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[RC] Feeding before a ride - Bruce Weary DC

I agree with my esteemed colleague, Dr Garlinghouse, even if she is a gurl.:> My understanding is that the horse is largely running on his glycogen stores in the liver and muscles, and his volatile fatty acids derived from the fermentation process acting on the hay/fiber in his hindgut. There's about 150 pounds of ingesta in the hindgut, which greatly dwarfs the amount of food he could take in at a morning meal. It may benefit some horses to actually have some food occupying the tummy to calm acid effects, but others may not run as well on a full stomach. I know I don't. I seem to be having better luck letting the horse go out the slightest bit hungry, as he seems to eat better at the first vet check. I have found if I feed a large meal the night before and morning of, they seem hardly interested in eating until about 30-35 miles, and they need to eat sooner than the during the ride, IMO.. Did I get it right, Dr G? Dr Q

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