fats vs. Tom Ivers-a WWF title match

[Horsestwo@aol.com]

At the risk of fanning this blaze again....
I accidentally sent a post to ridecamp that I hadn't finished writing about
the book called "The Nature of Horses."  The reason I stopped was because on
further examination one of the chapters scoffed at the notion of interval
training for horses and declared that horses by their very nature are already
near their potential as athletes.  This, to say the least, was diametrically
opposed to what I have read by Tom Ivers.  Not wanting to hurt his feelings I
put the message I was writing aside to study this book further and decide
whether I would take excerpts from it or not.  I now realize that Tom Ivers
would never be so thin-skinned as to take offense at someone opposing his
ideas!

Seriously, it made me wonder about all the other scientific "facts" that the
author claims are not prejudiced.  I still think the book does a good job
explaining how the horse evolved and its unique behavior, mechanics and
intelligence.  It gave me an even greater appreciation of the horse and how
wondrous its evolution has been for our enjoyment.

My question is in regard to the feeding of fat.  I have fed corn oil in the
past but was warned that I should supplement vitamin E and still be careful of
old oil.  Then an equine nutritionist warned me that "fat calories are more
easily digestible than other sources of energy, but that actually works to
their disadvantage for the endurance animal that is seeking slow release
energy."  Then rice bran was going to be THE answer.  Is there a definitive
answer to whether fat in some form is the answer for the endurance horse and
what form is best?

Melanie in AZ