TRUTH OR MYTH

DETOX FOR HORSES MAKES SENSE

TRUTH

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It can be very beneficial for people to detox every now and again. Detoxing is the process of cleansing the body of harmful waste and toxins. When a horse trains and performs at a high level, its body will produce a lot of toxins. By supporting the liver and kidneys and giving the cleansing process a little helping hand, your horse is better equipped to process these substances. A detox purifies the organs that are the engine behind this whole process, and stimulates their function. Detox for horses therefore makes perfect sense!

Look at a detox as a period of recovery. Horses are athletes, and recovery is essential for athletes to achieve peak success. Athletes need periods of complete rest and recuperation. After peak performance or end of a season, athletes de-train with controlled exercise to bring their bodies back into balance. Horses need a scheduled period of rest as well, as continually ‘pushing’ a horse to perform often results in fatigue, reduced performance, and even poor health and well-being.

Did you know that horses in the wild have their own detox systems? In winter, food is more scarce, so they automatically go into a period of eating very little. This allows the energy they would normally need for digestion to be used to detoxify the body. In addition, horses in the wild will also eat certain herbs and plants that have cleansing properties, such as stinging nettles.

We made a video about the digestive system and how detox can contribute to the health of your horses. You can with this educational movie – and more – on our Youtube channel: youtube.com/cavalorvideos.

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The question

We have a 3-year-old colt that performs well during training and recovers quite fast at home but during his races (mile) he is hitting a wall a furlong out. The vet believes this is caused by early lactic acid build up. I am based in the UK and race regulations don’t allow me to provide any supplements on race day. What can I do?

– Lambourn based trainer, UK

The advice

Fatigue occurs when the capacity of the muscle to perform the required exertion temporarily declines. There are multiple factors that cause fatigue in horses, and they can differ per situation. Let me walk you through 3 aspects that could make the difference in your situation. Firstly, it’s good to realise that lactate is also a very important energy source. Muscle fibers turn lactic acid into ATP. ATP is reused by the muscles as energy. When more lactic acid is produced than the muscle fibers can convert, it enters the bloodstream. There it splits into lactate and H+. It is the H+ ions that acidify the muscles. So, it’s not about shutting down the lactic acid but to neutralise the H+ ions and stimulate the positive use of lactate. Therefore we advise using Cavalor Lactatec in combination with Cavalor Peak Performance to reduce the lactic acid build-up and stimulate the lactic acid use. Secondly, it’s important to understand the key role of oxygen in this process. As long as muscle cells receive enough oxygen to fulfil the need for aerobic energy production, they will produce a manageable amount of lactic acid. Once the muscle cells lack oxygen to produce aerobic energy, they will start working anaerobically, which causes higher lactic acid production. Horses in stress often breathe inefficiently which leads to lower oxygen transport towards the muscle cells. Cavalor Take it Easy Forte helps the horse to reduce his stress during race, which could be the solution in this case. Last but not least: choose the right source of energy for the muscle cell to use. As long as the muscle works aerobically, it uses fat and fiber as a source of energy. Once the muscle cells start working anaerobically, it will need carbohydrates as a source of energy. By feeding the horse sufficient fat and fibre we can make it more efficient in the use of fat and fiber to produce energy. This will also help to delay fatigue. Here we advise to have to horse ration 50% Cavalor Endurix (high in fat and sufficiënt carbohydrates for anaerobic effort) in combination with 50% Cavalor FiberForce (low in sugar and starch, more oil and fiber). All Cavalor supplements are compliant with FEI and Jockey Club rules. Of course, always take local race regulations into account when using supplements.

– Cavalor Nutritionist, Peter Bollen

EVERY HORSE IS DIFFERENT. EVERY HORSE HAS INDIVIDUAL NEEDS. FEED YOUR HORSE ACCORDING TO ITS NEEDS. WOULD YOU LIKE A CONSULTATION? THEN VISIT WWW.MYCAVALOR.COM OR CALL OUR CONSUMER LINE: +32(0)92202525

ADVICE FROM OUR EXPERT (ASSUMING YOUR HORSE WEIGHS 500KG)

• Minimum 7.5 kg hay, divided into several portions per day • Cavalor Endurix 2 kg • Cavalor FiberForce 2 kg • Supplement with Cavalor Lactatec in combination with Cavalor Peak Performance