34/ JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2018 THE RIDER


Equine Wellness: Health and Nutrition with Jean Klosowicz, Superior Equine Health and Nutrition Inc.


Keeping Your Horse’s Topline in Tiptop Condition Does your horse have a


topline that has been showing deterioration while on winter hay? Perhaps you have been working him/her through the winter and still the topline looks shallow and sunken? Maybe your saddle isn’t fitting your horse quite as well as it should be? Or perhaps when you do ride, your horse is expressing be- haviour issues, or has difficulty in changing leads? These could all be indica-


tive of a poor topline and a low quality protein diet. Even though you may be feeding ade- quate amounts of protein (ex- pressed as Crude Protein content), it is the quality of the protein and balance of Amino Acids (AA) that affect the topline. If there is a problem with the topline, usually there is a problem with the nutrition pro- gram your horse is on. Let’s dig a little deeper on this subject, and hopefully it will make more sense to you... So what


is “Topline”? Topline refers to the muscle


groups that run along the horse’s spine: from the end of the neck at the withers, down the back and loin, and over the hip into the croup. The three main muscle groups are the longissimus dorsi (pelvis-thoracic vertebrae-last four cervical vertebrae), the latis- simus dorsi (upper and mid back vertebrae-lower lumbar verte- brae), and the thoracic trapezius (neck- midback vertebrae-shoul- der blade). Topline can be affected to a


certain degree by conformation, age, training and intensity, and in- jury, but mostly by nutrition. Ex- ercise will condition muscle but it really needs to be fuelled by the right types of amino acids in suf- ficient quantities. If the diet lacks sufficient amino acids and calo- ries, existing muscle mass can ac- tually shrink even with the exercise. A poor topline (withers, back, loin, croup) is the result of little or no fat due to inadequate calories, poor muscling caused by AA deficiency or imbalance, and in severe cases muscle atrophy. A superior amino acid profile is needed to repair, build and re- cover muscle especially along the topline. Just as we use Body Condi-


tion Scoring to monitor fat de- posits on horses and to identify if caloric intake should be adjusted, the Topline Evaluation Score (TES) helps us to grade the topline musculature and amino acid status. It is very easy to do - more information about the TES can be found at http://toplinebal- ance.com/topline-resources/ Keep in mind that the topline of a horse is mostly mus-


cle - if the horse has a BCS of 8 or more, fat layers over the topline musculature then be- come more visible. The goal of a good topline is to increase muscle mass not fat. By doing both the BCS and the TES, it will tell a more complete story of the caloric status and the amino acid status - two very dif- ferent types of scoring systems and results! Can horses be over- weight and still have a poor topline? YES! (see the example below).


More about Amino Acids: Did you know that muscle is made up of about 73% Protein, which is comprised of amino acid chains? There are 22 natural amino acids identified, and 10 of these are es- sential to the diet of the horse: Methionine, Histidine, Arginine, Leucine, Lysine, Phenylalanine, Valine, Threonine, Tryptophan and Isoleucine. If feed lacks bal- anced amounts of any of the es- sential amino acids,


topline


development and other tissues in the body may be compromised. Limiting Amino Acids in-


clude Lysine followed by Methio- nine. If they are not present in the diet at the right levels, they will “limit” the extent of protein being built in the body by the other eight essential AA. They are con- sidered to be the weakest link of the chain so protein quality is only as high as the level of the ly- sine and methionine in the diet. Most feed products will give ly- sine, methionine, threonine and tryptophan levels on the bag, in- dicating that the feed is a high quality source of protein. Contact the manufacturer for more infor- mation and check the ingredients on the label too for sources of high quality protein. How do you know if you are


feeding a diet deficient in Amino Acids? Signs of AA deficiencies will show up in your horse’s topline, skin, hair, hooves and overall muscle condition. But to make sure, it is best to do some calculations to see what is going on with the diet. Remember, even though you may be meeting the “amount of protein” require- ments (Crude Protein) for your horse, it is the quality of protein that you may need to focus on and the amino acid profile. Did you know that most


grass hays and/ or cereal grains cannot come close to meeting the required AA intake to support op- timal growth, development and performance? The NRC* sug- gests that a 500 kg horse, average temperament and at maintenance requires 27.1 g Lysine per day. Methionine requirement is gener- ally 1/3 of Lysine so that would be 9 grams per day. If you were feeding 2% BW


of good quality Grass Hay, that would be 10 kg of hay delivering 3 g lysine and 1.0 g methionine, far below the requirements!. In this case you would have to feed 9X the amount of hay to achieve the requirements - which is im-


possible to do! Right off, you will know that you need to seek other sources of AA to provide your horse with the high quality of protein needed to avoid loss of topline, protect tissue integrity and to increase performance. Here is a list of common


feedstuffs for horses with values for %Lysine and %Methionine (L/M) from NRC* : Grass Hay (cool season) 0.03 / 0.01; Alfalfa Hay 0.21 / 0.06; Soybean Meal 3.08 / 0.67; Oats 0.44 / 0.24; Beet Pulp 0.55 / 0.08; Flaxseed Meal 1.32 / 0.65 Soybean Meal is considered


to be the closest to being the per- fect protein source because it has all the AAs in the right propor- tions. A complete listing of for- ages, grains and feedstuffs and their AA profiles can be found in the *National Research Council’s Nutrient Requirements of Horses, 6th ed. If your horse has a less than


perfect topline, always turn to the diet first to make improvements. After you make the necessary ad- justments, you should be seeing good results in 30-90 days. If you are not sure of the Amino Acid profile and amounts in a commer- cial feed, it is best to contact the company to get the answers you need. The Amino Acid profile is part of a complete nutrition plan: always analyze your hay, balance minerals, and supplement vita- mins and minerals to your horse’s needs to achieve peak health and performance for your horse. If you have any questions,


please send an email to superiore- quine@gmail.com.


Reference: National Research Council Nutrient Requirements of Horses, 6th ed. 2007. Photo Credits: Hygain.com.au a


n www.baileyshorsefeeds.co.uk


Cheers! Jean Klosowicz, Equine Nutrition Consultant & Educator Superior Equine Health and Nu- trition Inc. Bruce Mines, ON www.superiorequinenutrition.com www.feedmyhorse.ca fb: @SuperiorEquine


All values are expressed on a Dry Matter Basis (DM);


ppm


(mg/kg) refers to concentration in the total diet; NRC refers to NRC’s Nutrient Requirements of Horses, 6th ed. All articles are for general


information purposes only and are not intended to replace the ad- vice of a veterinarian, or provide a diagnosis for your horse.


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