ridecamp@endurance.net: Re: Diet Questions!

Re: Diet Questions!

Susan Evans Garlinghouse (suendavid@worldnet.att.net)
Sat, 11 Oct 1997 11:17:52 -0700

Tivers@aol.com wrote:
>
> In a message dated 97-10-10 21:08:47 EDT, suendavid@worldnet.att.net writes:
>
> << Alot of phosphorus. Everyone has heard me yammer on before about rice
> bran and if you haven't, it's in the archives. The only glimmer of
> light I see on the horizon for rice bran is Equi-Jewel, which is now
> being manufactured with a balanced calcium-phosphorus ratio. It's a
> step in the right direction, but I think excessive calcium and
> phosphorus is still far less than optimal, whether the ratio is correct
> or not. In my opinion, if your horse still needs energy on a hay and
> grain diet, you're much better off adding corn oil, not rice bran. And
> again, much cheaper.
> >>
>
> Also consider the gamma oryzanol content of rice bran. dozens of our clients
> have told me that they see a very clearcut lean muscle mass increase.
>
> ti

Hiya Tom,

I just haven't read that much about gamma oryzanol's anabolic
properties, any good reading references you can send my way would be
appreciated. If it's the FA that's increasing muscle mass, I guess I
would be happier about feeding rice bran in specific cases---as you
said, racehorses that are hitting 2:30 and are nervous, hard keepers,
etc. (Actually, I have one TB brodmare who is notoriously hard to keep
and ca:phos isn't an issue, so will try it on her, thanks).

I guess my concern with rice bran is that the majority of endurance
horses are not being competed at the levels that such fine-tuning is as
big a deal as it is in a racehorse. Plus, racehorses are being
micro-managed to focus every little thing on optimum performance, and
sometimes that hard a focus isn't also necessarily what's going to
result in a long life for the horse. No flames to the race industry,
but let's face it, running two-year-olds at that speed is pretty damn
hard on legs and joints. So feeding gamma oryzanol might be more
justified in wringing every last second out of a racehorse, BUT I think
the focus of managing endurance horses is different.

I think you'd agree that most of the endurance horses around aren't just
performance animals, they're pets. Endurance careers optimally go on
for years and years and years, and older animals are very prevalent in
the sport---so nutritional management that not only optimizes
performance, but ALSO optimizes a long and healthy life, is more of a
priority in endurance horses than in racehorses. And because an
endurance horse's career goes on for so long, nutritional factors that
affect the health of the horse over a long span of time is a concern.
Racehorse careers don't last as long 99.9% of the time, so long-range
management isn't as important, yes?

So my concerns with rice bran are more based on managing the horse's
long-term health over short-term performance goals. Those priorities
are just my own, of course, your mileage may vary. I'm concerned about
rice bran because it is sky-high in phosphorus and alot of people just
haven't heard or understand about calcium-phosphorus ratios and why
THAT'S a problem over a long period of time. OR, alot of people have
heard about ratios and so balance the high phosphorus with feeding alot
of alfalfa---except that now you have excessive calcium AND phosphorus,
which has implications on hypocalcemia during a long race (not a concern
for TB racehorses), plus increased risk of enterolith formation, which
is most prevalent in older horses (atypical of the young turks you have
at the track) AND most prevalent in Arabians. Well, there sure are lots
and lots of older Arabians in endurance, so in my opinion, managing
mineral levels to avoid at least some of the risks of enteroliths is a
big part of intelligently managing endurance horses.

And the last factor in feeding rice bran is the cost. This stuff isn't
cheap. Most endurance people are feeding it as an energy (fat) source,
but as well, most endurance folks aren't rich---money IS a consideration
and the most common opinion I hear is "I'll pay for it if it will make a
difference, but I don't want to waste money". Let's face it, alot more
folks racing TBs have more spare money lying around than most endurance
folks do and an extra fifty bucks a months isn't usually a concern for
TB owners if it will make a difference in performance. For endurance
people, I guarentee that I can provide just as much Mcal of energy with
a better nutrient balance---lacking only the gamma oryzanol---for a
whole lot less money than you can get by feeding rice bran.

I'm not saying rice bran is evil. It has its uses. I just happen to
think that the benefits derived from gamma oryzanol are of less benefit
to endurance horses than they are to a TB racehorse that needs muscle
mass NOW. Under some circumstances, rice bran would be fine within
reason, as long as its usage was an informed decision with consideration
for the phosphorus impications. For most endurance horses, I don't
happen to think the benefits outweigh the disadvantages of the nutrient
imbalance.

See ya,

Susan Evans Garlinghouse

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