Proper Nutrition for your Horse

If you've never considered natural or alternative approaches for your horse's health, you might be interested in learning the positive influence of doing so. The following is an excerpt from Don't Horse Around with Our Health by Jim Lane.

This book educates horse owners, vets and trainers about how proper nutrition, training, dental care, hoof care, saddle fitting and understanding how the nervous systems work can help improve a horse's life. It also discusses some unique alternative therapies such as magnets, massage and chiropractic care.

Importance of Proper Nutrition During the Healing Process: Proteins

Hippocrates (460 BC - 377 BC), a Greek physician and known as the "father of medicine", talked extensively about how "food should be our medicine" and "our medicine should be our food". He was, of course, speaking of humans as he exemplified how proper nourishment can go a long way in healing. The same is nonetheless true of animals. You might say this only pertains to "disease" conditions. But it is no less important in the face of physical injury; the body needs the proper building blocks to repair the injured tissues. All nutrients are important, but in this abbreviated article we will look primarily at protein and its importance during the healing process. The central dogma of modern conventional biology states that the life processes are genetically controlled -- called genetic determinism. In other words, the dogma says that the health and the fate of the organism are determined by the genetic inheritance. However, recent advances in cellular science are showing us otherwise: Environmental influences can affect the behavior of genes and thus the environment affects cellular behavior. This "environment" includes not just the external physicality but also the internal physiology, with the internal physiology being dependent upon the proper "fuel" to operate and repair itself. That "fuel for the horse is biologically appropriate nutrition. Cells are comprised of proteins, carbohydrates, nucleic acids, and lipids; proteins are one of the major components (along with lipids) of all plant and animal cells, being involved in the growth and development -- including repair -- of all body tissues as well as reproduction and immunity. Proteins are actually chains of amino acids; when a horse ingests protein as a whole, his body breaks it down (called de-hydration synthesis) into the amino acid components, re-arranging them (sequencing & folding) as needed for any particular function. Some amino acids are synthesized within the body (called non-essential) and some have to be derived from diet (called essential). Proteins are labile; meaning they wear out with use and must be replenished. If a particular amino acid is in limited supply or is missing (or has been "used up"), its particular action will cease.