FAQ's about Pavo SportsFit

Read all about the following questions in the item below:

• What is the role of magnesium and why is it so important?
• How do I look after muscles, ligaments and joints with SportsFit?
• What is the role of vitamin B’s, E and selenium?
• What is natural vitamin E and what about the absorption of selenium?
• How is it possible that you supply extra energy without the horse becoming ‘hot’?
• How much molasses is there in SportsFit and why?
• Only 4.5% sugar is this added or is it part of other ingredients?
• Is SportsFit a complete balanced feed?

What is the role of magnesium and why is it so important?

Calcium and magnesium together play an important role in the correct functioning of muscles: calcium is needed for the contraction and magnesium for the relaxation of muscles. Calcium, phosphorus and magnesium are also important building blocks in bone tissue. The horse does not have a special mechanism in its body to regulate magnesium and that is way it is so important that horses receive magnesium daily from their feed.
When there is a deficiency of either mineral, the horse is capable of releasing calcium or magnesium out of bone tissue. Calcium deficiency can easily be corrected. A horse only has to break down 1.5 gram of bone tissue to generate 1 gram of calcium (for instance for the use in muscles).

Magnesium deficiency has a far greater impact. To release 1 gram of magnesium, the horse has to break down no less than 45 gram of bone tissue. A long term magnesium deficiency is therefore very damaging.

Recent research into roughage (winter 2007/2008) shows the trend that hay and haylage contain fewer minerals. As an example, the average level of magnesium was 30% lower than the norm. These low levels make it even more important to add magnesium with hard feed.

How do I look after muscles, ligaments and joints with SportsFit?

The answer of question 1 describes how you look after the muscles. It is very important that there is sufficient magnesium available for muscle movement.
For ligaments and joints the situation is more complicated. The previous answer states that the horse breaks down bone tissue to compensate for deficiencies. If that happens over an extended time span, the bone tissue gets weaker and it becomes slightly flexible. The first problem occurs in joints and the points where ligaments connect to the bones. Those areas are then weak points, as they have to cope with enormous forces (for instance when landing after a jump). When you make sure that the horse has sufficient magnesium available, you contribute to healthy bone tissue and muscles that can perform well.

What is the role of vitamin B’s, E and selenium?

In a nutshell, vitamin E and selenium are important for neutralising the waste products, like lactic acid, that occur in the muscles. When there is a vitamin E and selenium deficiency, the muscles take more time to recover and the horse suffers more from muscle pain.
All of the vitamin B group play an important role in the energy supply of muscles. Pavo SportsFit contains more than average levels of Vitamin E and B and a high quality selenium (see also question 4). Be careful not to overdose selenium, because this is not good for horses and can even be poisonous.

What is natural vitamin E and what about the absorption of selenium?

You can add vitamin E to the feed in two ways: as synthetic vitamin E or as natural vitamin E. The difference is simple. Natural vitamin E is ready for use in muscles. The synthetic one has to be processed once more in the body, before it can be utilised by muscles. That is why the natural vitamin E is the better one to use.

Selenium is available on the market as seleniumchelate. In a chelate, selenium is bonded to a protein molecule. The wall of the guts can easily absorb this combination. If you give selenium in its ‘normal’ form, other minerals prevent the absorption. So, organic selenium (as a chelate) is the better source of selenium.

How is it possible that you supply extra energy without the horse becoming ‘hot’?

Different fuels have different characteristics. Everybody knows that petrol has a relative high burning value. It delivers a lot of energy, for immediate high performance, when it ignites. Diesel has other characteristics, the performance is less immediate, but it is more cost effective and engines last longer.

There is a similarity with horse feeds. A horse can use fibres as a source of energy (responsible for more than 60% of the total energy the horse takes in) and also carbohydrates and oil. It is known that carbohydrates make a horse hotter (think of the effect of oats). With oils you give your horse a lot of energy (2.5 times more than with carbohydrates), but the horse does not get any hotter. That is why oils are used more and more in feed for sport horses. Pavo SportsFit has been specially composed with the so-called ‘fast’ energy and ‘slow’ energy in balance. The result is your horse has sufficient energy and stamina, without becoming too hot.

How much molasses is there in SportsFit and why?

Pavo SportsFit contains 4% molasses. Is that a lot or not? When you compare this with a horse cube, then this is only a small amount, as molasses is used a lot in the production of cubes. In comparison with Pavo Nature’s Best, then 4% is a lot of course, because there is no molasses at all in Pavo Nature’s Best.

Molasses contains sugar and horses that don’t work a lot don’t need as much sugar as a competition horse. Sugar is used when muscles work, so when work is done, sugar is used. 4% molasses in a competition muesli (or mix) is not extreme. And another positive characteristic of molasses is that horses love it.

Only 4.5% sugar is this added or is it part of other ingredients?

Sugar is not added to feed, but it is part of ingredients. Only in feed for young horses lactose (milk sugar) is added. Molasses contains a lot of sugar, but also the grains contain a small amount of sugar. It is therefore impossible to produce a horse feed without sugar. Even Nature’s Best contains 2% sugar and all of this is the natural content of the grains.

Is SportsFit a complete balanced feed?

Pavo SportsFit is a balanced hard feed as a supplement to roughage and contains all necessary vitamins and minerals. You don’t have to combine it with a cube. How much do you have give your horse? That depends on a lot of factors. You can use the FeedingGuide of Pavo to calculate your personal advice on how much Pavo SportsFit you should feed your horse.