Fw: Fat metabolism/Recoveries; micro chips

["Visions of the Wind" <wind@visionsofthewind.com>]

-----Original Message-----
From: Susan Evans Garlinghouse <suendavid@worldnet.att.net>
To: Visions of the Wind <wind@visionsofthewind.com>
Date: Tuesday, September 21, 1999 7:05 PM
Subject: Re: Fat metabolism/Recoveries; micro chips


>Heya Steph,
>Could you forward this to RC for me in regards to fat leading to slower
>recoveries?  Here's my opinion on the subject---there are *some* horses
that
>have a slightly slower recovery time when fed a high fat diet.  But there
>are also a lot of horses that get high fat diets and their recoveries are
>just fine.  Karen Chaton's horses are a good example---they get quite a bit
>of fat and their recoveries and performance are excellent.  So recovery
time
>is to some extent an individual thing and at least worth experimenting with
>in a horse that would benefit from the extra calories in his diet.
>
>The other point I wanted to make is to make sure you're comparing the
lesser
>of two evils.  There are still a lot of VERY thin horses out there
>competing, and it's at least been pretty well demonstrated that super-thin
>horses are more prone to metabolic failures.  If you can keep the weight on
>them with more hay, beet pulp, gumdrops or whatever, fine.  Fat is still
the
>most calorically-dense feed available and it *will* put weight onto a lot
of
>horses that otherwise are rail-thin.  So which is more important?  That
your
>horse takes five minutes instead of two minutes to recover to criteria?  Or
>that he's at higher risk of a metabolic crash because he's a walking hat
>rack?  Also, keep in mind that a slower recovery time just aint that big a
>deal to the majority of riders out there---if you're Valerie Kanavy and ten
>seconds is going to make a huge difference, fine, a really fast recovery
>time is worth worrying over.  If you usually finish middle of the pack or
>later (personally, I'm happy to make it in before all the chicken and ribs
>have been eaten), then a little slower recovery probably isn't going to
make
>or break your day.  And I'm happier knowing that my horse is a) less likely
>to have metabolic problems; b) I don't have to apologize to anyone for his
>appearance and c) I don't have to wonder why everyone at my barn has given
>him the nickname of "Ichabod Crane".  And again, not every horse on a high
>fat diet will have slower recovery times.
>
>Something else to consider is making sure that the horse is NOT on high fat
>for a day or so before an event---whether or not it will affect recoveries,
>I dunno, but it will help keep the gut moving better (as well as some other
>things) if he's not getting fat before or during the ride.
>
>Good luck, hope y'all are having a good fall ride season.
>
>Susan Garlinghouse
>
>>> With regard to the discussion of  feeding high fat diet and recoveries,
I
>>>believe that Susan G.   discussed this about a year or so ago.  Although
I
>>am
>>>not capable of
>>>summarizing the discussion, I did come away with the thought that
>increased
>>>fat lead to increased recovery times.  I know Susan is in vet school,
>>perhaps
>>>Tom Ivers can jump in here......I believe Tom was involved in the
>>>discussion/debate.
>
>
>


=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net.    
Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/RideCamp   
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=