Re: RC: Re: Body fat and endurance

["Frank Mechelhoff" <fmechelh@c-s-k.de>]

Maryanne Stroud Gabbani wrote:

> Is this a local myth or were Arab horses traditionally largely fed on dates,
> which do contain pretty high levels of sugars?

Hi Marianne,
If you trust Carl Raswan, who lived also in Cairo, as well as between Arabian
beduin tribes for some years beginning of this century (and wrote wunderful
books about their horses and culture), the original diet of the Desert Arabian
horse is not rich on roughage or grain. Barley was expensive for the bedus.
Beside dates camel-milk was one of the energy sources for their foals, and war
mares. And camel-milk contains high levels on protein, fat, and.. sugar.
Very seldom a horse was ill, or lost, through this crude diet. I would say,
feeding is a question of getting used to it. In this case, in centuries.


kind regards to Arabia...


Frank Mechelhoff
Schmitten, Germany
- & the Taunus mountain ponies (Ligeira and Nataja) -





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