DAN: "Is it possible for a horse to get too much protein
in their diet?"
So I was actually really excited to see this question come
through because I've spent a lot of time
on our Customer Care team, and this is definitely
a question that gets asked a lot by customers.
DR LYDIA GRAY: Yeah, I know people are concerned
about protein in horses.
And turns out that horses don't need much protein.
But according to my favorite resource--
you know what it is.
DAN: I can only imagine.
DR LYDIA GRAY: The NRC nutrient requirements of horses.
They say not much evidence exists
concerning the effect of excess protein consumption.
DAN: OK.
DR LYDIA GRAY: Meaning that there's not
a real problem with it.
Horses can tolerate a lot more protein than they need.
DAN: There's no evidence supporting that too much is
cause for concern.
DR LYDIA GRAY: What happens if they get too much
is protein is broken down by the body, specifically the liver,
and then excreted through the kidneys as urine.
And that breakdown produces a byproduct called urea,
and urea needs water to flush it out.
So if you feed your horse too much protein,
they're going to drink more water and pee more.
So a lot of people say their stalls are wetter
and they smell the ammonia.
So that's one negative--
con, I guess.
Another is--
DAN: But that's not a major health issue.
DR LYDIA GRAY: No, it's just an annoyance, yeah.
Another is, there is a little bit of evidence
that feeding too much protein with horses that are exercising
or working, it alters their acid base balance
and it might cause early fatigue.
So that would be, again, not a health issue,
per se, but more of a performance issue.
DAN: OK.
DR LYDIA GRAY: Yeah.
And then because it's quote metabolically expensive
to break down protein, meaning it takes a lot of work
and energy by the body, it's possible
that if you're feeding your horse
more protein than he requires, that he's actually
going to lose weight.
DAN: Interesting.
DR LYDIA GRAY: Yeah.
And if it's a young horse, might not stunt the growth,
but just result in a slower growth rate.
DAN: So because it takes the body so much energy
to utilize the protein, therefore it
could cause him to lose weight because he's
exerting more than taking in.
DR LYDIA GRAY: Yeah, exactly.
You're using energy or calories to break down
the protein instead of using those calories for weight.
DAN: Interesting.
I think that's going to get a lot of people.
DR LYDIA GRAY: Yeah.
The evidence for that is not conclusive confirmed,
but it's--
DAN: A theory.
DR LYDIA GRAY: It's pointing that way, yeah.
And it makes some sense.
So the question I get asked a lot is, in feeding horses,
if you feed horses too much protein,
will it harm their liver or kidneys
because that's where the work is being done to break it down?
And the answer is, no.
If those organs are working fine, then that's great.
That's their job to break down protein and other constituents.
If, however, the liver or kidneys are compromised--
so their function is not 100%, now
you shouldn't feed excess protein.
DAN: OK.
So if they're already having an issue with those organs,
then we probably should be careful about how much
protein--
DR LYDIA GRAY: Yeah.
And so a simple blood test from your veterinarian
can help you identify that.
But that would be the only concern.
If the organs that break down protein
are compromised in any way, then they
can't handle excess protein.
But if they are fine, there's not a reason to give more
and there's not a lot of health reasons--
DAN: Well, that's what I was just going to ask you.
Is there a time to feed more protein?
DR LYDIA GRAY: Well, the NRC, again, it
lists out how much a horse needs--
adult horses in no work, adult horses in work,
young horses growing, and young horses
that are growing and working.
Lactating mares actually need the most.
And so you should aim to feed the amount of protein
they need and not less or more.
And when you're feeding protein, it's not
actually the protein that you're feeding, it's amino acids.
And so the first limiting amino acid is lysine.
There is a value in the NRC for lysine.
So that's really the target you should aim for.
Am I providing my horse enough lysine?
Because without that specific amino acid,
I can't do anything with the other proteins.
DAN: Because amino acids are the building blocks for proteins.
DR LYDIA GRAY: Correct.
That's right.
DAN: So therefore, at that point,
you need to make sure you have those in order to--
DR LYDIA GRAY: Yeah.
And Nerida Richards, who was here before, has a--
maybe it's Lego's, where she tells you to build a protein
tower, but then she doesn't give you
the one color that you need.
And so you quickly learn that, oh, that's lysine.
If you don't have it, you can't build it.
DAN: Interesting.
DR LYDIA GRAY: Yeah.
And I've seen people do it with necklaces.
Like, make a necklace and every fifth one
needs to be a green bead, but then they
don't give you any green beads.
You're like, well, I can't make it.
DAN: So you need that in order to keep going.
DR LYDIA GRAY: Yeah.
DAN: Awesome.
So no real reason to be super concerned--
DR LYDIA GRAY: It's not that big of a deal, yeah.