Feeding sport horses: energy for short efforts and long performances
A sport horse needs more than a leisure horse: more energy, more protein and more vitamins and minerals to recover well. But not every discipline asks for the same kind of energy. A show jumper working in short, intense bursts has different needs from an endurance horse or a dressage horse that has to stay focused for a long time. In both cases, a good ration starts with roughage.
Short answer
Build every sport horse ration on fibre: plenty of good roughage, always available. For short, explosive efforts such as show jumping, eventing or racing, a moderate amount of quickly available energy from grains can help. For long efforts such as dressage, driving and endurance, slow-release energy from fibre and fat suits better. Add sufficient digestible protein, vitamins, minerals and electrolytes for recovery.
Two kinds of effort, two kinds of energy
Short, intense efforts
In disciplines such as show jumping, eventing and racing, muscles work hard for a short time. They need energy quickly. That energy mainly comes from sugar and starch, found in grains such as oats and barley. The horse digests these with enzymes in the small intestine, which makes the energy available fast.
During a sprint, the muscles burn glucose partly without oxygen. This produces lactic acid, which can make muscles tired and sore. This type of energy supply only lasts a few minutes.
A horse can only digest a limited amount of starch per meal. What the small intestine cannot handle ends up in the hindgut, where it can disturb the fibre-digesting bacteria. So even for a sport horse: feed concentrates in small portions, spread over the day.
Long, steady efforts
Dressage, driving and endurance ask for stamina. Here, slow-release energy works better. Fibre is fermented by bacteria in the caecum and large intestine into volatile fatty acids, which the horse absorbs and uses as energy. Fat, for example from linseed, is also a concentrated source of slow-release energy.
During long efforts with sufficient oxygen, muscles burn fatty acids and glucose without producing large amounts of lactic acid. Energy from fibre and fat does not come in a peak, which helps horses that easily become tense or hot to stay calm and focused.
Protein for muscle recovery
Training causes small tears in muscle fibres. The body repairs them with amino acids, the building blocks of protein, and that is how muscles become stronger. A sport horse therefore needs more digestible protein than a leisure horse.
Lucerne is a natural source of protein with a varied amino acid profile. Hartog Lucerne Mix or Hartog Lucerne Plus add protein and structure to the ration. Mixing a roughage mix through the concentrate also slows down eating and stimulates chewing and saliva production.
Vitamins, minerals and electrolytes
Vitamin E and selenium play a role in normal muscle function and protect cells against oxidative stress, which increases during hard work. A horse that sweats loses electrolytes, such as sodium, chloride and potassium, which need to be replenished. Read more in our article on electrolytes for horses.
Which Hartog products fit a sport horse ration?
- Hartog Energy: an oat-based mix for horses that need quickly available energy.
- Hartog Strength: a sport muesli for horses that need stamina. «Composition and positioning to be confirmed»
- Hartog Lucerne Mix or Hartog Lucerne Plus: extra protein and structure from lucerne.
- Hartog Digest: a roughage mix that supports the stomach and gut, useful around training and competition.
- Hartog Recovery: a mash with electrolytes to encourage drinking after hard work.
Practical tips
- Always offer roughage first, and never let your horse go longer than four hours without it.
- Give a small amount of roughage before training, so the stomach is not empty.
- Do not feed concentrates in the two hours before training or competition.
- Spread concentrates over several small meals and change the ration gradually.
- Adjust the ration to the actual workload, and reduce concentrates during rest periods.
Not sure what your sport horse needs? Request free feeding advice.
