FEEDING FOR IMPROVED BEHAVIOUR Heating Sugars and StarchStarch is one of the best sources of energy for working horses. However, excess starch and sugars can lead to a buildup of glycogen in the muscle cells, which is then broken down anaerobically, causing damage to the tissue andresulting problems. These feeds need to be moderated in performance horse diets to help keep them calm and 'cool'.

Sources

Grain and grasses (including grain and meadowhays) are the main sources of starch and sugars.Sugars include glucose, fructose, sucrose andfructans. Starch consists of chains of glucose andfructose molecules, and is found in hay, warm seasongrasses and grains. Cool season grasses are higher infructans. Many pellets are high in carbs.

Digestion

Sugars and starch are non-fermentable carbohydrates (asopposed to fibre, which is fermentable). Fermentation is adigestive process of bacteria in the large intestine. Thesmall intestine digests feed using enzymes.

Starch and sucrose can be digested well in the smallintestine, where enzymes break them down into simplersugars. But excess starch, and fructans, cannot beprocessed in the stomach, and overflow into the hind gut.Here the bacteria cannot break them down either, butinstead ferment them into lactic acid, which lowers the pHand can eventually destroy most of the 'good' bacteria.

Average Starch+Sugar contents:

Soy bean hulls: 6.3% Lucerne hay: 11.3% Grass pasture: 12.1% Beet pulp: 12.3% Grass hay: 13.8% Rice bran: 21.0% Wheat bran: 30.8% Oats: 54.1% Barley 61.7% Corn: 73.3%

Stance Cool Stance: 11.1%Mitavite Economix: 31.5%Mitavite Gumnuts: 33.0%Barastoc Calm Performer: 30.7%Pryde's EasiResult: 42.6%Weightlifter Calm: 40.0%Barastoc Cool Command: 43.4%Easi-Rider Cool Mix: 46.0%

Results

Hot horses transitionedfrom a high sugar andstarch diet to oneincorporating more fatsand fibre will fatigue lesseasily from muscle celldamage during exercise,be less reactive to rideand handle, and be atrecuded risk ofmetabolic issues such astying-up, colic (hind gutacidosis) and founder.

Safe Feeding

To avoid overload of carbs andsugars from grain and grass hays,they can be soaked overnight andthen drained. Substituting lucerneor other legume hay will eliminatefructans and many problematiccarbs. Grains can be substitutedfor 'super-fibre' sources like beetpulp, which provides similar energywithout the NSCs. Grains should befed rolled, or preferably extruded ormicronised, to aid digestibility.Hays made form grain crops areespecially high in starch content, asthey are cut when in flower, whentheir sugar content is at it highest.The NSCs in lucerne are largelypectin, a relatively 'safe' carb.

For more seehttp://lucanlodge.net

Indications

Horses in intensive work do require starch andsugar for their anaerobic energy metabolism,to fuel the glycolysis process.

Contraindications

Horses that founder, colic or tie-up willrequire a very low non-structuralcarbohydrate diet. Those with PSSM orother sugar storage myopathies also need toavoid starches. Horses that are 'fizzy' ingeneral will benefit from a diet thatproduces less acid, which can disrupt thecentral nervous system and cause agitationand anxiety. Because sugars and starchhave a high glycemic index, they can causeenergy spikes. Fats and fibre provide a lessvariable fuel source to sustain energywithout the acid waste fizz and heat.

Physiological Effects

Horses fed on grain use moreglycogen for energy output thanVolatile Fatty Acids (VFAs). VFAsprovide a slow-release source ofenergy from adipose tissue. Someglycogen is stored in the liver, andavailable from there as an anaerobic energy source, but mostglycolysis is intramuscular - that is,sugar from feed stored in themuscle cells is broken down insidethem to produce energy. Thisprocess results is the production oflactic acid, which damages the cells.

Sources for NSCpercentages:www.equilize.com.au;www.triplecrownfeed.com;www.safergrass.org

Grains andgrass are the

major NSCsources