Feeding the Eventing Horse
Team Marketing | 01.12.20

Water
Small decreases in the amount of water contained within the body (dehydration) can lead to serious health consequences as well as a decline in performance potential. Performance horses must maintain proper hydration to transport materials to and from the cells within the body and to synthesize and repair body tissues. The amount of water required by a performance horse depends on the amount of water lost from the body. For performance horses, water is lost from the body primarily in sweat.
Roughage

Energy
The main component of any horse’s diet should be forage, however, three-day eventing horses require additional supplementation in the form of high carbohydrate and fat feeds to meet the increased nutrient demands of training and competition. There are two basic metabolic pathways utilized by the horse to provide energy – aerobic and anaerobic. Eventing horses utilize both metabolic pathways during the course of a single competition. Aerobic metabolism simply means “requiring oxygen” and is the primary means of energy production when the horse is doing slower work such as the dressage phase of an event. At these slower speeds the horse burns dietary fat and body fat as the primary fuel source. The anaerobic pathway (without oxygen) is totally dependent on the carbohydrates from grains to produce energy. Carbohydrates from the diet are broken down and stored in the muscle as glycogen and provide quick bursts of energy to the horse. Anaerobic metabolism is used during the show jumping phase of an event and a combination of both metabolisms is used during the cross-country phase.Grain
There is concern regarding feeding large quantities of grain to horses as it can lead to high quantities of undigested grain (starch) reaching the large intestines. Undigested starch that is fermented in the large intestine can cause several metabolic problems including: colic, laminitis, gastric ulcers or simply poor performance. To overcome this HYGAINâ uses a technology called “Micronizing” to process grains and make them more digestible by the small intestine of the horse and safer to feed. This process involves cooking the grains under an infra-red heat, which causes the starch molecules to rupture. The digestibility of micronized barley and wheat is above 90% compared to 30% if the grains are rolled.Fat

Feed Timing
One of the most frequently asked question’s regarding feeding the performance horse is when to feed before and after a competition. Several studies found that feeding small amounts of hay prior to exercise was beneficial in stimulating water intake and maintaining hydration. However, feeding grain concentrates to performance horses is not recommended within 3 to 5 hours prior to competition. Avoiding last minute meals of grain will allow horses to properly mobilize and utilize carbohydrate and fat during exercise. Feeding post exercise is critical to the recovery of the horses. Following exercise, horses should be immediately provided with hay and water. Once the horses have consumed hay and drunk water, a meal of a balanced grain concentrate should be provided within 1.5 hrs after exercise. This balanced grain concentrate should contain vitamins, minerals, carbohydrates, fat and branched chain amino acids, which can be found in the quality grain concentrate product HYGAIN RELEASE.Summary
Remember that horses are individuals and vary greatly in their requirements for energy. Some horses become overweight when fed according to the guidelines while others lose weight. Therefore, monitor each individual horse’s condition constantly and feed each one accordingly. Working with a nutritionist is recommended to make sure the horse is provided with exactly the right nutrients to obtain the best performance possible.Related articles
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