34/ FEBRUARY 2019 THE RIDER


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


Keeping Your Horse’s Topline in Tiptop Condition


Jean Klosowicz Equine Nutrition Consultant & Educator


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 ex- pressing behaviour 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 ad- equate 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 program 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


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 overweight 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 natu- ral amino acids identified, and 10 of these are essential 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 compro- mised. Limiting Amino Acids in-


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


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longissimus dorsi (pelvis-tho- racic vertebrae-last four cervical vertebrae), the latissimus dorsi (upper and mid back vertebrae- lower lumbar vertebrae), and the thoracic trapezius (neck- midback vertebrae-shoulder blade). Topline can be affected to


a certain degree by conforma- tion, age, training and intensity, and injury, but mostly by nutri- tion. Exercise will condition muscle but it really needs to be fuelled by the right types of amino acids in sufficient quan- tities. If the diet lacks sufficient amino acids and calories, exist- ing muscle mass can actually shrink even with the exercise. A poor topline (withers, back, loin, croup) is the result of little or no fat due to inadequate calo- ries, poor muscling caused by AA deficiency or imbalance, and in severe cases muscle atro- phy. A superior amino acid pro- file is needed to repair, build and recover muscle especially along the topline. Just as we use Body Con-


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dition Scoring to monitor fat de- posits on horses and to identify if caloric intake should be ad- justed, 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://toplinebalance.com/toplin e-resources/ Keep in mind that the


topline of a horse is mostly muscle - if the horse has a BCS


clude Lysine followed by Me- thionine. 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 considered to be the weakest link of the chain so pro- tein quality is only as high as the level of the lysine and me- thionine in the diet. Most feed products will give lysine, me- thionine, threonine and trypto- phan levels on the bag, indicating that the feed is a high quality source of protein. Con- tact the manufacturer for more information and check the in- gredients 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 de- ficiencies will show up in your horse's topline, skin, hair, hooves and overall muscle con- dition. 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 sup- port optimal growth, develop- ment and performance? The NRC* suggests that a 500 kg horse, average temperament and at maintenance requires 27.1 g Lysine per day. Methionine re- quirement is generally 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 de- livering 3 g lysine and 1.0 g me-


thionine, far below the require- ments!. In this case you would have to feed 9X the amount of hay to achieve the requirements - which is impossible 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 in- crease 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; Al- falfa 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 consid-


ered to be the closest to being the perfect protein source be- cause it has all the AAs in the right proportions. A complete listing of forages, grains and feedstuffs and their AA profiles can be found in the *National Research Council's Nutrient Re- quirements of Horses, 6th ed. If your horse has a less


than perfect topline, always turn to the diet first to make im- provements. After you make the necessary adjustments, you should be seeing good results in 30-90 days. If you are not sure of the Amino Acid profile and amounts in a commercial 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: al- ways 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 superi- orequine@gmail.com.


Reference: National Research Council Nutrient Requirements of Horses, 6th ed. 2007.


Photo Credits: Hygain.com.au and


feeds.co.uk


Cheers! Jean Klosowicz, Equine Nutri- tion Consultant & Educator Superior Equine Health & Nu- trition Inc. 338 Hwy 638, Bruce Mines, ON P0R 1C0 cell: 705.260.0293, email: su- periorequine@gmail.com facebook: @SuperiorEquine


All articles are for general


information purposes only and are not intended to replace the advice of a veterinarian, or pro- vide a diagnosis for your horse.


www.baileyshorse


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