All about protein - well worth downlaoding and reading

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JillA

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It's a bit technical (made my brain hurt lol) but it really is worth a read - free E book from Forageplus https://www.facebook.com/Forageplus/?hc_ref=PAGES_TIMELINE&fref=nf (hope you can see it, I have downloaded it but not sure if I can link to a document.
My horses have had hugely better feet since I started increasing their protein, with amino acids, whey and soya, and the one with thin soles is marching over road planings like they aren't there now. I am hoping their immune systems will benefit too, so far some slight mud rash has started then given up and gone away :)
 
JillA said:
Maybe so, but where is the evidence? Studies? Done on equids? Or just on humans?
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May not yet been studies except for those of us that have evidenced the increasing hormonal problems horses are now exhibiting since the introduction of soy.

In NZ the introduction of processed feeds is a few decades behind the UK, SOY has only been freely available for around 20 years, we are now beginning to see the problems soy is inducing.

The feed manufacturers are becoming aware as it is now possible to buy soy free feeds.

The protein and amino acids in oats have been suitable for horses for hundreds of years, work horses correctly to improve muscle mass. they only need around 8-10% protein unless working extremely hard.
 
Did you read the article? Lack of protein isn't only implicated in lack of muscle, it is also in poor feet, skin and immune system. And oats are very high in starch, which we are finding causes more problems
"Nutrients in Oats:
On average, oats normally contain around 12% Crude Protein, 49% NSC (non-structural carbohydrates = total sugars and starches), 29% Fibre, 5% Fat and 5% Ash (total minerals and vitamins). " from an equine nutrition website.

I would hesitate to lay "hormonal problems" at the feet of feeding soya, in that timescale there have been huge changes in environmental factors as well as diagnosis and awareness. Without a proper study who knows which of those or many other factors could be responsible.
 
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I don't think the majority of leisure horses are going to need high levels of protein though? And I also don't see huge numbers of problems with feet/skin/immunity, etc. I participated in a comprehensive nutritional study by Ft Collins University in Colorado years ago which concluded that "normal" horses didn't have a need for protein levels much over 10%. "Non-normal" would be broodmares in the last trimester, lactating and very hard working (racing).
 
JillA said:
Did you read the article? Lack of protein isn't only implicated in lack of muscle, it is also in poor feet, skin and immune system. And oats are very high in starch, which we are finding causes more problems
"Nutrients in Oats:
On average, oats normally contain around 12% Crude Protein, 49% NSC (non-structural carbohydrates = total sugars and starches), 29% Fibre, 5% Fat and 5% Ash (total minerals and vitamins). " from an equine nutrition website.

I would hesitate to lay "hormonal problems" at the feet of feeding soya, in that timescale there have been huge changes in environmental factors as well as diagnosis and awareness. Without a proper study who knows which of those or many other factors could be responsible.
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Except that I see more horses with poor feet, skin and immune systems now than I ever did when they were fed the basics. I've been in the game for 50 years!
 
47 years here, but actually JillA I think Tnavas is on the opposite side of the argument? We certainly don't see a huge problem with poor feet/skin etc. here in Ireland where the feeding regime is a lot more "traditional" than in the UK.
 
Cortez said:
47 years here, but actually JillA I think Tnavas is on the opposite side of the argument? We certainly don't see a huge problem with poor feet/skin etc. here in Ireland where the feeding regime is a lot more "traditional" than in the UK.
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I think JillA has misunderstood my post lol! If you can keep 30 odd horses and ponies with an average age in their late teens sound for ten years in a riding school, fed solely on oats or barley with meadow chaff, grazing 24/7 on rye grass, then you certainly have a good feeding regime. I don't even remember having a single lame one in all that time.

It really worries what they put in commercial feeds, and they are not tested on fat ponies or leisure horses, they will have been extensively researched for the racing industry, and watered down for the general horse. I worked for a top NZ trainer, with over 100 horses in traing and not one was fed a processed feed.
 
JillA said:
Did you read the article? Lack of protein isn't only implicated in lack of muscle, it is also in poor feet, skin and immune system. And oats are very high in starch, which we are finding causes more problems
"Nutrients in Oats:
On average, oats normally contain around 12% Crude Protein, 49% NSC (non-structural carbohydrates = total sugars and starches), 29% Fibre, 5% Fat and 5% Ash (total minerals and vitamins). " from an equine nutrition website.

I would hesitate to lay "hormonal problems" at the feet of feeding soya, in that timescale there have been huge changes in environmental factors as well as diagnosis and awareness. Without a proper study who knows which of those or many other factors could be responsible.
Click to expand...

Tnavas is worried about soy, not protein. There is a lot of evidence of adverse effects of soy on the endocrine systems of mammals. Google 'soy endocrine' and you will find numerous articles and studies.


Regarding protein levels, I feed one horse nothing but forage and the other half to one kilo of oats a day only in the winter. Both are very heavily muscled, have great feet, shine like a mirror and seem totally healthy. I've never paid any attention to protein levels and never knowingly had any problems from low protein levels.

I know of one horse with severely cracked feet that had a protein absorption issue identified on blood testing, who was better when fed a diet artificially high in protein. They exist, but it's a specific disease.
 
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