Arizona in the Saddle September 2014 Issue | Page 11

Equine Nutrition: Fat is Where It’s At Brought to you by Nutrena L ately there has been tremendous interest in the horse world about fat. In regards to human nutrition, “fat” is often considered a bad word, and low-fat diets are popular. But we should remember that some fats for both humans and equines, are necessary and healthy and play a very important role in nutrition. Because horses can use fat as a calorie source efficiently, and fat contains more than double the calories of starch, high-fat horse feeds make perfect sense to increase the energy intake without greatly increasing the quantity of feed needed. There are many reasons to feed horses added fat. The best reason is for an energy (calorie) source. Because fat contains more than HAY twice the calorie content of starch, and horses digest and utilize fat well, higher fat horse feeds offer an excellent opportunity to increase calorie intake without greatly increasing the quantity of feed. Other reasons for adding fat to a feed ration include improved endurance, heat tolerance, hair coat and attitude: Horses on fat supplemented diets experience increased endurance because of a glycogen sparing effect. Glycogen is the fuel for muscular activity stored in the muscle cells. Horses that are on high fat diets conserve glycogen, which can help them finish a performance event stronger. This is particularly important in racing, eventing, cutting and other activities that require high performance over time. continued on page 19 & FARM EQUIPMENT SALES • CUSTOM TRACTOR WORK Carver Mountain Enterprises Stephen H. Williams (Owner) Office: 602-237-4401 Cell: 602-620-2258 4650 W. DOBBINS RD. LAVEEN, AZ 85339 Email: [email protected] AZintheSaddle.com September 2014 11