TOP TIPS TO HELP YOUR HORSE DEVELOP MUSCLE
Must be that time of year again! I’ve had half a dozen enquiries in the past week about how to help horses build muscle. I’ve posted on this before so apologies to those who have already seen this before.
SIMPLE BASIC RULES
-Your horse must be in regular work (at least 4 sessions per week)...
-The work must be strenuous enough to stimulate muscle development
-Your horse must be in a positive energy balance (getting more energy that they are using)
-Your horse must be getting sufficient protein
-Lysine: A 500kg horse requires around 25-40g of lysine per day depending on level of work. Feeding lysine above this amount will have NO effect. Average hay would supply around 5g lysine per kg. Linseed would supply around 10g lysine per kg.
DON'T WASTE YOUR MONEY ON....
-Spirulina/Equitop Myoplast (despite what the vets say!)-
-Creatine
-Gamma oryzanol/Rice Bran
-Amino acid mixes
-Protein concentrates e.g. whey protein
-Feeding very high amounts of protein won’t build muscle
-Feeding high amounts of lysine above daily requirements wont build muscle
-Spirulina is like protein found in other feedstuffs and is very expensive and will not build muscle – don’t waste your money
-Equitop Myoplast is just a palatable and very expensive way to feed Spirulina and is no more effective than other forms of protein such as linseed – save your money!
-Don’t feed creatine supplements – horses don’t absorb creatine, you are wasting money!
-Don’t waste your money on concentrated amino acid or protein supplements! They will not build muscle and are the same proteins as in hay, linseed, oats, etc
-Gamma oryzanol/Rice bran/Rice bran oil – Marketed as a natural steroid. No evidence in any studies that it affects muscle in horses, people or other animals.
-Vitamin E (with or without selenium) – will not build muscle.
-Vitamin C – will not build muscle
-Vitamin & mineral supplements – will not build muscle
If you have come across any other muscle building ingredients and want to know if they work, just post a comment
This is a copy of his post on 15th February
