Kentucky Equine Research has created a free 90-page guide titled Nutrition of the Performance Horse that broadly covers the best ways to manage equine athletes, regardless of discipline, and includes practical management strategies and effective solutions for nutrition-related problems. In-depth discussions are also included regarding common issues such as gastric ulcers, hindgut acidosis, joint care, […]

The relationship between heart rate (HR) and velocity under saddle or on a treadmill can be used to estimate cardiovascular fitness in horses. Whether HR data gathered during other types of exercise can be used to estimate fitness is unknown. This study hypothesized that HR data collected on a mechanical walker could be used to […]

Skeletal muscle citrate synthase (CS) activity serves as a marker for muscle oxidative capacity. CS activity was compared among Quarter Horses (QH), Arabians (AR),  Thoroughbreds (TB), Standardbreds and Warmbloods at various ages and stages of training. Gluteus medius muscle biopsies were obtained at ages 6–23 m (n = 10), 2 y (n = 37), 3 […]

The present study clearly demonstrates that daily intake of EPA and DHA from KER EO-3™ significantly increases RBC membrane EPA and DHA but that a similar amount of omega-3 in the form of ALA from flax (linseed) oil does not.  

In combination with exercise, nutrition is an essential component of managing horses with myopathies. The optimal feeding program for an individual is tailored to the diagnosis of a specific underlying myopathy. Exertional myopathies are defined by muscle pain and impaired performance during or after exercise. Exertional rhabdomyolysis (ER) represents a subset of exertional myopathies characterized […]

Performance in three-day event horses is influenced by the horse’s innate ability combined with its level of fitness. Heart rate (HR) and blood lactate have been routinely measured in laboratory settings to evaluate fitness and/or ability in horses. To investigate whether these measurements are useful in assessing performance during competition, 11 horses competing at the […]

Omeprazole (OM) is a proton pump inhibitor (PPI) that inhibits gastric acid secretion in horses and is the most popular treatment for EGUS. PPIs are also widely used in humans to treat acid-related conditions and have been associated with a reduction in the digestibility of several nutrients, including protein, fat, calcium (Ca) and iron. This […]

Horses supplemented with EO-3™ had significantly lower (p<0.05) GGT levels 2 and 4 hours post-exercise compared to the control horses. This may have resulted from a reduction in inflammation observed post-exercise in the horses fed EO-3. Open Technical Bulletin

Joe D. Pagan1, Kathleen O’Neill1, Natalie Ireland1 and Mike Davies2 1Kentucky Equine Research, Versailles, Kentucky, USA; 2ClockItEQ, Ltd., Perth, Western Australia   This study estimated digestible energy (DE) requirements of three-day-event horses during training in the early stages of the 2015 American eventing season using a novel smartphone application (KER ClockItTM Sport; Kentucky Equine Research, […]

Joe D. Pagan1, Emma Mulvey1, Kathleen O’Neill1, Natalie Ireland1 and Mike Davies2, 1Kentucky Equine Research, Versailles, Kentucky, USA; 2ClockItEQ, Ltd., Perth, Western Australia Nutrient requirements for performance horses are dependent on the intensity and duration of exercise during training and competition. Differences between racehorses and upper-level event horses have not been previously defined. This study […]