antioxidants for horses

Oxidation is a process a horse’s body uses to transform nutrients such as carbohydrates, fats, and proteins into energy. But during this process, a few unstable oxygen molecules called free radicals develop. These molecules have an unpaired electron that makes them quick to react with other molecules, stealing electrons from their outer orbits. This damages the other molecules and can irreparably damage cell walls.

Fortunately, antioxidants can help stabilize free radicals and halt oxidative damage, making them an important part of the horse’s nutritional needs. How much do you know about antioxidants and how they impact your horse? Don’t worry. We’re here to help.

Here are 10 resources on antioxidants available free on TheHorse.com. Find more information by searching “antioxidants” on TheHorse.com.

ARTICLE: Antioxidants for Exercising Horses Could feeding antioxidants to your horse help him through a performance problem? Antioxidants, whether found in the diet or supplemented, could potentially help exercising horses experiencing oxidative stress, one nutritionist says. Read More

ARTICLE: Selenium Status’ Impact on Equine Antioxidant Factors How important is the micromineral selenium to antioxidant activity in horses? Researchers from the University of Kentucky evaluated selenium status’ impact on antioxidant factors in mature horses to find out. Read More

ARTICLE: Vitamin E Supplementation for Neurologic Disorders Veterinarians frequently suggest supplementing the diets of horses with certain neurologic disorders with the antioxidant vitamin E. But why? What disorders does it help? And which of the eight types of vitamin E supplement is most beneficial? Fortunately, it’s not quite as complicated as it might seem. Read More

ARTICLE: Linseed Oil, Vitamin E Help Improve Cooled Semen Quality If your stallion breeds throughout the winter, you might consider adding linseed oil and vitamin E to his diet to help ensure good semen quality. Researchers recently determined that adding these supplements to stallions’ diets could help counteract the phenomenon of lowered sperm quality typically seen in the early breeding season—at least for cool-stored semen. Read More

ARTICLE: Nutritional Support for Horse Hooves The versatile equine athlete depends on strong hooves to be fleet of foot and agile in motion, to negotiate quick turns and abrupt stops, and to absorb impacts sustained by all maneuvers. And the equine hoof—with its complex arrangement of connective tissues, nerves, cartilage, bone, and blood supply—relies on important nutritional building blocks, including antioxidants, for strength and integrity. Read More

ARTICLE: Antioxidant Status in Three-Day Eventing Horses Studied Rigorous competition, such as three-day eventing, affects the equine athlete physiologically in many ways, but how does it affect an animal’s antioxidant status? Researchers learned that antioxidant levels appear to be challenged during the competition, but effects can vary depending upon the horse’s diet, as well as its competition and fitness level. Read More

ARTICLE: The Role of Antioxidants for Horses Antioxidants (which include vitamins E, C, and A, selenium, glutathione, lipoic acid, coenzyme Q10, and isoflavins) act to stabilize free radicals and halt oxidative damage. Here’s a look at how they function. Read More

ARTICLE: Supplementing Wisely Assess your horse’s overall diet, nutrient needs, health status, and workload before supplementing him. Read More

ARTICLE: Common Nutrient Deficiencies in Horses Find out if your horse could be at risk of suffering subtle but serious vitamin and mineral imbalances. Read More

SPONSORED CONTENT: MicroActive CoQ10 Could Give Horses a Competitive Edge MicroActive CoQ10 is the world’s first CoQ10 product to be shown to reach equine skeletal muscle tissue after a period of oral supplementation. Read More