How important is Vitamin E for the racehorse?
Actually, it plays several important roles. It helps in normal muscle function. It acts as a powerful antioxidant to protect the horse’s cell membranes and helps ward off disease. Horses that don’t get enough Vitamin E can suffer from fatigue, damage of muscle and nervous systems. They can have skin issues and just overall poor performance. This, in turn can lead to a decrease in the horse’s immune system, diminished muscle and even lameness. This is especially true for horses that get a lot of exercise, such as racehorses, due to the fact that exercise can induce oxidative stress and further lower the horse’s Vitamin E levels. Horses that are traveling and competing may also need additional vitamin support for their immune function and overall performance. Recent studies have shown that unless a horse is fed entirely fresh green grass, it’s likely that they may have a vitamin E deficiency. While Alfalfa and quality grass hays are good sources, but between 30 and 80% of the vitamin content is lost between cutting, baling and storage. So how much vitamin E is needed? Research suggests that horses may need a much higher amount than was previously thought. In fact, there was a recent study at the University of Kentucky that found that study horses that were given 800IU’s of vitamin E per day didn’t maintain their optimum blood and muscle vitamin E levels. Equine Omega Complete has 1,200 IU’s of all natural vitamin E per daily dose.
Why is all natural important? It’s because natural sources have as much as six times more bioavailability for the horse than synthetic versions. If your supplement doesn’t specifically state that the vitamin in it is all natural, it is mostly like synthetic. It’s important to note that Vitamin E is a fat-soluble vitamin… so needs to be fed with fat in order for it to be effective for the horse. Equine Omega Complete’s healthy fat is an excellent partner in this. We invite you to visit our website for more information: www.o3animalhealth.com
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