Horses are known for the explosive power that comes from strong, fully engaged muscles. Along with proper training, an amino acid supplement can help improve muscling, stamina, and explosive strength in horses.
Amino acids are critical to a horse’s health because they are the building blocks of nearly every soft tissue component within the body including muscles, tendons, ligaments, and the nervous system. Amino acids are most well-known for their role in building muscle, but the body needs amino acids to make hormones, enzymes, and anti-bodies as well. There are 20 amino acids, and the horse is capable of producing some amino acids on their own. However, there are other amino acids a horse must consume from the diet, and these are called essential amino acids.
Amino acids are required in a very unique order and quantity. In order for proper growth and generation of muscle, all amino acids must be present in a very specific combination. It’s a lot like building a house where the house is a metaphor for building strong muscle. Imagine every component of the house as a different amino acid. The foundation, flooring, walls, siding and finally the roof are all essential parts of building a house in exactly the same way that each amino acid is an essential part of building a strong horse.
If a contractor runs out of concrete while pouring the foundation, the building process stops until more concrete arrives. If the contractor runs out of drywall, the building process stops until more dry wall arrives. Amino acids are very similar; if one amino acid is in short supply, muscle building cannot continue until that specific amino acid has been added back into the diet.
Amino acids at risk of being shorted in the diet are called “limiting amino acids”, and in horses, the “first limiting” amino acid is generally lysine. Horse owners should make a habit of looking for lysine, methionine, and threonine on their feed tags. Typically, these are listed right under crude protein in the guaranteed analysis section of the feed tag. Certain feedstuffs are naturally high in amino acids such as soybean meal, alfalfa, and fresh pasture growth.
Many performance horses may not have an adequate amino acid profile in their diet, so feeding an amino acid supplement such as Bluebonnet® Competitive Edge® ensures all amino acids are available for use in the body. These amino acids will help build muscle, improve top line, and reduce recovery time after intense training, long hauls, and big shows.
Amino Acids also play a special role in supporting power, speed, and stamina. For a specialized approach in helping your horse peak at just the right time, Moving Up TM has proven to be a powerful weapon. This supplement combines amino acids, peptides, and antioxidants to help your horse deal with the stress and strain of travel while repairing body tissues at rapid speed to support stamina.
Bluebonnet® Competitive Edge® and Moving UpTM can be purchased online or through your local Bluebonnet Feeds or Stride Animal Health dealer.