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.

Previous studies have associated recurrent exertional rhabdomyolysis (RER) with a diet high in soluble carbohydrate (CHO). The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of 3 diets on clinical and metabolic parameters in 5 Thoroughbred horses with RER and 3 healthy Thoroughbreds performing a standardised exercise test (SET). Two diets were formulated to meet energy requirements for the amount of exercise being performed in the form of CHO or fat (21.4 Mcal DE/day).

Recent research demonstrated that feeding supplemented fat to Thoroughbred horses altered blood glucose and insulin levels compared to grain based diet and these changes influenced substrate selection during a standardized exercise test. It is unknown whether or not feeding time of the high fat diets would alter blood glucose and insulin response.

Although it is widely asserted by horse owners that diet affects the tractability of horses, there have been controlled studies of this subject. A preliminary trial was conducted to investigate the effects of diet and exercise on the behavior of four stabled horses.

It has not been clearly established whether exercise affects digestibility. Therefore, it was the purpose of this study to measure the effect of 8 km daily trotting and galloping exercise on the digestibility and rate of passage of either an all-forage or a mixed forage/grain ration in trained Thoroughbred horses.

Pagan, J.D. 1998. Advances in Equine Nutrition. Nottingham University Press, Nottingham, UK. Advances in Equine Nutrition is a compilation of selected papers from past KER nutrition conferences. These papers cover a broad range of topics and contain a wealth of information related to equine nutrition, veterinary medicine, and exercise physiology. Included is a mixture of […]

Performance horses are often administered large quantities of B-Vitamins before exercise in an attempt to improve performance.

Horses are raised to be athletes, a number of physiological systems in the horse work together to provide fuels and oxygen for the working muscle and to remove waste products that are produced from its metabolism.

Four conditioned Thoroughbred geldings were used in a 2×2 factorial design to investigate the effect of exercise and diet on apparent nutrient digestibility.

Crandell KM, JD Pagan, PA Harris and SE Duren. 1998. A comparison of grain, vegetable oil and beet pulp as energy sources for the exercised horse. Proc. 5th International Conference on Equine Exercise Physiology. Utsunomiya, Japan.