Fitting your Horses

By: Russell Mueller, M.S., P.A.S.

Progressive Nutrition's Equine Guide # 201
Date: 11/6/2005

Foaling season is almost over. The days are getting longer and warmer and we are moving the focus of some of our horses to show and sales prep. It doesn’t matter if we are competing or selling we know that the better we have our horses looking the more successful we will be. Several factors go into the process to achieve the pinnacle of performance. Good climate control, exercise regimen and sound nutrition will all pay big dividends. Nutrition works on the horse from the inside out. Sound nutrition will deliver good muscle tone, proper body condition and a shiny hair coat, the goal of every show/sales horse.

Muscle Tone:
In the past it has been assumed that exercise was the key to get that fit and toned appearance of the best horse. While work does play a big role in this, sound nutrition has a major impact as well. To build or tone muscles, the body has to have the building blocks of those muscles to build with. These building blocks are proteins or more specifically the amino acids that make up protein. You may see on your feed tag ingredients like Lysine or Methionine. These key ingredients are specific amino acids that when feed at the right amounts and in the right proportions will build and tone muscle in conjunction with a good exercise program. With Progressive Nutrition’s Top Line Advantage, you will find a state of the art amino acid profile to maximize muscle, especially along the top line, over the loins and down the back of the hips . If you want to improve these areas in your horse make sure you are feeding the Top Line Advantage.

Body Condition:
When you go to the next show or sale, the last thing you want is for your horse to be thin. Sufficient calorie intake is needed to achieve the desired body condition. The choice of calories is up to you and can be decided by the result that you are trying to accomplish. Good quality hays can deliver a good source of calories, and must be addressed first. From there, the type of calories you choose can be narrowed down. Using grains such as oats, barley, corn or combinations of the above will deliver calories in the form of starch and sugars that when feed in proper levels can work very well and remain cost effective. If more calories are needed than grains can safely supply, fat and oil sources come into play. Fat contains over twice the calories of grains, and therefore can supply a great deal of calories in a small amount. Furthermore, the form of fat can deliver even more beneficial results. Blending fat sources like that from soy oils and flax will deliver a balanced fatty acid profile and maximum results. Envision Classic is a great blend of fat sources combined into an extruded nugget, which delivers calories that are safe to feed and help you to reach the added body condition you want to achieve.

Hair Coat:
I remember growing up, my folks always used to tell me to put some “elbow grease” into that horse to help their hair coat. While I always hated brushing horses, getting that great shiny hair coat was still a must. As many of us have found out, proper nutrition can help a hair coat from the inside out. Shedding is mostly hormonally controlled via daylight length. Keeping lights on 16 hours per day with enough intensity that you can read a newspaper will ensure early shedding. Form there the hair has to be healthy. Hair itself is made up of over 99% protein. Therefore making sure the protein, and as said above, the amino acid content of your diet is adequate will help ensure that hair is strong and healthy. To get that show ring sheen, you can use all sorts of coat enhancers, or you can feed it. Adding the right fatty acids will give your horse's coat that sale ring shine, without Show Sheen. Once again blended fat sources from soy and flaxseed deliver this blend. All of the Progressive Nutrition products deliver this fatty acid blend of soy and flaxseed oils, to help deliver the needed results.
If you want the best conditioned horses this coming show and sales season, don’t get caught behind the eight-ball by not having the best nutrition program you can. Contact your local Progressive Nutrition dealer today or call our customer service department at 888-239-3185 and find out how we can maximize your results.