Broodmare Nutrition Rich said research in the past five years has
provided the following tips for broodmare owners:
. Feed a mare a fat
and fiber diet prior to weaning to help her handle weaning stress better than
if she was on a carbohydrate-based diet. . Mares kept in fat condition during
fall and winter months are more hormonally prepared for breeding than thin
mares. Fatter mares will continue to come into estrus, while thin mares will
go into a deep anestrous state. . Keep mares in a moderate-to-fleshy body
condition before foaling to reduce the risk of poor pregnancy rates. .
Mares fed a fat and fiber concentrate will have healthier foals than those on
a starch and sugar concentrate. They will also have increased linoleic acid
in their milk, which might reduce the incidence of foal gastric ulcers and
enhance passive immunity. . In addition, certain digestive disorders might be
reduced in mares fed a fat and fiber feed in place of grain. . It is not
necessary to feed more copper, zinc, and iron to pregnant and lactating mares
than is recommended by the NRC. A study showed that overfeeding has no
beneficial effect. . If selenium supplementation is necessary, supplementing
with 3 mg/day of selenium yeast is preferred over sodium selenite. . To
enhance colostrum and thus passive transfer, and to improve blood levels of
vitamin E in mares and foals, supplement 160 IU of an oral dietary vitamin
E/kg of body weight for four weeks before foaling and four weeks after
foaling.
Performance Horse Nutrition More tips were offered by Breuer
on performance horse nutrition.
. Feed a high-fiber diet to endurance
horses and other competition horses in prolonged exercise to help maintain
fluid and electrolyte levels, resulting in fewer cardiovascular and
thermoregulation problems. . To achieve a short-term hyperhydration,
providing a hypertonic solution will help stimulate the horse to drink more
water and will temporarily reduce the amount of urine output. .
Administering a hypertonic electrolyte supplement just before and
during strenuous exercise will help the horse drink more, lose less weight,
and maintain higher blood electrolyte levels. . An isotonic electrolyte
solution similar to equine sweat is preferred over an isotonic
glucose-glycine solution for fluid loss and plasma electrolyte restoration in
exercise-dehydrated horses. . Glucose solutions appear to have no benefit
when trying to maintain electrolyte and fluid balance. . Feeding an 11.8%
fat diet appears to adapt horses for greater fat utilization, which might
enhance performance and allow less lactate accumulation in the body. .
Racehorses consuming predominately alfalfa diets might be at a higher
risk for testing high for plasma TCO2. (an indicator of the total
carbon dioxide content in the blood, which can indicate that illegal
substances have been given to the horse). . Diet composition or
short-term feed restriction might affect the ability of horses to maintain
blood glucose concentrations during exercise. . Supplementing fat can help a
horse's body use fat in place of glucose stores during exercise. . Any
potential benefits of feeding a horse grain within three hours of exercise
are outweighed by a risk of hyperinsulinemia that might interfere with energy
utilization in the performance horse. . Grain should be withheld from horses
before exercise, but small amounts of hay should be fed to ensure proper
gastrointestinal tract function. . Hay should not be reduced to less than 1%
of body weight.
Nutritionally Related Diseases Muscle
disorders--Equine rhabdomyolysis syndrome (tying-up) can affect any horse.
Affected horses can be divided into two groups--those with a dysfunction of
the muscle excitation-contraction process (sporadic tying-up) in a previously
normal horse, and those with a defect in the carbohydrate storage-use process
(chronic/recurrent form).
Recurrent tying-up can then be divided into two
different forms, according to research done at the University of Minnesota.
Polysaccharide storage myopathy (PSSM) is found in heavily muscled horses
whose muscle biopsies show abnormal polysaccharide accumulation. Affected
horses are unable to use starch correctly, have increased glucose clearance,
and increased sensitivity to insulin.
PSSM horses usually do not need
grain, especially if good-quality hay is provided, said Rich. She recommended
small amounts of fat. Research supports feeding two pounds of rice bran per
day or one cup of vegetable oil over alfalfa pellets, along with 600-1,000
IU/day of vitamin E. A PSSM horse in training should have gradual increases
in exercise time and intensity. Daily turnout is critical, she
said.
Lighter muscled horses such as Thoroughbreds, Standardbreds, and
Arabians are more susceptible to recurrent exertional rhabdomyolysis (RER),
in which there is normal polysaccharide accumulation. Researchers believe
that RER might be an inherited dominant trait that can be affected by diet,
rest, lameness, and training. Another study found that with RER, there is
abnormal intercellular calcium, which is not related to calcium in the
diet.
Rich recommended several management methods for controlling RER.
She suggested replacing grain with a high-fat, high-fiber, low-starch
diet, which would still meet the caloric requirement of the horse. Horses
should also be exercised daily and have minimal excitement. She recommended
a Hallway Feeds' product called ReLeve.
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