Vitamin E and Peak Performance - How It Works and Why It Matters

Horsepower shares insights into how Vitamin E works and why it is so important for horses to be able to perform at their peak.

Energy production in cells is primarily dependant on oxidation. Just as Oxygencombines with fuel in a fire to produce heat, oxygen in the body combines with fatsand carbohydrates to release their energy for muscular work and a host of other cellular functions. A by product of this process is the production of highly reactivemolecules called “Free Radicals” or “Reactive Oxygen Species”(ROS) including avariety of chemicals such as Hydrogen Peroxide. These can damage DNA, lipids,proteins and carbohydrates and for example, are contained in tobacco smoke makingthat toxic. These reactive molecules, once formed, are self perpetuating and continueto cause damage until stopped by a so called “Anti Oxidant” molecule. A range ofconditions from joint disease to recurrent airway obstruction and fatigue in horses isthought to be related to stress and damage caused by ROS.

Several essential nutrients are involved in counteracting the effects of ROS, includingVitamins A, C and E and the trace minerals Selenium, Copper, Zinc, Manganese andIron. One of the most potent of these is Vitamin E whose main role in the body is asan antioxidant. The ROS molecules are reactive because they contain an un-pairedelectron, giving them a positive charge. Vitamin E can donate one of its Hydrogenatoms to the ROS making it neutral and stable, and safe. Better yet, Vitamin E canthen pinch another electron from Vitamin C, recharging its ability to repeat the process. This process requires Selenium which is why Selenium is important – without it Vitamin E cannot work.

Vitamin E is fat soluble so it can operate inside the fatty cell membrane. Vitamin C is water soluble so it can operate both inside and outside the cell, the electron swapping goes on via enzyme systems at the interface between the layers. Vitamin C can be manufactured from Glucose by the horse's liver, but Vitamin E cannot and must come from the diet. Grains are low in Vitamin E, around 15 – 25IU/Kg where as fresh forages can contain 30 – 100 IU/Kg. However, the amount varies a lot depending on the maturity of the plant when cut, and the storage time. For example, the levels in Lucerne hay can decrease by 50% to 75% after storage for only three months. The amount of Vitamin E in the diet can therefore vary a lot.

Vitamin E's antioxidant effects are important for all cells in the body, but in the racehorse or elite performace horse perhaps the most vital areas are in the muscles and lungs which are working overtime during exercise, burning energy substrates at a tremendous rate and potentially most at risk from oxidative damage. The requirements for this vitamin increase with workload and the minimum recommendation rises from 1.6 IU per Kg of bodyweight in light work, to 2.0 IU/KgBW for hard work. This equates to around 800 IU per day for a horse in light work upto 1000 IU per day in full work, and that's probably a minimum.

Given the problem of low vitamin E in grains, and also in forages caused by storage, the best way to ensure adequate intake is either by a supplement or incorporation in the hard feed. With this in mind, Horsepower has recently increased the levels of Vitamin E in Sweetfeed #4 to 460 IU per Kg, ensuring abundant protective levels of this vital antioxidant are available for all levels of work.

Performance depends on lung and muscle function, and that's why Vitamin E is so important.

Quick Link

• Visit the Horsepower website for more information