The horse’s body tends to have two main energy sources. These come in the form of carbohydrates and fats. An example of carbohydrates is the roughage that we feed horses, such as hay, chaff and other cereal foodstuffs. Fat may be more recognised in the horse’s diet as the inclusion of oil or soybean meal.
Production of Energy
Carbohydrates and fats produce different amounts of energy. The utilisation of fat to produce energy in the horse’s body can produce three times as much adenosine triphosphate or ATP (a necessary ingredient for energy production) than carbohydrates can. Consequently, fat is seen “as an energy-dense food source,” (p. 14, Marlin, D. & Nankervis, K., 2002).
This can help to perhaps explain why it can be difficult to decrease fat stores in the body. It will take a lot more usage of energy to deplete fat stores!
The breakdown of fat requires more energy than the breakdown of carbohydrates and the rate at which this energy is released occurs over a much slower time frame than for carbohydrates. Because carbohydrates release energy so quickly, this is the form of energy that is used up when the horse is required to move quickly. In fact, “the faster a horse runs the less it is able to use fat as an energy source,” (p. 15, Marlin, D. & Nankervis, K., 2002).
Exercise of the Equine that will Result in Weight Loss
Because of the rate at which fat releases energy and how it is broken down, it is therefore better to make use of exercise that focuses on slow work, over a longer duration. This will see the horse losing weight more effectively. Such work can be limited to:
- Trotting
- Slow to medium speed cantering
An increase above these speeds will change the energy source that the horse’s body uses. For the equine owner that is working to decrease the amount of fat their horse has covering their body, two focus areas should be their diet and the amount and type of exercise they are carrying out.
It should be kept in mind that muscle is 20% more dense than fat. Therefore, just because a horse weighs a lot doesn’t mean that he is fat; a large proportion of this could be muscle.
Increasing Energy in the Diet without Bulk
If looking to increase a horse’s energy, consider an additive that won’t add to the bulk of the horse’s feed. A good example of this is oil, as it is energy dense (on account of being a fat). This allows for the horse to eat the same amount of feed based on weight, whilst providing more energy to the diet.
When considering such moves, the owner should also however consider how this form of energy will be broken down and utilised. Keeping in mind that the horse tends to make use of fat to produce energy in slower work, adding oil to the diet of a horse that is consistently carrying out fast, hard work may not be as beneficial.
Source:
- Equine Exercise Physiology, Marlin, D., and Nankervis, K. Blackwell Publishing 2002. ISBN 0 632 05552 9.
Chris Thomas - C. Thomas has studied and worked with horses since 2001. She teaches horse studies part time and is undertaking an Equine Science ...
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