Nutrition of stallions at stud

[Elles]

How do these stallion owners make these stallions look so massive? They looks twice as heavy bodied then when they were in training. Is it protein/amino acids for muscle or are these horses mostly just (too) fat?

Like this kind of look:

[Mood Swings]

It is testosterone. Stallions do not typically need fancy feed programs to make them look massive. They are of course well fed

[Elles]

So an owner could never make a gelding or a mare look like that?

How about alfalfa? Do a lot of horses get it and is that a good thing or not? Because I know halter horses get it to muscle up.
http://www.grandadventuresranch.com/art ... falfa.html

[Mood Swings]

Some mares and geldings are genetically predisposed to be "fleshier" Is that spelled right? than others. They will not require as much feed to look as good as another.

In short - you can't usually make a gelding or mare look like that unless you are "helping" them by over feeding or administering steroids (neither of which is particularly good for the horse).

[Elles]

Do people also feed a lot of fat to stallions? I read a lot of positive things in articles about fat. Are there no negatives to feeding fat?
http://jas.fass.org/cgi/reprint/74/6/1252.pdf
Because I also read the following:
Dietary fat and vitamin E - what's the connection?

In the last five or ten years, we've become increasingly aware of the importance of fat in the equine diet. Fat is an excellent, easily-digested source of energy, and many horses are now consuming diets that are quite high in fat. Something we may not have thought enough about is the fact that any diet high in unsaturated fat is going to increase the body's requirements for vitamin E. There's nothing wrong with feeding fat to horses, whether it's to help the digestion of an old horse or to "shine up" the coat of a show animal, but it IS important to realize that with every increase in fat there should be an increase in the animal's consumption of vitamin E.

Which vitamin E? Does it matter?

And while we're on the subject of this vitamin - let's talk for a moment about natural vitamins vs synthetic ones. For some vitamins, it doesn't matter - the natural and synthetic versions are identical, and both the natural and the synthetic versions work the same way. Unfortunately this is not true of vitamin E - the natural and synthetic versions are NOT the same. Some natural molecules are produced in two forms that are mirror images of each other, and the body is very particular about which form it accepts.

We can't synthesize an equivalent version of the vitamin E molecule - we're just not that sophisticated yet! The synthetic "d-l" version is NOT a duplicate of the natural "d" version. In the case of vitamin E molecules, only the natural version will actually "fit" the body's receptors. This is why the natural version has been shown to remain in the body longer and why it gets distributed to the tissues more effectively. The "d-l" version is going to be roughly half as effective as the "d" version - IF that.

Natural vitamin E is more biologically active than its synthetic counterpart, and may be as much as twice as bio-available. This is why many doctors and veterinarians are recommending that their patients take the natural vitamin E rather than the synthetic version.

Read your labels carefully! There's a one-letter difference between the natural and the synthetic, very easy to miss if your eyesight is poor or if you are in a hurry. The label on the natural vitamin E will begin with "d" (e.g., d-alpha-tocopherol), whereas the synthetic one will begin with "dl" (e.g., dl-alpha-tocopherol). It's easy to make a mistake.

Probably the best way to feed the supplement will be to purchase the natural vitamin E in capsules and add the vitamin to your horse's daily feed by piercing the capsules and squeezing the oil onto the horse's grain. There was a time when horseowners who wanted to feed additional vitamin E would buy gallons of wheat germ oil and add that to their horses' diets, but this isn't always successful. The oil, like any other oil, can go rancid rather quickly, at which point it is useless as well as unpalatable. It doesn't take long for the active vitamin E to disappear from wheat germ oil, and I wouldn't recommend it as a reliable source of vitamin E. Again, ask your vet - he may know of a source for small amounts of fresh wheat germ oil. Whatever kind of oil you are feeding, be sure that it is FRESH. Rancid oil, even slightly rancid oil, can really use up all of the vitamin E you're feeding the horse... under the circumstances, I'd be tempted to use small containers of cold-pressed oils.

[nythoroughbredvz]

Why Rice Bran Oil:

Body Builder is great, but costly I would look at Rice Bran, oil is best, or meal...this is what helps also with fertility in both mares and stallions and healthier pregnacies in broodmares. this is also what brings on the weight and muscle mass through "body builder".. 5 gallons of rice bran oil for $36.00 or 1QT. concentrated for $60-$70 for Bodybuilder... they both contain what you are looking for, both provide the same thing's..

On the other hand, rice bran products are invaluable as an energy dense feed, particularly applicable to the energy demands created by aerobic exercise. Because hard-working equine athletes are often unable to consume as much feed as necessary to maintain a high level of exercise, we need to find concentrated foodstuffs that supply calories without creating intestinal fill. Rice bran is one such substance that fits this criteria.
To give you a general comparison of caloric value of rice bran relative to other products, consider that 1 pound of rice bran is comparable to 1.3 pounds oats or 8 fluid ounces of corn oil. The fat in rice bran products is at least 85% digestible, but make sure the product you purchase is heat stabilized as the fat rapidly becomes rancid.

There really is no close substitute to feeding vegetable oil as a means of packing the calories and energy to your horse. Vegetable oil has been fed with success to performance horses for years by adding up to 10% of the diet as fat. In other words, a 1000 pound horse will readily consume as much as 1 cup vegetable oil twice a day added to some grain. If feeding rice bran, a horse can safely consume 1 cup (~ 1 pound) twice a day. Dietary fat is particularly effective in providing useable energy to horses involved in aerobic athletics, like distance trail horses or Event horses. It is palatable and efficiently metabolized to fuel aerobic activities.


http://www.honestfoods.com/topricbranoi.html


Rice Bran Oil out performs Wheat Germ Oil... contains vitamins, antioxidants, nutrients , it can help lower cholesterol, fight diseases, enhance the immune system, fight free radicals and more. Rice Bran Oil is extremely light, A source of vitamin E complex, antioxidants and other micronutrients to help fight free radicals and combat the effects of aging. Rice bran oil has more of these components than any other oils. The components of rice bran oil give it an outstanding shelf life.
Rice bran oil is a naturally occurring source of many antioxidants such as Tocopherols, Tocotrienols, Gamma Oryzanol, Phytosterols, Polyphenols and Squalene.

[Elles]

http://www.critterchat.net/oils.htm

[madelyn]

Where do you get 5 gals of Rice Bran Oil for $36?

[nythoroughbredvz]

Click on the link dear! plus shipping, but some oriental resteraunts use it. you may be able to get it from their supplier just by calling around your area..
http://www.honestfoods.com/topricbranoi.html

[madelyn]

Does it last longer (and keep its nutritional value) if it is refrigerated?

[nythoroughbredvz]

make sure the product you purchase is heat stabilized as the fat rapidly becomes rancid. Most comercial rice bran oil is heat stabelized just for shelf life and safety purposes. I would check local resteraunts to save on shipping I have never had any go bad. I would be more concerned about a stable temperature than refrigeration. drastic temperature changes can cause the container to sweat etc.. if its heat stabelized you have nothing to wory about! Body builder claims they have concentrated ride bran oil in their product, and what it provides is the major selling point for Body Builder.... well heat stabelized is a form of concentration, all impurities are boiled out of the oil.. I think you will be pleased if you try it.

[Elles]

http://www.balancedequinenutrition.com/NSCinFeeds.pdf
Some feeds are high in fat and high fat levels may worsen insulin resistance.

http://cat.inist.fr/?aModele=afficheN&cpsidt=982250

http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1987Sci...237..885S
Non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus is an increasingly prevalent disease in Western and developing societies. A major metabolic abnormality of non-insulin-dependent diabetes is impaired insulin action (insulin resistance). Diets high in fat from vegetable and nonaquatic animal sources (rich in linoleic acid, an ω -6 fatty acid, and saturated fats) lead to insulin resistance. In rats fed high-fat diets, replacement of only 6 percent of the linoleic ω -6 fatty acids from safflower oil with long-chain polyunsaturated ω -3 fatty acids from fish oil prevented the development of insulin resistance. The effect was most pronounced in the liver and skeletal muscle, which have important roles in glucose supply and demand. The results may be important for therapy or prevention of non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus.

And about vitamin D and cod liver oil:
http://www.westonaprice.org/basicnutrit ... racle.html

[nythoroughbredvz]

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