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| Bio-Mos:
Keep Racehorses Performing at their Peak |
The thoroughbred racehorse sets the world standard for speed and agility, competing primarily in flat and jump racing. Performance at this level requires soundness and an ability to work and maintain fitness, factors that can be hard to maintain. Thoroughbreds mature early, and can be prone to behavioural and digestive problems, which are exacerbated by early feed and training regimes. Any weaknesses may be further manifested as susceptibility to disease or injury. Sources of physiological stress Immature racehorses, which are being prepared for the track, have large nutrient requirements, for continued growth as well as for body maintenance. They are typically fed high grain diets, which, unless balanced by suitable amounts of fibre, can lead to digestive disorders and imbalances. High levels of physical activity increases the circulating free-radicals, which are oxidative compounds that can damage membranes, tissues and immune responses. Issues for young racehorses Young horses have an immature immune system, which, if under high levels of exercise stress, can become further retarded. This can lead to increased susceptibility to infections, especially where large grain diets have been used, which can imbalance the digestive bacteria, allowing the development of pathogenic populations. This is a particular problem in animals that are being transported to many different areas and are being exposed to a large number of individuals from other regions, all carrying their own cocktail of viruses and bacteria. Making sure that each horse has a well developed immune response to a wide variety of pathogens, and can readily adapt to new environments without succumbing to infection is important for competition success as well as its future health and soundness. A good, strong, consistently healthy and performing young racehorse will not only be worth more in fiscal terms, but will require fewer veterinary interventions and less cost associated with solving health issues. Issues for mature racehorses In older horses, who may have suffered injury, inflammation and tissue damage, certain approaches can help their ongoing racing success. In addition, getting the most out of their diet is crucial to ensuing optimum performance. Thoroughbreds, as a breed, tend to be rather highly strung, and often suffer from digestive disorders, manifested as gastric pain (leading to behavioural problems), colic or diarrhoea. This may be related to insufficient fibre in the diet (which has been shown to increase overall digestive function (including high cereal diets)), gastric ulceration, and imbalances in the bacteria that reside in the caeca and are responsible for fermentation of feed and release of nutrients, including vitamins. Lack of vitamin B and certain amino acids are known to contribute to certain behavioural problems, and the availability of these components can be affected by poor digestion. Racehorses are trained and raced over a variety of different surface conditions. Good trainers recognise that individual horses have their own preferences for ground hardness ('going'). Those that run faster on hard surfaces risk concussion injuries and wear to the delicate surfaces of the joints. Those run on soft going are more likely to risk sprains, pulls and twisting injuries. Irrespective of how the injury is caused, its manifestation in the horse will have pain and repair elements in common. Horses that experience inflammation due to damage to their joints have more problems training and competing due to pain and stiffness. Oxygen, energy and performance Racehorses need to have efficient oxygen transfer around the body in order to liberate large amounts of energy in cells. The young racehorse needs to be able to develop its red blood cell populations in order to ensure adequate oxygen delivery. If a horse is exposed to infection which it cannot deal with quickly and efficiently, its ability to run as well as maintain its fitness comes into question. Any advances the trainer has made in muscle mass or respiration rate may well be lost until the animal has made a full recovery, and training has resumed once more. Oligosaccharide equine research As a reflection of the commercial importance of the racing industry, the Thoroughbred has enjoyed significantly more research into its needs than any other horse breed or discipline of equestrianism. Elements studied include exercise methods, growth and development, physiological changes as well as nutrition. More recently, specialised feed materials have been studied in their effects and benefits in racehorses. It has been well documented in other species that certain oligosaccharides can be included in animal feed to assist in maintaining gastric stability. They are known to promote the correct microbial fermentation of the diet, reducing pathogen loads in the gut lumen and ensuring efficient nutrient release and uptake. These activities can assist in reducing the gastric problems experienced by younger horses receiving grain-rich diets, such as thoroughbreds. Mannan-oligosaccharides (MOS) have provided a particular focus for equine research conducted in both Europe and America. Commercial MOS products (Bio-Mos™, Alltech Inc, USA) are already associated with improved immunity development and responsiveness, though interaction with signalling systems associated with the mammalian gut (Kelly, 2004). Research with mares and foals have shown that feeding MOS improved immunity (immunoglobulin proteins) detected from blood samples taken from the mare. This is passed to the foal via the colostrum, resulting in higher protection through innate immunity during the first few weeks of life (Ott, 2005; Czech and Grela, 2006). For older performing animals, such as racehorses, it has been shown that vaccination is more effective in horses fed MOS-supplemented diets. Trials with thoroughbreds fed 10 g per head per day MOS showed consistently higher titres (the effectiveness of protection) four weeks after vaccination for Western Equine Encephalomyelitis (WWE) and Venezuelan Encephalomyelitis (VEE) (Figure 1). Figure
1. Effect of feeding MOS to young horses on titres four weeks after vaccination
(Benage, 2005)
Health status can be gauged by blood analysis. The levels of white blood cells within a sample can be used to determine how well the horses immune system, and related repair mechanisms, are operating. Levels of neutrophil cells indicate inflammation responses, and lymphocyte numbers can show the maturity of the immune system. Trials conducted at the in the USA and in Europe using thoroughbreds showed that horses fed MOS had lower levels of neutrophils and higher levels of lymphocytes. This relates to a lower inflammatory responses, and better immune system maturity in these young animals (Figure 2).
Figure
3. MOS increases red blood cell counts in horses (Czech et al, 2006)
The use of specialist oligosaccharides, such as MOS, can be beneficial in promoting certain immune functions, including circulating cells not associated directly with immunity. Although the full reasons for these effects have yet to be fully elucidated, this trial data provides evidence for the potential importance of the application of specialist feed ingredients in promoting health and performance in young, active horses. Elevated immune function leads to fewer lost days due to recovery from infection, more willingness to perform due to less inflammation, and hence, more easily maintained fitness and training. In addition, there is now evidence to suggest there may be oxygen delivery benefits, and that veterinary costs may be reduced in the more robust horses receiving MOS in their daily feed. References Czech,
A. and Grela, E.R. (2006) in Nutritional biotechnology in the feed and food industry.
(Ed. TP Lyons and KA Jacques) Nottingham University Press, Nottingham, UK.
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