Question for Trainer or Vet

[highnote]

My friend wrote me this email about his horse and wondered if I might be able to help him find some info. Does anyone have anything they can add or suggest where to get more info? Thanks. -- John Swetye

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New xrays indicate that the knee epiphisys is still open on the lateral
side. He is still on a light
training schedule but is getting legged up super. The Adams book Lameness
of Horses advocates
to continue training and working the horse but limiting the starts. I am
really in no rush. I believe the trainer is overfeeding the horse and will
have a conversation tomorrow.
Are you still in touch with trainers? I would like to know what is the
experience with the
Purina balanced feed RACE READY, STRATEGY, and ATHLETE for horses in
training. These are
high fat (energy) feeds. The last-named is a concentrated pellet used to
mix with grains.
KM is a light-frame horse, about 980 lbs and 16.i , and <i want to find a
ration that will give him
the energy he needs, without excessive carbohydrates.

[David McKenzie]

John,

I asked my friend, the equine vet, and she was kind enough to respond.


The short answer is that I've heard some quite positive feedback about feeding Strategy to horses in training.
_
The long answer is that it's impossible to answer this complicated question without a LOT of information (hay analysis - regional deficiencies??, Ca++/Phos ratios, is horse lame? ...physis just "open" (normal assuming this is a 2 yr old) or does he have "epiphysitis" (dysplasia)?, history of angular and/or flexure limb deformities?... siblings with problems? Does he land flat?
_
My personal feeling is that 2 is too young to be racing a horse - but that's just me._ :)
It's completely normal for a 2 yr old to have open physes (bones still growing) - your friend is correct to be aware of problems related to over-feeding during phases of rapid growth._ I would say that if he shows any pain whatsoever above his knees to back off the training too... othewise moderate work and good general management is the answer.

_
btw - here's a nice little blurb about hi-fat diets in performance horses:_
http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/resources/livestock/horses/ag558-7.html
_
and here's a good general chart to base calculations on:
http://ohioline.osu.edu/b762/b762_16.html
_
and for "the source" (IMO) about nutrition, go here:
_
http://www.ker.com/Research/ResearchSummaries/ResearchTOC.pdf
_

[highnote]

Thanks, David. I forgot all about your vet friend. I'll pass this along. --John

[VetScratch]

I concur with David. If your friend is really starting to "race train" a 2YO (Jan 1), you need to consider the age from actual foaling date and think about backing off till you get better looking x-rays... and if a country-practice general livestock vet took the x-rays, I suggest having a track vet look at them because open knee joints are always a relative-degree issue. How open is too open is a matter of judgment.