In the 90s of the last century, proteins were still seen as the cause of diseases such as laminitis. In general, it is not the proteins, but the sugars and carbohydrates that are often the cause of laminitis in horses and other diseases such as insulin resistance. But proteins are still seen by some people as being unhealthy for a horse. However, this is not true at all, a horse cannot live without proteins. They are very essential for many processes in the body. Shortages can lead to all kinds of, sometimes misunderstood, complaints.
- Two types of amino acids
- Construction of peptides, proteins
- What do proteins do for the body?
- Possible complaints with a shortage of proteins
- Proteins in the diet
- How many proteins does a horse need?
Two types of amino acids
Proteins are made up of amino acids. There are a total of 22 different amino acids, which are divided into two types:
- essential amino acids
- non-essential amino acids
The essential amino acids
These are the amino acids that the body really needs and that the body cannot make itself. These amino acids must be in your diet in order to supply them to the body. The list of essential amino acids is:
- lysine
- methionine
- leucine
- histidine
- valine
- isoleucine
- threonine
- tryptophan
- phenylalaline
The non-essential amino acids
The body can make these amino acids itself, provided there are enough essential amino acids in the body. The non-essential amino acids are:
- glutamine
- glycine
- proline
- arginine
- alanine
- asparagine
- aspartic acid
- glutamic acid
- tyrosine
- cysteine
- taurine
- seleno cysteine
- serine
Construction of peptides, proteins
Each amino acid has its own structure. Amino acids together form peptides (less than ten different types of amino acids) and polypeptides (more than ten different amino acids). Polypeptides are too large to be absorbed by the walls of the digestive organs. That is why the polypeptides are broken down by the body so that they become smaller and therefore easily absorbed. They are then transported to that part of the body that needs the proteins.
It is the sequence of the amino acids in a peptide that determines where that particular peptide will be used in the body. In the absence of one or more essential amino acids, the body cannot make some peptides. This creates deficiencies in the body, resulting in all kinds of health problems.
What do proteins do for the body?
Proteins are necessary for many processes in the body, for example they provide:
- build-up of muscles, tendons, ligaments
- immune system
- build-up of hair, skin, hooves
- build-up of hormones
Possible complaints with a shortage of proteins
Shortages can arise quite easily, especially in the case of poor hay and no concentrate on the side. The complaints of a shortage or several shortages often have to do with the repair and / or construction of tissues. These complaints can also be caused by vitamin and mineral deficiencies. If you are sure that the vitamins and minerals in your horse’s diet are well balanced and your horse still has complaints, consider deficiencies of certain amino acids. Certainly if there are long-term shortages of certain amino acids, you can see complaints such as:
- reduced muscle building
- bad hooves
- lung problems
- problems with tendons and ligaments
- metabolic problems, often associated with obesity
- inflammation in the digestive organs
- hormonal problems
Proteins in the diet
The horse will have to get most of the protein from it roughage. So if your horse has complaints, have your hay or hay dry checked for protein levels. If it turns out that the roughage does not contain enough protein, you can switch to better roughage, if this option is not available, it is also possible to use protein other ways add to your horse’s diet. For example, alfalfa contains many amino acids, but soy, linseed or oats also contain a lot of proteins. It is also possible to feed separate supplements that contain essential proteins and there are also some types of concentrates that contain more proteins. Make sure that it is the correct proteins that you add. It is also important that you feed the good quality proteins. For example, some proteins contain a lot of nitrates and therefore burden the body too much. You can often smell this because the urine emits a strong ammonia odor. Too much fertilization or no fertilization of the pasture and hay fields can lead to these ‘wrong’ proteins.
There are certain types concentrate which often contain more proteins. Examples include mare or foal pellets, sports pellets, oats, special mixtures such as Athlete van Subli.
How many proteins does a horse need?
How much protein your horse needs depends on a number of factors. For example, the amount of work your horse does is important. The more work, the more proteins are needed. Stallions, pregnant mares and young horses also need more protein than other horses. Older horses also often need more or better proteins for muscle maintenance and the like.
The roughage is often reasonably low in proteins and the protein content is just sufficient for the maintenance needs of a horse. As soon as you start asking your horse for exercise, your horse will have a risk of protein deficiencies.