Grams of Protein

[KayTeeDid]

From various sources it is about 204g/pound

[zbear@truvista.net]

thanks so much!

[Doc-t]

The total protein in the wikipedia article is the TOTAL protein but not the absorbed protein by the horse. This is because not all protein is absorbed and this is called the bioavailability. Roughly 80% of soybean meal (SBM) protein is actually absorbed.

Egg whites, for example is 100% absorbed. Whey protein about 94% and all hay is about 50% absorbed. This is why you can’t just look at a label to determine how much protein your horse is getting. It is also the reason so many horse owners just avoid the protein topic altogether.

1 pound of SBM at 48% protein = 454g x 0.48 = 217g (a bit higher than the article above because most SBM you buy is 48%). Then 217g x 0.8 absorption = 174 grams.

The goal is 0.5 to 1.0 g protein per pound of body weight. )confusing to use metric AND imperial). A 1200 pound horse will need 600 to 1200 G protein per day.

Hay is about 10% protein on average. If you feed 20 pounds hay then 20 x 0.1 = 2 pounds protein but because it has a bioavailability of 50%, this then becomes 1 pound or 454g.

454g + 174g = 628g total available protein – within the minimal zone.

1200 pounds is used because from this it is easy to calculate for any horse with weights divisible into 1200: 100, 200, 300, 400, 600 pounds.

You can read about this more in the nutrition blogs or you can dig into the nutrition course here: https://www.thehorsesadvocate.com/cdash/

[Doc-t]

I heard from a client yesterday as I worked on her 26 year old horse just how well this horse was doing on SBM. She reminded me of one more point to add to the SBM story – how much SBM should a horse be ingesting per day?

The human range is 0.5 to 1.0 g per pound of ideal body weight. Body builders know this and use the 1g/lb as their target. Above this and the usefulness of added protein diminishes (I assume the same for horses). In addition, it is hard to eat 1g/lb in a day though this is my personal goal. Knowing this, the client increased the SBM to 4 pounds per day for this 1300 pound, 26 year old active horse. She was having trouble building the top line as well as other poor “work ethic” issues. 4 pounds of SBM yields about 700g (174 x 4).

She was also feeding about 20 pounds of forage which included 4 pounds of alfalfa, grass hay and pasture giving roughly 450g. 700 + 450 = 1150g total daily high quality protein. The results in about 2 months was an improving top line and a work ethic and the willingness of a much younger horse. She has not noticed any ill effects including any abnormal odor from the urine. However she has not monitored the blood or urine using chemistry tests with her veterinarian.

What is the take away here? Is aiming for the 1g/lb target good for horses? So far, several older horses have seen similar results with this much SBM added per day (4 or even 5 pounds SBM per day). Other horses, especially ones with EPSM (tying up due to genetic code differences) have seen adverse reactions to any SBM including aggressive behavior and becoming fatter. It seems that the first step is to start with 1 pound SBM per day and look for adverse reactions. Remember that soybeans are a legume just like alfalfa so if your horse is intolerant of alfalfa hay then SBM may not be tolerated. After a month or two there is no adverse reactions you can increase the amount of SBM fed. Yes it can be divided into several feedings.

What is needed here are more stories to help us all with how much SBM to feed.

One more thing – what is high quality? This means the protein includes all the 10 EAA (essential amino acids) which means the ones the horse cannot make and therefore need to consume.

And one more thing – Adding muscle is the BEST health move you and your horse can make. Why? Because insulin resistance (IR) only occurs in the MUSCLE cells for 2 reasons: 1) excess glucose (starch) intake and 2) decreased muscle mass to handle this excess intake. The more muscle, the less likely to have IR and ALL the subsequent illnesses in humans (metabolic syndrome, dementia, diabetes). IR also occurs in the liver causing in about 40% of the human population Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLA) which is soon to be the leading cause for liver transplants in America (Surpassing Hepatitis C).

Do you and your horse need more protein?

[Jenny]

Thanks for the article, it has given me the nudge I need to increase Jordao’s SBM. He was on 1lb for a couple of months and I’ve gradually increased it to 1.5lbs and was wondering if I could up it some more. He has lost his excess body fat and loves his SBM/ Alfalfa feeds. If he has 2lbs a day that brings his daily protein up to 835gms. The only unknown is his exact weight, I’ve been using a weight tape which puts him at 455kgs. I have a friend with some horse scales so can get him weighed once we are out of lockdown…………..whenever that will be!

I’ll keep you posted with how it goes.