Shining from the beginning
Achieving show shine condition involves a lot of hard work; washing, grooming, trimming but to get the best results there needs to be some nutritional groundwork. And it can start early!
There is a procedure known as foetal programming that is used in production animals. During the third trimester of pregnancy changes to the mother’s nutrition can impact specific characteristics on the developing foetus. Increasing the level of nutrition during late pregnancy can result in a more even and attractive coat. Even in the adult horse, it has been shown that diet can produce a finer, stronger and more flexible hair – all good characteristics for show condition.
Feeding to promote health and wellbeing
Traditionally, the Show Horse was fed to maintain a perception of condition, this no longer seems valid. The saying ‘I’m not fat, I’m in show condition’ has been replaced with a more pragmatic approach combining conformation with health and wellbeing.
Central to this is a more holistic approach to the term condition, one which encompasses skeletal, muscular and fat conformations, as well as skin and coat condition, wellbeing and activity. What may be surprising is that oil is also central to all these aspects. Obviously, oil provides energy, but it also has a range of structural and functional roles that support many metabolic processes in the horse that break down food, drink and drugs to provide nutrients and energy.
Oil as part of the diet can substantially increase energy intake to aid the competition horse, as well as reducing the reliance on starchy feeds. The main role of oil has been as a provider of energy and an energy store, in the form of fat reserves and these functions have had particular importance to the show horse.
Feeding oil ensures a good intake of energy and maintained fat storage. Oil is high in energy when compared to other feed ingredients and supplies slow-release energy, alongside fibre. Slow-release energy provides energy for most metabolic processes, activity and body heat.
Linseed Oil
Linseed oil is an excellent product to supply slow-release energy, but also provides the omega fatty acids that contribute to skin and coat condition, general well-being and regulatory mechanisms which are responsible for maintaining the core body temperature.
British Horse Feeds’ Cooked Linseed is an ideal product. With 39% oil, almost a half of which is as omega-3 fatty acids, it provides a protein source rich in components that help maintain musculature and recovery, and ease of feeding. Cooked Linseed provides the energy, simplicity and versatility of a complementary feed for the competition horse. Ready to feed straight from the sack, Cooked Linseed is a good nutritious feed for performance, condition, skin and coat and wellbeing and is also suitable for those prone to laminitis.
Why feed Cooked Linseed?
Cooked Linseed has undergone gentle heat/moisture treatment to avoid disruption of bioactive components. These components include antioxidant vitamins which have a role in supporting skin and coat health, helping to reduce NOX, a strong pro-oxidant, while vitamin C offers a general antioxidant.
All of this helps maintain the correct oxidative status throughout the body and acts as an antioxidant for the horse keeping them in the best of health. The high levels of omega-3, omega-6 and omega-9 fatty acids in Cooked Linseed help to aid skin and coat condition, whilst the high quality protein supports muscle activity and topline.
Don’t just take our word for it…
“We fully believe that his diet of Fibre-Beet and Cooked Linseed, keeps him in tip-top condition and gives him slow-release energy to go gallivanting across the countryside and enjoying himself. He really doesn’t look or act like his age.”
If you would like further feeding advice, please contact our friendly and knowledgeable team on 01765 680300.
