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Adding Coolstance. Oops
Hello Doc T. I am happily trying the no-grain challenge and doing everything in two week increments…..so far so good with horse behavior but then I added about 100 grams of cool stance which is 20 grams of more protein to my alfalfa pellet and soy bean meal (200grams per day each) – now I have a rocket on my hands – I think I need to pare back the sbm and the cool stance – what do you think? He is a large warmblood but doesn’t work hard enough (4x week by 1/2 hour to 40 minutes) to use up all the energy.
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1 Reply
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The first question I want to ask is why add cool stance? The next question I have is why do you think the protein is the cause of him becoming a rocket? My final question is if he is a rocket, is he feeling good or better than before?
In humans, about 15% of metabolic energy comes from the conversion of protein into glucose (gluconeogenesis in the liver) and this glucose is used primarily by the brain / nervous system. However it is a misconception that glucose is used by muscles as their primary fuel. Fat (free fatty acids or FFA’s derived from triglycerides) is the preferred fuel used by muscles unless they are insulin resistant. If they are IR then fat use by muscles is reduced while glucose uptake is also reduced.This results in 1) increased hunger and 2) decreased metabolism (lethargy).
Going off grain will help muscle cells use mostly fat as well as glucose from starch in the pasture and hay. This fuel flexibility is good and healthy. Adding a fat source (Coolstance) however pushes more fat into the muscle cells which will increase metabolism (causing the rocket you see).
Soybean meal (SBM) is a high quality protein source (has all the essential amino acids or EAA’s and a high bioavailability or BV). Pasture and all hay are good quality (missing EAA’s and a lower BV). Coconut meal is somewhere in between but is fed in lesser amounts than SBM. If the cause of his increased energy is from increased fat from Coolstance plus he was OK before adding Coolstance then I would just eliminate the Coolstance and not decrease the SBM.
Remember that fat has more than twice the energy of sugar and protein has to be converted into sugar (using energy) while ingested fat can go directly to the muscles without any additional steps.
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