Milkshaking

The “milkshake” has enjoyed some popularity as a performance-enhancer for racehorses, although it is banned in all racing jurisdictions. This “milkshake” doesn?t involve milk and syrup; the primary ingredient is sodium bicarbonate, commonly know

Share
Favorite
Close

No account yet? Register

ADVERTISEMENT

The “milkshake” has enjoyed some popularity as a performance-enhancer for racehorses, although it is banned in all racing jurisdictions. This “milkshake” doesn’t involve milk and syrup; the primary ingredient is sodium bicarbonate, commonly known as baking soda.


This metabolic milkshake is proposed to work on high school chemistry principles of acid/base neutralization. With high-intensity exercise, there is a build-up of lactic acid in muscles, leading to fatigue. The theory is that high doses of bicarbonate make blood and muscle tissue less acidic, providing buffering capacity to offset the build-up of lactic acid, enabling the horse to go farther, faster, with less fatigue. It is given via a nasogastric tube.


The practice of milkshaking is believed to have originated in Australia in Standardbreds. In the United States, it is also more commonly employed in Standardbreds, but has been tried in Thoroughbreds. One racetrack practitioner says there was a time prior to milkshakes being illegal when veterinarians would give electrolytes with or without bicarbonate to racehorses prior to a race, especially during hot, humid summers. But they abandoned the practice even before it was banned because of the appearance of tubing a horse on race day and the perception that the concoction was performance-enhancing.


A milkshake consists of several ounces of sodium bicarbonate dissolved in a gallon of water. Other ingredients might include confectionery sugar, electrolytes, or nutritional substances such as creatine (thought to increase endurance). The theory is that milkshakes must be given four to eight hours prior to a race to have the desired effect at post time

Create a free account with TheHorse.com to view this content.

TheHorse.com is home to thousands of free articles about horse health care. In order to access some of our exclusive free content, you must be signed into TheHorse.com.

Start your free account today!

Already have an account?
and continue reading.

Share

Written by:

Bob Fidanza is a free-lance writer who is based in Manalapan, N.J.

Related Articles

Stay on top of the most recent Horse Health news with

FREE weekly newsletters from TheHorse.com

Sponsored Content

Weekly Poll

sponsored by:

How much time do you usually spend grooming your horse?
439 votes · 439 answers

Readers’ Most Popular

Sign In

Don’t have an account? Register for a FREE account here.

Need to update your account?

You need to be logged in to fill out this form

Create a free account with TheHorse.com!