Re: RC: Re: feeding before a ride

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

>Susan,
> I have always fed my horse's the same during and before & after
>races, including fats, rice bran, etc....  The only thing that I do change
is
>the actual grain (oat, barley, corn) ration.  If I start by feeding 2lbs of
>grain prior to day 1, usally by day 5 (250+ miles) I'm feeding 10 -15lbs of
>grain.  But I've still been feeding the fats (oil & rice bran).  Since it's
>been my business to be responsable for other riders, I would like to know
>what signs I'd be looking for as to possible problems?
>Thanks for your input!
>Tammy Robinson


Hi Tammy, sorry it took me a few days to respond.  I have a lot less problem
feeding fats during a multiday, if you're feeding the fats in between rides,
not during the ride, for two reasons---one, presumably for a multiday,
you're going slower and maintaining a steady pace, not burning up the trail.
So hopefully your horses aren't on the edge metabolically as others might
be, and so worrying about the rate of gastric emptying isn't quite as
critical.  Two, while the fats aren't going to help with energy during that
ride on that day, they're going to help maintain body weight and glycogen
for days 3, 4, 5, etc---which is fine.

It could be that your horses are handling the fats just fine during a
ride---it depends alot on the individual horse, how hard he's being ridden,
hydration status and the type and amount of fat you're feeding.  For
example, if your horse is eating hay well, has good energy and motility, is
drinking well, etc, and you want to give him a little rice bran here and
there, no big deal.  If, on the other hand, your horse is bottoming out,
isn't eating hay, his guts are sluggish and he's dehydrated, then fats are
not going to help solve any of those problems, and may make them worse.  Not
directly, but indirectly by keeping him from either eating or quickly
metabolizing the feeds that *will* get him back in gear---specifically, hay
to support hydration and motility and carbohydrates (after guts are working
again) to support energy.

So, IMO, the key thing to remember about fats is that they're not going to
do anything beneficial for you actually during a ride except put some extra
calories into a savings account for much later use.  That's all well and
good, but for most endurance horses, a more important issue is doing
something beneficial for the horse that he can use right now---which is not
only providing other feeds that provide a quick response (like hay, beet
pulp, grains, etc), but also in NOT providing substances that interfere with
the utilization of that hay and grain.

Here's what I personally would be looking for during a ride to see if fats
are causing a problem (or at least might exacerbate an existing problem).
If the guts are even a little slow or quiet, don't feed fats of any sort.
Get hay, beet pulp or grass into him to trigger peristalsis and motility.
You don't want to slow gastric emptying at this point, you want as much bulk
getting into him as possible.  Eating hay will help with hydration as well,
as horses will automatically drink 3 kgs of water for every 1 kg of dry
matter they consume.  Also, bulk in the stomach releases motilin, which
triggers peristalsis, which in turn helps move digested food through the gut
so that nutrients and water can be absorbed, all of which you want.  So if
your horse is dehydrated, don't think fats, think roughage.

If your horse is bottoming out---low on energy, just plain tired even though
he has the condition for this level of exercise...again, don't think fats to
provide additional energy.  That's like putting a jerrycan of gas into the
trunk of your car when it's the gastank that's empty.  First, take care of
any motility issues by providing him with hay or beet pulp, then give him a
little soluble carbohydrate, like grain.  Not a ton of it all at once,
because too much at once has detrimental effects on hydration and plasma
glucose as well, but just a pound or so.  If he's his guts are okay, and
he'll eat the grain better if it's mixed with a little rice bran, then
that's fine---but at this point, consider rice bran as a condiment, not the
meal.  If energy is an issue, you are MUCH better off providing carbos of
any sort in small, evenly spaced meals throughout the day, not as big feasts
only once or twice.  That'll avoid big swings in plasma glucose and fluid
balance.

After the ride, if you really want to provide some fats you can, but IMO,
I'd take care of other issues first.  Primarily, provide him with plenty of
hay to keep the guts moving, maintain hydration and set him up for the next
day.  Once he's cool, totally recovered and has no signs of a slow gut,
provide him with some soluble carbos again, like some grain mixed up into a
nice big mash of beet pulp.  The beet pulp will provide some readily
available VFAs that he can use the next day, will help rehydrate him and
keep bulk moving through the gut, and the carbohydrates will help to pay
back the glycogen depletion he's used up during the day---if you run out of
glycogen, no matter how slowly you're riding, you're *done*, end of story.
So motility, hydration and glycogen payback are way more important at this
point than filling up that jerrycan of gas in the trunk.  Again, if he'll
eat better by mixing into some rice bran, that's fine, but it's still a
condiment, not the main meal.  Don't mix in fats like corn oil---at this
point, they're more likely to be a detriment by slowing gastric emptying.
After you're completely done and back home again, then put the fats to him
again to maintain and gain back the body weight he's lost during the ride.
If he's carrying good flesh and has a good condition score (which you all
know now to do, right?) then he should have enough body fat on board to make
through a multiday without a problem.

Hope this answered your questions?

Susan Garlinghouse



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