Fat has become a popular feed ingredient in performance horse rations. There are
a number of different fat sources available for use in horse feeds, and many of these such
as soybean oil and rendered animal fat have been extensively studied, Therefore, this study was conducted to compare the digestibility of several fat sources and evaluate how well they functioned as energy sources for horses
during exercise.

Vitamin E is a non-toxic, fat soluble vitamin which has an important role in many physiological functions such as reproduction, immune response and nerve and muscle function.

Performance horses compete in a wide variety of athletic events ranging from high speed racing to 100 mile endurance rides. These types of exercise are known to induce oxidative stress, leading to the generation of free radicals.

An experiment was conducted to evaluate how cracking, grinding or steam processing affects starch digestibility of corn, using glycemic response as an indirect measure of prececal starch digestibility.

A 6 x 6 Latin square design experiment was conducted to determine glycemic response in horses fed six different feeds at 3 different levels of intake. Six Thoroughbred geldings were fed mixed grass hay and one of six diets: cracked corn, whole oats, sweet feed (45% cracked corn, 45% whole oats, and 10% molasses), sweet feed + 10% corn oil, alfalfa forage, or a low starch, high fermentable fiber mix (25% rice bran, 25% soy hulls, 25% wheat bran, and 25% soaked beet pulp).

High-grain diets for the exercising horse were compared with diets which provided 15% of the total caloric intake from either vegetable oil or a highly fermentable fibre source (beet pulp). Six Thoroughbreds age 3 years were fed one of 3 diets or 5 weeks in a replicated 3 x 3 Latin square.

There is considerable debate among horsemen about how to feed horses before exercise. Should horses be fed or fasted before work and when should hay be fed relative to grain and/or exercise? Three experiments were conducted to evaluate if feeding hay with and without grain affects glycaemic and haematological responses in Thoroughbred (TB) horses at rest and during a simulated competition exercise test (CET) on a high-speed treadmill.

Staniar, W. B, J. A. Wilson, L. A. Lawrence, W. L. Cooper, D. S. Kronfeld and P. A. Harris. 1999. Growth of Thoroughbreds fed different levels of protein and supplemented with lysine and threonine. In: Proc 16th Equine Nutrition and Physiology Society. Raleigh, NC. pp. 88 – 89. More details…

The importance of selenium in equine nutrition has changed tremendously over the years. Scientists first considered selenium a toxin in the 1930s.

Crandell KM. 1999. The importance of different feeds for different needs. Equinews Vol. 2/1:5-9.] In an ideal world all the horses on a farm, from broodmares to weanlings to horses in heavy work, could be fed the same feed out of the same bag. Unfortunately, the nutritional needs of horses in different life stages vary […]