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Nutrition Articles

Mycotoxins – health issue for racehorses or simply hype?

Ten years ago, mycotoxins were probably unheard of by the racing community. Recently, however, awareness has increased and it is not unusual for racing stables to be advised that they may have an issue with mycotoxicosis that is likely to have a negative impact on their horses’ health and performance.

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Tying up some loose ends on rhabdomyolysis

A horse with raised muscle enzymes, whether it is a single isolated incident or a regular occurrence, is always a cause for concern for trainers. When present at a high level in blood, the muscle enzymes aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and creatine phosphokinase (CPK) usually indicate muscle damage.

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Economics of Feeding Horses in Training

While economic efficiency within any business is important to maintain profitability, there has been a particular focus on cost saving recently within the racing industry as a result of the underlying economic climate.

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Will hemp change the way we feed horses?

An ideal bedding material for horses, hemp is also used in clothing, paper and even insulation in the construction industry. Importantly, it is also increasingly popular as a food ingredient.

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Digestive Aids - what is available to racehorses?

Horses in training are susceptible to a number of digestive problems, such as gastric ulcers, colitis and colic. Although less severe, chronic loose droppings, which may be associated with a failure to thrive, are also fairly common.

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Feeding to support immunity in racehorses

Can diet affect immune status during training?
The immune system in horses is complex and relies upon many functional elements to deliver a comprehensive defense against infection and disease.

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Amino Acid Supplements - the important element of protein

Horses in training are traditionally fed a diet that is high in protein, but it is the amino acid content of the protein-rich ingredients that is the important component, as horses have a requirement for amino acids and not intact protein per se.

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The Role Vitamins Play in the Diet

Vitamins are a key part of the diet for racehorses and although the clinical signs associated with an overt deficiency or excess of one vitamin or another are rare, we should not presume that the level of vitamins provided in the diet is optimized for performance. Horses are, generally speaking, quite tolerant of sub-clinical deficiency or excess with regards to vitamins, and the margin of acceptable intake to prevent health issues is therefore relatively wide in most cases. However, maintenance of health is a separate issue compared to optimal performance, which is the ultimate target for horses in training.

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Picky Eaters - a common problem in horses in training

Poor appetite in horses in training is not uncommon, whether this is a transient problem following racing, or, more regularly, during training in particular horses. In some situations, ‘failure to clean up’ may simply be explained by horses being offered more feed than they require and so they are being overfed, whilst in other instances, where it is accompanied with poor condition, the causes may be more complicated. Certainly, physiological mechanisms exist in horses to match energy and nutrient intake to daily requirements and these systems form the basis for self regulation of feed intake in horses in the wild or at grass.

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Feed contaminants - how big a risk are they?

For all professionals associated with the training and competition of horses under the rules and regulations of racing, the choice of which feed products to use has never been greater, and the range appears to grow on a daily basis. This is especially true of the plethora of dietary supplements (otherwise known officially as complementary feeds) available.

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Oiling the Wheels - using oil as a supplement in the diet of racehorses

Historically, oil has not featured highly in the diets of horses in training, or indeed those of other horses.
The natural oil content of pasture and other forages is quite low at between 2-3% on a dry matter basis, yet despite this, horses digest oil extremely well. Oil added to the racehorses’ diet is tolerated well, with no major palatability problems having been reported.

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Racing Power- supporting muscular effort through nutrition

The powerhouse for a horse in training is found in its large muscle mass. Whilst genetic makeup within the Thoroughbred breed has a large impact on a horse’s innate racing ability, dietary factors will also influence subsequent performance.

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Nutritional Ergogenic aids for horses - boosting performance

No doubt we are all aware of the plethora of dietary supplements that are now available and that are promoted as offering clear and profound benefits to our horses’ health, general well being and performance. In the latter category are the so-called ergogenic aids. So what are they, and do they work? These are the questions that this article aims to address.

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FORAGE - SO MUCH MORE THAN JUST A FILLER

Too often thought of as just a ‘filler’, or occupational therapy to while away the time between hard feeds, forage is worth so much more than that. Simply feeding an inadequate quantity of forage, or choosing forage that has an inappropriate nutrient profile, or is of poor quality can have a negative impact both on health and performance in racehorses.

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Feeding during early training - how to minimise problems

Most of the current crop of yearlings will now have been broken and are in the early stages of training proper in readiness for the forthcoming flat racing season. This period brings with it numerous problems for trainers and their staff, such as horses with high muscle enzymes, episodes of tying up, respiratory infections, various lamenesses and other skeletal problems or simply over exuberance. Whilst such issues have many contributory factors, a good basal diet, with carefully selected extras can help to minimise some of these niggling problems.

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Bones of contention - how to maintain a strong skeleton

The expression ‘no foot no horse’ should perhaps be extended to cover all the bones of the skeleton, for as far as racehorses are concerned, without strength and durability in this area a trainer’s job is fraught with difficulties. The number of training days lost to lameness in a season is testament to this. A racehorse’s diet should help to maintain the skeletal system during rigorous training. This task is no doubt easier when the skeletal foundations have been firmly laid in utero and during the rapid growing phase.

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