasture potato, fine, cut down/out the oats and increase
the level of exercise, of course using common sense in doing so. But if
he just has a bit more fat than you might expect to see on an endurance
horse, than you might want to re-think whether you really do want to
take away his fuel tank.
Let me know if you want to continue the discussion depending on your
circumstances, in either case, good luck to you. Hope this wasn't
hopelessly confusing.
Susan Evans Garlinghouse
Cal Poly University
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