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<< Tivers@aol.com wrote:
>
> In a message dated 97-10-10 21:08:47 EDT, suendavid@worldnet.att.net
writes:
>
> << Alot of phosphorus. Everyone has heard me yammer on before about rice
> bran and if you haven't, it's in the archives. The only glimmer of
> light I see on the horizon for rice bran is Equi-Jewel, which is now
> being manufactured with a balanced calcium-phosphorus ratio. It's a
> step in the right direction, but I think excessive calcium and
> phosphorus is still far less than optimal, whether the ratio is correct
> or not. In my opinion, if your horse still needs energy on a hay and
> grain diet, you're much better off adding corn oil, not rice bran. And
> again, much cheaper.
> >>
>
> Also consider the gamma oryzanol content of rice bran. dozens of our
clients
> have told me that they see a very clearcut lean muscle mass increase.
>
> ti
Hiya Tom,
I just haven't read that much about gamma oryzanol's anabolic
properties, any good reading references you can send my way would be
appreciated. If it's the FA that's increasing muscle mass, I guess I
would be happier about feeding rice bran in specific cases---as you
said, racehorses that are hitting 2:30 and are nervous, hard keepers,
etc. (Actually, I have one TB brodmare who is notoriously hard to keep
and ca:phos isn't an issue, so will try it on her, thanks).>>
The science I've read is European feedlot science--they've gone from using
anabolic steroids to Clenbuterol to gamma oryzanol as the laws have changed
over there. I'm not a bran fan for another reason: coats the gut and prevents
absorption of some nutrients.
>>I guess my concern with rice bran is that the majority of endurance
horses are not being competed at the levels that such fine-tuning is as
big a deal as it is in a racehorse. Plus, racehorses are being
micro-managed to focus every little thing on optimum performance, and
sometimes that hard a focus isn't also necessarily what's going to
result in a long life for the horse. No flames to the race industry,
but let's face it, running two-year-olds at that speed is pretty damn
hard on legs and joints. So feeding gamma oryzanol might be more
justified in wringing every last second out of a racehorse, BUT I think
the focus of managing endurance horses is different.>>
Anabolism takes place in response to stressors that must be overcome.
Certainly these stressors are different from endurance animals to racehorses,
but an endurance horse that starts losing flesh and appetite instead of
coming on with exercise preparation is equally in need of nutritional
support. Acquisition is an anabolic process and those horses buried in
catabolism, for any number of reasons, need some help.
>>I think you'd agree that most of the endurance horses around aren't just
performance animals, they're pets. Endurance careers optimally go on
for years and years and years, and older animals are very prevalent in
the sport---so nutritional management that not only optimizes
performance, but ALSO optimizes a long and healthy life, is more of a
priority in endurance horses than in racehorses. And because an
endurance horse's career goes on for so long, nutritional factors that
affect the health of the horse over a long span of time is a concern.
Racehorse careers don't last as long 99.9% of the time, so long-range
management isn't as important, yes?>>
It should be, but isn't, unfortunately. Still, I'm certain that endurance
horses suffer from a lot of the same problems we see in racehorses--torn
tendons and ligaments, sore feet, pulled muscles, sore muscles, etc. The
longterm health of the animal is a matter of keeping these things under
control while providing adequate (or superior) conditioning--a difficult
proposition, especially with a horse that is burning its own tissues.
>>So my concerns with rice bran are more based on managing the horse's
long-term health over short-term performance goals. Those priorities
are just my own, of course, your mileage may vary. I'm concerned about
rice bran because it is sky-high in phosphorus and alot of people just
haven't heard or understand about calcium-phosphorus ratios and why
THAT'S a problem over a long period of time. OR, alot of people have
heard about ratios and so balance the high phosphorus with feeding alot
of alfalfa---except that now you have excessive calcium AND phosphorus,
which has implications on hypocalcemia during a long race (not a concern
for TB racehorses), plus increased risk of enterolith formation, which
is most prevalent in older horses (atypical of the young turks you have
at the track) AND most prevalent in Arabians. Well, there sure are lots
and lots of older Arabians in endurance, so in my opinion, managing
mineral levels to avoid at least some of the risks of enteroliths is a
big part of intelligently managing endurance horses.>>
When you have time, please write a short review of the phosphorus question.
I'm relatively unaware here.
>And the last factor in feeding rice bran is the cost. This stuff isn't
cheap. Most endurance people are feeding it as an energy (fat) source,
but as well, most endurance folks aren't rich---money IS a consideration
and the most common opinion I hear is "I'll pay for it if it will make a
difference, but I don't want to waste money". Let's face it, alot more
folks racing TBs have more spare money lying around than most endurance
folks do and an extra fifty bucks a months isn't usually a concern for
TB owners if it will make a difference in performance. For endurance
people, I guarentee that I can provide just as much Mcal of energy with
a better nutrient balance---lacking only the gamma oryzanol---for a
whole lot less money than you can get by feeding rice bran.>>
So can I, but gamma oryzanol is about the only worthwhile component in rice
bran and it is gamma oryzanol that is producing the results that people
notice and want to keep paying for.
>>I'm not saying rice bran is evil. It has its uses. I just happen to
think that the benefits derived from gamma oryzanol are of less benefit
to endurance horses than they are to a TB racehorse that needs muscle
mass NOW. Under some circumstances, rice bran would be fine within
reason, as long as its usage was an informed decision with consideration
for the phosphorus impications. For most endurance horses, I don't
happen to think the benefits outweigh the disadvantages of the nutrient
imbalance.>>
Again, "anabolic" cannot be translated directly to Body Builder, even though
that's the name of a product we use in racehorses. No anabolic agent works in
a vacuum. Testosterone is next to useless in increasing strength unless there
is an exercise challenge. The endurance horse faces exercise stressors.
they're different than those in racehorses, but they still stress the animal
and can put him in a catabolic funk. At that point, he's in danger of a wide
variety of injuries and diseases.
See ya,
Susan Evans Garlinghouse
>>
>>
Good to hear from you again, Susan. Teach me about the phosphorus
problem--what, for example, are the outward signs of an imbalance?
ti
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