<< I was of the impression from articles that I have read (but cannot find
again at the moment, of course!) that fat was a "cooler" feed than some
forms of carbohydrate eg some grains, and as such I assumed that heart rates
would not be higher in horses fed fat. Some of the stuff I read was looking
into diets that would be appropriate at the Atlanta olympics where it was
obviously very hot and humid, and they wished to avoid adding to the heat
load of horses. Comments, please. >>
Here's the logic of it: it is known that fat requires far more oxygen per
unit of energy than does glycogen. Oxygen at the muscle cell site requires
oxygen delivery. Oxygen delivery requires heart muscle activity. A higher
oxygen demand requires a higher heartrate.
ti