Re: RC: Commercial feeds and endurance horses

[Oldwaggy@aol.com]

In a message dated 12/19/01 8:57:42 AM, guest@endurance.net writes:

<< Has anyone been feeding any of the commercial feeds that are low
protein/high fat like Manna Pro's Superhorse Elite 10?  I >>

My son did some interesting tests of various feeds using a glucometer a few 
years ago.  We would basically feed differents feeds, then exercise an 
already fit horse over a fixed course in the same time and temperature 
parameters.  Willie would take blood glucose readings every half hour for 
eight hours from the start of feeding through the exercise and cool down, 
back to base level.  The blood glucose curves for Manna Pro's Elite 10 moved 
to a higher level than other feeds and stayed there.  Other feeding regimes, 
including dosing the horse with carbohydrate supplements, produced spikier 
curves with generally lower blood glucose levels.  The general curve for all 
feeds was a rise in blood glucose during the two hours after feeding began, 
then a period of three or four hours while readings remained near their high
est level.  Blood glucose would then drop to base level over the next couple 
of hours.

None of this had much to do with the lower protein and high fat content of 
the food, although those are important features for a longterm feeding 
program.  I think the most important features of Elite 10 for ride day are 
its extremely high digestibility (because it is extruded) and its extremely 
high digestible energy content (probably because it uses a lot of ground 
corn).  It gives the horse quick and stable access to carbohydrates.  The 
kibble form allows you to easily carry it with you for your horse to snack on 
at water stops and vet checks.  If you feed it in the morning before a ride, 
let the horse snack on it during the ride, and feed it at lunch, your horse 
may be less likely to run out of gas on long days.

I eventually stopped using it for three reasons.  One, I don't feed alfalfa 
and I could only get Elite 10 in California which had been formulated to use 
with alfalfa.  Two, my ponies don't need the fat supplement to keep weight 
on.  Three,  I think my ponies got very mildly colicky on occasion from too 
much undigested carbohydrates moving beyond their stomachs.  I think this has 
more to do with the differences between their digestive systems and larger 
horses than anything else.  (Icelandics are thought to have smaller stomachs 
but larger hindguts than other horses.)  I have heard of no one else who 
experienced this problem using Elite 10.  Generally, an extruded feed like 
this should be much safer from a colic perspective than large doses of 
unprocessed grain.  Overall, I think it is a well designed product which is 
great for endurance horses.

John Parke
Solvang CA