What feed for my endurance horse?
Among the various disciplines that make up horseback riding, endurance arouses a great deal of passion and requires the most arduous equine performance. The sport horses specialized in endurance are generally rather thin (such as Arabian thoroughbreds, trotters and light gallopers, etc.) and without excessive musculature. The efforts required of a winning horse in this type of discipline are intense and long-lasting, which requires rigorous training, good genetics and a balanced diet adapted to the types of efforts they will produce.
What diet for an endurance horse?
The nutrition of endurance horses requires above all to release energy if possible during the whole race.
This energy can be found in 3 forms:
- Starch: found in cereals and elaborate horse feeds. It is assimilated by the body after being transformed into glucose molecules. The particularity of glucose is that it can be mobilized immediately in case of effort by the horse’s body, but it can also be stored in the form of glycogen for a later effort.
- Cellulose: this is found in horse feeds. Thanks to the billions of bacteria present in the horse’s digestive system, cellulose is transformed into volatile fatty acids, which are then transported to the liver and converted into glucose, glycogen or fats. The recommended forage is an early harvested grassland hay. It is therefore important that the horse receives a good ration of forages in its diet, accounting for at least half of the horse’s total ration.
- Fats, found in particular in vegetable oils (soybean oil for example). These fats are digested and absorbed by the small intestine in the form of fatty acids and then stored in the muscle cells. Fats take time to be digested, which is why they are better suited to endurance racehorses who will be making a long-duration effort, rather than show jumpers, for example, who will be making more explosive and shorter efforts. Fats can represent up to 10% of the horse’s overall ration and should be fed daily.
Other nutrients needed by the endurance horse
Contrary to what one might think, an endurance horse does not require a large intake of protein, but it must be of good quality. Too much protein for horses generates more urine (the body eliminates excess protein in the urine). However, the hydration of the endurance horse is essential for him to be able to provide the required effort. The vitamins and minerals that are essential for these high performance horses are salt and vitamin E. Electrolytes are also essential to the horse’s recovery after exercise, as it has eliminated a large quantity of them through perspiration during the race.
In order to answer and adapt the food to the specific training programs of the endurance horses, Royal Horse proposes a food program with two feeds in order to cover all the needs of these horses whether they are in rest period, pre-training or more intensive training before a race: a high performance equine nutrition with the feeds for horses S250 and H350 in the form of flakes. These two feeds are supplemented with pre-biotics, intestinal flora regulators, vitamin E and organic selenium. The H350 horse feed has been specially designed for the development of horses that make long efforts by promoting the slow release of energy but also recovery and contains L-Carnitine, omega 3 and antioxidants.
