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Protein - Is your horse eating too much? 

23/11/2014

 

Excess protein is excreted via the urine and manure.  To do so it must first be converted to urea and ammonia by the liver.  A blood test can show if a horse is getting too much protein by having high levels of blood urea and ammonia.  However, if a horse is not receiving enough dietary energy, they will break down body tissues to compensate and this will also show elevated levels of blood urea and ammonia.
Research suggests that daily over feeding of protein surpasses the ability of the liver to convert protein to urea and ammonia for excretion in the urine.  This is an added burden to the liver and kidneys.  High gut urea levels also causing an increase in intestinal disturbances and cause  a decrease or loss of appetite and also be on of the cause of bursting (internal bleeding).
Water and electrolytes are required to excrete the extra urea and ammonia, causing an additional demand on body reserves of both.  Obviously increasing urinary output.  However, if the horse has a kidney weakness and is unable to handle the excess there will be a build up of lactic acid, resulting in loss of performance or even ´tying-up´ (Azotoria) and simply fading at the end of a race or hard work.  Irritable behaviour, nervousness or restlessness are all signs of high urea and ammonia in the blood.  This can disturb energy production during exercise.
High ammonia in the urine quite obviously contaminates the stable environment.  In warm weather especially the fumes affect humans and horses alike.  There is an increased risk of respiratory conditions, infections and viruses.

Calcium deficiency can be caused by excess protein.  It has been found to leach calcium from the body due to the increase in uric acid.  This causes poor bone density, weak lung walls, weak bowel walls and can lead to bursting and bone fractures.
“Research in America has shown that 30% of all the horses bone scanned showed hairline fractures of the lumbar vertebrae over the kidney/loin area. This is due to stress, standing starts, (starting stalls) and partly due to diet, the diet that starts in the paddocks not just in training.”
Foals and weanlings require 14% protein, 2 and 3 year-olds 14-16% maximum, adults (4 years up) 10 to 12%.

Alfalfa contains 18 to 24% protein, so you can see how feeding a diet of straight alfalfa or even 50% alfalfa, will cause acidosis in the body.  Most horses can cope with about 10-12% of the forage part of their diet being alfalfa.
horses that are Cushing's/hypothyroid/insulin resistant ("easy keepers") do best on no alfalfa at all. Also those fighting off serious infection like West Nile Virus or recovering from colic surgery, recover much better on straight grass hay.  
Alfalfa typically contains inappropriate levels of calcium to phosphorus, 5:1 to be exact. A balanced ratio of calcium to phosphorus is 1.5 parts calcium to 1 part phosphorus. The excess calcium in alfalfa interferes with parathyroid function and can lead to thumps, muscle cramps and tying up.
Excess calcium also interferes with the absorption of iodine, a mineral necessary for proper thyroid function. Many horses on a high alfalfa diet become hypothyroid as the thyroid gets lazy and tired from being malnourished. Symptoms are cresty necks, overweight/easy keepers yet always hungry, dry, flaky skin, “cinchy” and skin-sensitive, loss of top line muscling and hair condition and unwillingness to give and flex due to increased water retention.
“According to research performed at Colorado State University and in Sweden, excess dietary protein decreases T4 levels. Optimum T4 levels are necessary for horses to metabolize glucose (blood sugar) properly. When a horse is under strenuous exercise, higher glucose levels are required to fuel the muscles. Higher glucose levels also delay the onset of lactic acid buildup in the muscles and blood. Too much lactic acid causes the muscles to lose their ability to contract and relax properly. In this state the muscles stay contracted/tied up.”
Too much calcium also depletes magnesium, which is absolutely essential to relax muscles after the contraction phase, during work.  In the studies in Sweden and Colorado State University higher magnesium levels were found to increase production of T4 thyroid hormone.  My clients and regular readers all know how much I sing about the properties of giving magnesium in the diet.
By simply removing the alfalfa in the diet often clears up scratches!
Does your horse have thick foamy sweat?  If he does look at his protein levels.  When using excess protein for energy the nitrogen end of the protein strand is cut off, separating the nitrogen from the amino acids.  They are necessary for metabolic function, while excess nitrogen forms urea (non-protein nitrogen), which is removed from the bloodstream by the kidneys.  It becomes priority to flush the toxic ammonia that was produced in this process over retaining water for hydration of the muscles.  The horse will drink lots of water and urinate more frequently which leads to dehydration.  The visual result being thick, foamy sweat, which does not cool a horse as effectively as thin, watery sweat.  In turn this causes them to sweat more which dehydrates the body further still.

Lets Dance

14/11/2014

1 Comment

 
Of course I would not say no to a trip to Oz to meet with some very respected people in the naked hoof world, but did they all really need to travel that far for "The Functional Hoof Conference Australia" to here what Dr Andrew Van Eps had to say regarding laminitics and a key component to recovery? Movement.

I have not been alone in saying for some years now "movement is key".  I guess it´s good to have it confirmed by someone with a title!  Movement is what generates circulation, which generates new cell growth, which of course speeds up the new, healthy growth of a correctly attended and ailimented hoof.  Movement, even though at times your horse may appear to struggle, is exactly like the physiotherapy a traumatologist would recommend to you, dear human, when you have suffered a lesion, or broken bone.  You have to push through the pain.  You have to ask ´more´ in order to recover, and the more you ask, the quicker your recovery. 

I totally understand it can be difficult, watching your beloved equine struggling to put one foot in front of the other in severe cases, but, within reason, this is what must be done.  Of course we have boots and pads to make that physio more comfortable.  But it must also be remember by many, just as when you have an injury, that initial crank-start each day can be stiffer and slower, until a body/limb warms up and finds more ease of movement.  You have to help your horse push through this.  You must accept your EP´s guidelines, if you are rehabilitating at home, and follow instructions with regard to exercise and turnout.  The more consistent you are with movement, the sooner your horse is dancing again.
1 Comment

A wolf in feed company clothing?

10/11/2014

 
As a stand alone article the accompanying link leaves you believing ´slow-nets/slow-feeding´ is not the answer.  In my humble opinion the following is precisely why we should not believe everything we read on the internet;
No mention of whether the horses in the study were previously accustomed to eating from nets - slow or not - which would clearly affect the outcome
No mention of a control!
No measurement of the apparent frustration based behavior.
A half-hour, just 30 minute, reading is hardly a gauge...
....and having your food removed every 10 minutes is bound to be perceived as frustrating - I know I would be peed off!
Triple nets - please be serious.  This is, after all, supposed to be a respected trial.  Who doesn´t get frustrated filling triple nets, never mind the poor horse searching his way through all that rope to find his breakfast!
No details of actual hole sizes.
A ´suggestion´ of multiple feeding stations around a stall, or area, is not a ´study´, so how they have concluded that to be more effective than nets I have no idea.
So "short chopped loose fiber feeds are perfect...." says the manufacturer of said product.

My conclusion is this is short on teeth to negate the positive of trickle feeding methods.  But many out there wont see through the disguise ;)

http://www.dengie.com/friendly-feed-advice/study-questions-hay-net-benefits/

Equine Massage Therapy

2/11/2014

 
Any hoof issues (in-balance, pathologies) guarantees a problem elsewhere in your horse.  Muscle mis-alignment, stiffness etc in the shoulders or hips, which if left undetected long enough will ´spread´ along the spinal column or up into the poll and jaw.  Even a well-balanced horse benefits from the therapy of an equine massage.  Like all athletes they will favor one side, or get some stiffness or tension due to certain exercises and are guaranteed to improve their performance and demeanour after receiving some myofascial or craniosacral release.  From ligament injuries to nervousness - all can benefit from Equine Massage Therapy. 

Our good friend and professional in this field comes from the UK to hold these courses.  Spaces are limited for the next course on the weekend beginning April 11th 2015.  So please make your enquires and reservations early.

You can find more information about course content here;  http://www.equine-holistic-training.co.uk  Theory papers are sent to be learnt before the practical weekend, so again.  Book early.  This is not one to be missed.

You do not have to be a Level 3 WHP student to attend this course

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