>Here is another "problem" as I see it. Why
would you add grain to a horse that is having stomach problems already? Grains
are very hard for the horse to digest, seems to me that by giving the horse oats
or any other form of grain would only complicate the already compromised
gut.
>The more that I research the nutritional
arena of horses, the more I am convinced that we are killing our horses with
kindness.
>I have stopped feeding my sport horses any
type of grains before during or right after an event. Instead they get a nice
slurry of Stabalized Rice Bran, Horse Guard Vitamins and Minerals. The Rice
Bran being the conductor of fat which equals energy and stays in the system
longer and is easy for them to metabolize.
Susan can likely explain the digestive
processes here better than I can, but I'll take a run at
it.
First of all, the key here is "compromised
gut." My goal as a rider is to NOT have a compromised gut--and part of
doing that is letting the horse eat. As long as he is feeling good and he
has a voracious appetite, I've done a good job in NOT compromising his
gut. And as long as that is the case, he can pretty much eat what he
wants.
As for grain being "hard" to digest--actually,
simple carbs are pretty EASY to digest. The problem comes when there is
too much there to be handled in the small intestine. So SMALL feedings of
grain are appropriate. I take about 2 lbs to checks, and I dump it on a
flake of hay, and by the time my horse mixes and wastes as he snuffles
through it, I'd suspect he eats no more than a pound, most times. (And it
is part grain and part Equine Senior, so not "all" grain, either.)
The grain in small quantities gives him some readily useable energy, and the
very activity of putting something in his stomach stimulates the entire GI tract
to function, hence stimulating the digestive processes in his hindgut
(pre-filled, for several days pre-ride) which further stimulates energy
production (the volatile fatty acid story).
What should be AVOIDED on race day is
fat. This is good stuff as a part of his daily program (if needed), but it
slows gastric emptying and therefore slows down the whole
works.
JMHO, but I'd rather see my horse hoover down a
pound of grain at the checks than I would care to stuff a big shot of e-lytes
down his gullet.
