Nutrition is a fundamental part of your horse’s health, wellbeing and performance. In this new series, we discuss the components of correct nutrition to help you formulate a healthy, well-balanced diet for your performance horse or pony.
In Part 1, we examined two of the most commonly overlooked ingredients that are vital to sustaining performance – vitamins and minerals. In Part 2, we turned our attention to the importance of fibre. In Part 3, we discussed fats. And, now, we explore protein.
Protein is perhaps the most misunderstood ingredient in the horse’s diet. Derived from the Greek word ‘proteos’, meaning ‘of primary importance’, protein
is the building blocks of your horse’s muscles, skin, hair and hooves.
But, what exactly is protein? And, how does it work within the horse’s body?
Protein
Proteins are large biomolecules, or macromolecules, consisting of long chains of amino acid residues. Perhaps that definition alone is why many horse owners
misunderstand protein!
Let’s simplify what protein is…
Protein is composed of amino acids, which are needed for protein synthesis so they can utilised by your horse. There are 21 amino acids and two types that
your horse requires. These are:
- Essential, or indispensable, amino acids: These amino acids cannot be made by your horse and need to be provided in their diet. They are called dietary
protein for this very reason. - Non-essential, or dispensable, amino acids: These amino acids can be made by your horse and don’t need to be provided in their diet.
Protein is an important part of many functions in your horse’s body, including:
- Providing structure
- Tissue growth and repair
- Transporting nutrients through the bloodstream
- Transporting nutrients across cell membranes
- Regulating metabolic function
- Immune system support
- Minimising fluctuations in body pH levels
Protein is essential following exercise as it assists with muscle repair, recovery and rebuilding.
Running Cool Sport is a fully extruded, energy dense complete feed specifically formulated for
performance horses and ponies. It contains well balanced amounts of high quality protein and energy perfectly suited to the workload placed on sport
horses.
Protein Deficiency
So, what happens if your horse doesn’t get enough essential amino acids?
Without dietary protein, tissue repair can be drastically impeded, leading to muscle loss, and poor hoof and coat condition.
While it’s important not to overload the protein in your horse’s diet, dietary protein is fundamental for your performance horse or pony’s health, body
condition and performance — supporting their ability to repair, rebuild and recover faster.
At Running Cool, we genuinely care about your horse’s health and wellbeing. Our superior horse feed range supports your horse at every stage of life with well-balanced vitamins, minerals and protein for pleasure and performance.
Click here
to learn more.