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Supporting the Equine Athletes at WEGBy Kentucky Equine Research Staff · February 18, 2011
The 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games (WEG) brought together hundreds of horses and equestrians for 16 days of exhilarating, high-level competition. As the designated supplier of feed, hay, and bedding, Kentucky Equine Research (KER) played an important role in supporting each horse's health, well-being, and best performance.
On a busy day in the feed office at the Kentucky Horse Park, it seemed that each participating country had at least one or two representatives in line to order feed or hay, request an answer to a nutrition question, talk about the choice of custom grain mixes offered by KER, or pick up some electrolytes. The buzz of conversation, usually in a mix of languages, floated around the two women standing behind the feed counter.
Joanne Read, business manager for KER's Australasia office, is a veteran of world-class events, having worked in feed distribution at several previous Olympic Games and WEG served by KER. In charge of taking feed orders, handling financial transactions, and keeping accurate records, Read maintained an efficient, calm manner that made her complex job appear simple.
New on the international competition scene was Kathleen Crandell, Ph.D. With a master's degree in equine nutrition and exercise physiology and a doctorate in equine nutrition and reproduction, Crandell has served as KER's equine nutrition consultant for over a decade. At WEG, Crandell was a key player in sorting out and solving the multiple puzzles involved in feed management at a top-tier equestrian event.
“We ended up offering several feed mixes,” Crandell said. “Some of these were already formulated, but we came up with more that were very similar to what the various horses were used to eating.”
While all feeds were built around familiar cereal grains, there was much variety in the particular makeup. Crandell explained that differences in formulation were important to competitors who were looking for a specific influence of feed on behavior and performance.
“One of the most popular feeds was a traditional mix of oats, barley, and corn with a fat level of about 6%. There were four or five feeds containing beet pulp, and these were popular also. Four of the mixes had no oats, maybe because of a common but erroneous belief that oats make horses hot,” Crandell commented.
“Oats, however, were generally seen as very desirable. KER offered crimped oats, though rolled oats are more common in European feeds. Many riders fed some straight oats or mixed them into prepared feeds. We also had people ask for steam-rolled barley, beet pulp, wheat bran, ground flax, and balancer pellets to top-dress onto their feeds. On the whole, most people recognized the importance of using a balanced commercial feed as a nutritional base.”
Crandell said that horses competing in each of the eight WEG disciplines tended to be fed somewhat differently. “Endurance riders were looking for high-fiber, high-fat feeds to fuel exercise over a period of many hours,” she said. “Para-equestrians and vaulters tended to ride easy keepers, and they wanted high-fiber, low-fat feeds to keep their horses calm. Horses in jumping competitions needed a feed that supported high energy levels.”
Reining riders brought their own concentrated feeds for the most part, but ordered lots of alfalfa hay. Crandell said the enthusiasm for alfalfa might have been tradition but also could have supported a “keep-them-eating” philosophy. Some horses back off their feed and hay in unfamiliar surroundings, but very few horses refuse alfalfa. Timothy hay was also available and was accepted well by the horses. Reining and endurance riders tended to feed timothy as a basic hay, sometimes switching to alfalfa just before their performances. Among eventers and dressage riders, both types of hay were popular. A few riders remarked that they felt timothy was too rich for their horses, though it is classified as a grass hay.
Some of the European teams relied on haylage, a fermented forage product that is completely dust-free. Moorlands Totilas, a favorite among the dressage community, munched his way through several bales of haylage before securing three gold medals for the Dutch contingent.
With few exceptions, meeting the nutritional needs of a diverse group of high-level equine athletes went smoothly at WEG. “Some of the riders wanted their horses to have apples, and we were only supplying carrots,” Crandell said. “Others asked about herbal supplements such as garlic and spearmint that are common feed ingredients in some countries.” Most riders were very satisfied, however. “Several riders came into the feed office and told us, ‘My horse loved this feed,'” Crandell commented. “That was nice to hear!”
Speaking Horse
Kathleen Crandell's wealth of knowledge about equine nutrition was valuable at WEG, but it was her linguistic skill that allowed her to answer many technical feeding questions.
Crandell speaks four languages fluently and can understand a couple more. Riders from many countries had questions on various aspects of feed products and management, and terms like hindgut, steam-crimped oats, and chelated minerals were generally beyond the translating skills of anyone on KER's team except Crandell.
"Before the Games, I made up a cheat sheet for common feed and ingredient terms in English, French, Dutch, Spanish, German, Italian, and Portuguese,” she said. “It was hard to find the right words for a few terms, and at first it was a challenge to keep switching between languages. When you go to a different country and are immersed in that language, it's easier to remember it. In the feed office at WEG, I would hear one language and then another. It was really fun to use that skill during WEG.”
Forage by the Ton
Timothy hay was by far the most popular forage at WEG. Eighty-eight tons of timothy were used at WEG, compared to around 10 tons of alfalfa hay and smaller quantities of chaff and haylage. European teams preferred timothy, although horses from 27 federations consumed haylage. Surprisingly, alfalfa was used for horses from 40 countries.
