waste products and decreasing energy reserves; and central fatigue linked to falling brain serotonin (the
F E AT U R E
Feeding and fatigue
‘happy’ hormone), which is associated with decreased motivation, lethargy, tiredness and incoordination. Fatigue in flat racing, eventing, polo, show jumping and carriage horses is a different combination to fatigue in endurance and trail horses, and in dressage and arena horses performing
What’s in the feed bin can help your horse perform a task more easily, decrease their injury risk and delay fatigue, writes DR JENNIFER STEWART.
H
orses are elite athletes, reaching speeds up to 88.5kph, with a heart that
every minute can beat 240 times and pump 300 litres of blood, and lungs that can breathe 120 breaths a minute and move 60 litres of air a second. Ultimately
complex manoeuvres. Genetics and training determine athletic potential how close a horse comes to reaching potential is affected by nutrition. Nutrition and training should minimise
however, fatigue limits performance and they either stop exercising or slow down.
the exercise-induced changes that herald
Three broad categories of fatigue can occur alone or in combination. Structural fatigue from poorly trained or tired tendons and muscles; metabolic fatigue from increasing body heat,
familiarise the muscles with the demands
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fatigue. The purpose of training is to of the discipline. The diet must support this with different forms of energy, the correct protein array, micronutrients, antioxidants and vitamins.
