Feed for endurance
Horses engaged in endurance (or long-distance-riding, Distanzreiten or Raid) should be counted among those horses that really have to "perform".Endurance-racing is a relatively new but a very fast growing equestrian sport, especially in the Middle East and Europe. Total distances in endurance races add up to160 km in 1 day or 200 km in 2 days.
Of course general health, condition and stamina of the horse is of utmost importance, and feed and feeding contribute to that.
In general, endurance-racing requires older and experienced horses, especially for the longer distances.
It all starts with the the feed for the breeding mare and foal, and continues with the right feed for all horses in training and competition.
For performance-horses, feed-quality, energy- and protein content has a direct effect on musclepower, speed and stamina. Energy can be derived from glycogen (a reserve of carbo-hydrate stored in muscle-tissue),glucose (digestion) or fatty acids (directly from feed and fermentation of fibers).
On the cellular level, all energy needs to be presented in form of ATP or Adrenosine-Tri-Phosphate, which is produced from glycogen, glucose or fatty-acids through one of the two metabolic processes:
- AEROBIC degradation (with oxygen; for long-lasting performance, e.g. in endurance);
- ANAEROBIC degradation (without oxygen, for "explosive" performance, e.g. in racing)
Feeding:
In general, feeding horses in (training for) endurance follows the same global guidelines, but of course there are differences in "when to feed what and in what quantities".
While in training, a choice can be made between one or more of the following performance-feeds. However, feeding endurance horses can be different and difficult sometimes.
Our new Muesli ENDURANCE 14 is especially developed for endurance athletes.
Endurance 14 is a premium Power & Protein muesli for horses in long distance performance
These are horses that really have to “perform”. Nutrition has a great influence on the performance of an endurance horse. The feed-quality, energy source and proteinlevel have a direct effect on musclepower, speed and stamina.
