Indiana Horse Network

You are what you eat. Taken beyond a literal interpretation, the axiom really is logical advice: eating a healthy, well-formulated, properly balanced diet will ensure a person's good health and strength. It's no surprise that researchers are finding that this idea holds true for horses, too.

Racehorse nutrition has become neither more nor less important over the years; it's just become more complicated. Innovations in equine nutrition have significantly advanced the health and ability of racehorses but have produced headaches for the trainers and caretakers trying to keep up with new feeding programs available to them.

Harness racing is a sport rich in tradition and in doing things the way they've always been done. With nutritional research uncovering secrets to sounder, faster, stronger racehorses—everyone's goal—how are trainers balancing the old way with the new?

Standardbred trainers John Brennan, Jay Cross, and Dirk Simpson, as well as horse extension specialist and professor of animal sciences at Purdue University Mark Russell, Ph.D., provide answers to that question and more about the changing face of racehorse nutrition.

Possibly the greatest equine-nutrition advancement in recent years hasn't come from a laboratory or a research farm, rather from the trainers, owners, and grooms themselves. There has been a movement toward a greater awareness and self-education about racehorse feeding programs. Despite the billions of dollars spent to research racehorse nutrition, this simplest of steps may be the most beneficial to the sport.

While many trainers will say their feeding ideas come from the racing greats with whom they got their starts, they are learning to temper the traditional oats-and-hay feeding philosophy with one that involves more advanced formulas of concentrates, vitamins, and supplements for the benefit of the horse.



Not your Grandfather's Feed Bin

Research is conducted on every aspect of equine nutrition, including the palatability of feeds, the effectiveness of supplements, and the digestibility of forages. With every discovery comes new methods for developing feeds and new ideas for feeding horses.

“Most of the progress has been made in the quality of the formulation and the quality of the products that the horse owner has to choose from. What I mean by that is the form of the minerals, the digestibility of the minerals, the ability to measure the quality of the trace minerals,” says Dr. Russell.

Another area of great development, according to Dr. Russell, is in energy consumption: “We look at different sources of energy to try to help the horse try to deal with what's traditionally been a carbohydrate or starch-based energy source. Certainly we've shifted to more fat-related and more oil-related products.”

More fat, less carbohydrates sounds like the Atkins diet plan for humans. In fact, it's not too far off. Instead of feeding high fat and protein as a means of shedding pounds, though, nutritionists are finding it is a more efficient way to get some horses the energy they need to train well. Specialty pelleted feeds and vegetable oils are replacing the familiar shelled corn and whole grains horseman once relied upon.



Forage is First

Feeding quality hay is top priority. That's one nutritional theory that hasn't changed over the years.

Says Dr. Russell, “The harness horse industry needs to pay a lot more attention to the quality of the hay that's being fed, and then supplement the energy and the minerals where needed based on the quality of the forage. My recommendations would be to have at least one-and-a-half percent of the horse's body weight in long stem hay or cubes that have at least an inch and a half of particle size to make sure the horse is going to be getting plenty of forage and the majority of its nutrients come from that forage.”

He estimates that a horse with an intensive racing and training schedule is going to need in excess of 40 mega calories per day. Whatever calories the forage doesn't account for should be gained from concentrates.

Alfalfa hay has long been the staple forage for harness horses; however, more trainers are changing to grass hay or grass/alfalfa mix for a number of reasons.

Cross, formerly an alfalfa advocate, says, “With alfalfa, [the quality] varies so much with how it's made, when it's made. Sometimes [horses] don't clean it up very good from one load to another. It just seems like with a grass mixture, I've had a little bit better luck with them cleaning it up.”

Brennan also preferred to feed alfalfa in the past but says as of late, “I've had bad luck with alfalfa hay…The last five times I've tried it, I've tied up my whole barn.” Instead, he feeds timothy hay from a grower in Canada .

On the other hand, alfalfa's availability makes it the hay of choice for Simpson. He would rather feed an alfalfa/timothy mix, but the climate in northern Illinois , where he is stabled, is more conducive to growing pure alfalfa.



The Balancing Act

In addition to filling in necessary calories, concentrates are used to balance minerals, an area that is getting more attention as trainers read up on research. Because a horse's nutritional requirements should begin with forage, trainers need to get their hay tested for minerals, vitamins, and nutritional value before adding concentrates and supplements.

“I think a lot of young horses are still growing bone and at the same time are struggling to be in training. Those two together are causing us a lot of our joint problems and our bone problems, soundness problems,” which Dr. Russell believes can be lessened with proper mineral balances.

Sometimes, a trainer will unknowingly over-supplement feeds to the point that he or she is doubling and tripling the amount of a mineral that a horse needs. In these cases, says Dr. Russell, “It's not that there's a deficiency in his diet, it's that he can't absorb what he's being fed,” as minerals work in conjunction with one another.

For example, if there is an abundance of calcium in the diet from rich alfalfa hay, and a supplement containing calcium is also being fed, the horse cannot absorb the phosphorus in its feed. Balance, not abundance, is the goal when feeding concentrates and supplements to augment the forage in the diet.

Simpson admits, “I'm probably as bad as the next guy. If somebody comes along selling a supplement, I'd be buying the supplement and adding to it. But pretty soon you've got four or five supplements sitting out in front of a horse's stall, and you're wondering what you're actually doing for the horse.”

Used properly, supplements are a great addition to a horse's diet. But used recklessly, as Simpson says, they only complicate the horse's ability to digest its feed and get what it really needs out of its ration.



Finding Truth

Nutrition is only going to become more complicated as research and development spawns new ideas and products. There are information sources available to trainers that can be trusted beyond the hype of the advertisements and salespeople.

Seminars and workshops put on by feed companies are an excellent way to determine the best feeding program for your stable, says Dr. Russell. “There's always a bit of concern about whether or not what this company tells me or that company tells me is right or is to benefit them…At least 95 percent of what they're teaching is basic, good, sound nutrition and is the same as what their Extension Service or veterinary school would sponsor.”

Simpson began feeding Buckeye Nutrition products about three years ago when he thought his horses could be performing better. “Before, I was just using some local feed mills around here. I went to a Buckeye seminar and was kind of impressed with their food ration and the way they have their feed set up, the texture of it… I got some information about Buckeye and talked to some people who were using Buckeye, and that's how I got switched to it.”

Feed representatives should be able to provide studies that backup the nutritional claims made on the feed tag, too. Dr. Russell says, “Legally, these labels have to have the ability to prove whatever they claim. The composition of what's in the bag has to be consistent with what's on the label. Every state has a regulatory feed inspector that watches over all the products that are sold in their state.”

Simpson, Brennan, and Cross get their nutrition ideas from the horseman they were exposed to when they started out racing, largely rooting their nutrition concepts in tradition. They read magazine articles to keep up with new information, as well.

Another source of sound nutritional information is independent nutrition research and education organizations such as Kentucky Equine Research ( www.ker.com ) and, for a more technical view on equine nutrition, getting a copy of the National Research Council's updated “Nutrient Requirements for Horses” guidelines, which is scheduled to be released this summer.

In addition, each county has a Cooperative Extension Service that is dedicated to helping county residents with a variety of agricultural, domestic, and youth-related issues. Among the CES's services are educational workshops, clinics, and publications related to equine nutrition and a horse extension specialist who can assist with solving nutrition problems.

Brennan sums up the importance of a good feeding program best when he says, “A horse that don't eat can't race good. That's guaranteed. And there aren't too many things in the business that I can guarantee.”

Continued commitment to learning about new research is key to providing horses with the best nutrition possible. Says Dr. Russell, “Be a person that asks hard questions about research. Don't believe claims that are on the tag or that a successful breeder or trainer tells you about unless you can see data that's likely to support those claims and benefit your stable.”

Keeping up with what's new in nutrition isn't an easy endeavor, but it is one that has and will continue to assist the harness industry in training and keeping the best horses racing.

SIDEBAR: Feeding Philosophy

Trainers John Brennan, Jay Cross, and Dirk Simpson have each made significant changes to their feeding programs over the past few years. Here are their ideas on changing their stables' feeding philosophy:

•  Brennan's horses get as much timothy hay as they'll eat and a mix of Purina's Strategy pellets, Purina's Omolene 200 Performance sweet feed, and oats topped off with Calf-Manna protein and energy supplement and Robert Macintosh Horse Conditioning Supplement for vitamins, protein, and fat. Brennan also feeds bran mashes daily so the horses will intake more water.

Of his new feeding program, Brennan says, “Years ago, we didn't have pellets. I used to feed sweet feed and oats. With the nutrition they put in [Strategy], it really is a good feed...Times are changing and you have to change with the times. You can't stay back twenty years or so and hope to have success.”

•  Simpson puts alfalfa hay in front of his horses all day long. He also feeds Buckeye Nutrition's Race'N Win grain mix and Trifecta sweet feed, a textured feed, and Calf-Manna protein and energy supplement.

Two reasons for Simpson's switch to Buckeye products are the texture of the molasses-rich sweet feed and the higher fat content. He jokes that the new low-carbohydrate feeding programs take away from his corn-on-the-cob, oats, and soybean meal regimen of the past.

•  After years of feeding corn, oats, and Calf-Manna, Cross tried higher-fat feeds. When he didn't get the results he wanted, Cross worked with his local feed mill to develop a custom feed blend of corn; oats; corn oil; Buckeye Nutrition's Gro'N Win mineral, vitamin, and protein supplement; a probiotic; and a microorganism supplement rolled together. He feeds as much alfalfa/grass hay as the horses want and keeps shelled corn on hand for picky eaters and hard keepers.

Says Cross, “Find something that makes sense to you, that you're comfortable with feeding, and if you have the results you want to see, stick to it. You can change supplements and this and that every week if you wanted to because there's always a new ad coming out. Most of them are OK products, but you can go nuts trying to keep up with all that stuff.”