Question
For polocrosse horses, how long before a game would you feed them? And what would you feed them? Our horses generally play two games on Saturday (one horse will typically play 32 minutes in a game), and then play one game on Sunday. Would you feed between games on Saturday? I have just spoken with a KER Balance Partner, and the individual there recommended a performance feed with several different energy sources. Do you agree? What does your latest research reveal in terms of glucose and insulin response? I would also like your comments on how much grain product versus how much fiber and hay to feed. What beet pulp product is best?
Answer
Timing of feeding is complicated, and not all recommendations can be applied to all sports. Something that would work for endurance riding may not necessarily work for polocrosse. However, the basic principle is the same: do not start your horse into a competition with high insulin levels.
There are a couple of ways to avoid this: one is by feeding four to eight hours before starting the competition; another is by feeding within 30 minutes of the competition; and another is by manipulating what is fed, such as offering a low-starch feed, feeding a small quantity at a time, and mixing feed into chaff to slow consumption.
The concern for insulin levels only applies to high-starch meals because it is the starch that causes the peaks in blood glucose that stimulate insulin release. Many modern feeds are lower in starch and higher in fat and fiber, so the same principles may not be as clear because of the difference in the glycemic response to these types of feedstuffs. Also, we have seen that timing of hay feeding in relation to concentrate feeding influences the glycemic response. When hay was fed 30 minutes before or at the same time as the grain meal, the glycemic response was lower than when the grain was fed two hours before the hay.
In response to your question about when you should feed, I would say that if you mix the feed in with the beet pulp and your horses take longer to consume their meal it is already having an influence on glycemic response. Further, if you feed the performance feed you mentioned in your question (which seems like an appropriate feed for a polocrosse horse), it is already higher in fiber than the average sweet feed so will probably have a lower glycemic response.
With this in mind, consider this schedule: give a good feeding early in the morning before going to the competition (about four hours ahead), then a small feeding between the matches on Saturday, and then another good feeding on Saturday evening. On Sunday, offer a good feeding about four hours before the competition and then a small feeding after. As with endurance riding, I would recommend having hay available at all times.
In response to your question about what to feed, I would make sure you are feeding at least 1.5% of the horse’s body weight in forage (grass, hay, beet pulp, chaff, etc.) over the course of a day. On competition days, you may want to keep hay nets handy, so as horses lounge at the trailer they have something to nibble on. Concentrate feedings could be the performance feed mixed into beet pulp at around 0.5% body weight or whatever amount it takes to maintain each horse’s weight.
All beet pulp products are basically the same nutritionally; the only difference is the amount of time it takes to soak.
