Last week was spent attending several meetings centered around the Western Nutrition Conference. The WNC has been held for 31 years and brings the worlds top animal scientists together for a week of speeches, discussions and even some frivolity.

This year one particular speaker showed us how we can never accept for fact that which has never been tested and that to make progress we must continually push limits and think outside traditional boundaries. Dr. Gouyau Wu is a Professor, Senior AgriLife Research Fellow and University Faculty Fellow in the Department of Animal Science at Texas A & M University. Dr. Wu showed us that what we have believed for years and the basis of much of our feeding programs for all animals is incorrect.

For decades Nutritionists have been told that of the 20 plus amino acids that exist we only have to worry about eight. We have referred to these as "Essential" Amino Acids. It was believed that the body could synthesize the rest and supplementation was  unnecessary. Dr. Wu challanged that belief and has completed extensive studies where he added "Non Essential"  amino acids to various feeds and elicited a significant improvement in production parameters. For example supplementation with the previously considered unnecessary Glutamine resulted in an improvement of 2 pigs per litter in experimental sows. The Non Essential are truly Essential.

To give an example of "out of the box" thinking Dr. Wu also fed Viagra to sows and was able to create the same result. Now who would have thought of that?

While these discoveries and the potential for improvement in equine performance and growth from the application of this type of information is still a long way off, we now recognize that nutritionists are going to have to make a 180 degree shift in their thinking over the next few years. As we learn of the implications from feeding previously ignored nutrients like non essential amino acids, new feeds and suplements will enter the marketplace and change the way we supplement equine diets.

As someone once said "The future is so bright - I got to wear shades!"

Yes it is. It is going to get expensive to feed your horse quality manufactured feeds and the person to blame is Mother Nature. Out here on the vast Canadian prairies crops are a mess. That is where there is a crop to get messy. In many parts of western Canada fields are still under water. Crops that have been swathed have been lying in moisture loosing grade day by day as fields are too wet and the grain too moist to harvest.

Saskatchewan, which grows more grain than any one else has less than 20% of the crop in the bin. Grain that has been harvested in many locations has been so wet that it is being downgraded because the kernels are mildewed. There is a 10 year high in contamination of the crop with a fungal disease called Fusarium which deposits toxins called vomitoxin and DON in the invividual kernels. It can affect most grain crops.

As a result, good quality feed grains are going to become expensive. Yesterday my neighbour and I stood in my alfalfa field looking at his swathed oat crop on the 1/4 adjacent to my house. It has been in the swath for at least 2 weeks. He was more than annoyed because the price of oats at the local elevator was at a recent high and his were loosing grade, and along way from the bin.

Smart feed companies will have done their best to buy ahead of any price increases. The trick is going to be getting delivery. Brokers and main line elevator companies can not deliver something which does not exist.

So the reality is that your feed company will probably be raising the price of a bag of feed several times over the fall and winter as they pay premiums for the quality required in equine feeds. Don't complain to the clerk or feed mill Manager. Place the blame where it belongs - on Mother Nature!

Liver problems are not typically a concern of horse owners. The liver is crucial in optimum digestion and regulates nutrient distribution. The liver relegates nutrients to specific roles and acts as a store house for nutrients in order to ensure consistent blood levels between feedings.

Liver problems in adult equines are usually the result of plant or feed toxins or complications from bile stones. Determining your horse has hepatitis is a veterinary procedure. Helping him get better requires co-operation between your veterinarian and nutritionist.

The key to nutritional treatment is the reduction of dietary protein in order to lower the amount of ammonia and other toxins that may be generated in the gut. Lowering protein lowers the ammonia or nitrogen load on the liver. Typically diets based on grass hay or pasture are best. Feeding alfalfa type diets should be avoided. Feeding oat hay has been recommended by some veterinarians.  High fat diets are also not recommended as we want to limit fat deposition in the liver which may cause impaired function.

Some horses with liver disfunction become sensitive to sunlight and should be stabled during the day and turned out to graze at night. Feeding frequent, small meals also will limit the nitrogen load on the liver. Beet pulp, corn,  and wheat bran have an amino acid profile that is best suited to dealing with liver diseases and many recommend they make up the bulk of the non forage diet. Fortification with the B vitamins is recommended as they are the water soluble variety. Fat soluble vitamins A, D and E should be supplemented only to requirement as they can accumulate in the liver and cause side effects.

The liver is one of the most resiliant organs in the body. If your horse has a liver disease the proper nutrition can make the difference between successfull recovery and failure.

Here in Manitoba the September long weekend marks the end to another season of Great Western Harness Racing. This has been a tough summer with several race day rainouts and many many days when our training tracks were simply too wet for jogging , let alone training.

The end of the season also can mean the end of the line for horses that simply did not make the grade for one reason or another. Some because of age, some due to injury and others because they just could not go fast enough. Some of these horses are sweethearts who have given years to competitive racing while others are like grumpy old men, simply not nice to be around.

This summer I had the pleasure to meet a "Sweetheart". Actually I think he was my mare Jane's sweetheart as they are best buddies. His name is Pampered.  10 years old and the vetran of 162 races with 19, firsts, 16 seconds and 15 thirds. At his peak he paced the mile in 1.58:1 and earned $54,302.00 foi his owners. However the ravages of time and the track have slowed Papered down to where he is not competitive, but non competitive does not equal useless.

Retired standardbreds are perfect for many retirement occupations like pleasure driving, riding and just plain fussing over. They have been exposed to everything from vehicles, track maintenance machines to screaming crowds and usually are unflapable. They are used to being handled and typically love people. So Pampered has a new occupation - exhaulted pasture ornament and pleasure driving horse.

I am not opposed to horse slaughter. It is a necessary evil. However some old road warriers like Pampered need and deserve a loving home. He now stands proud in his new pasture, making new friends with grass rustling around his knees as his muscles recouperate. He is learning the joy of retirement

The Standardbred industry in BC is in a state of flux. The potential for racing to end is real. With that comes the potential need for many "Sweethearts" like Pampered to need a new home. Before you buy your next pleasure horse, investigate the possibility of giving a horse who has given his life to the rigors of racing a home for life.

Open your heart, and your barn to a Standardbred.  See www.greener-pastures.ca for more information.