KER.Equinews.com - Full Article
By Kentucky Equine Research Staff · November 14, 2016
Twiggy, John Candy, and Arnold Schwarzenegger. What do these three people have in common? Infamy perhaps, but definitely not muscling! And neither do most horses and ponies. Nonetheless, maintaining appropriate muscling among individual horses is vital to overall health and athleticism.
“Athletic horses need appropriate muscle mass to support their rider’s weight, perform the task at hand, and protect their joints and support soft tissues, such as tendons and ligaments,” explained Kathleen Crandell, Ph.D., a Kentucky Equine Research (KER) nutritionist.
Amino acids, which make up proteins, are the basic building blocks of muscle. Horses must consume at least nine essential amino acids in their diets, and the remainder they can make on their own.
Feeding to build muscle, however, does not mean that we feed excessive protein to horses, attempting to flood their systems with the essentials to maximize muscle building...
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