FAQs About Horse Feed for Muscle/Topline

If you’re a horse owner trying to maintain or develop your horse’s muscle and topline, it’s important to read these frequently asked questions about ingredients, diet requirements, and what is guaranteed on your feeding tag. In order to choose the best horse feed for muscle maintenance or development, you have to know what factors go into topline health and how to compare different products on the market.

• What is the difference between Protein vs Amino Acids in horse feed?

  Most horse owners know the crude protein level in their horse feed, but not the amino acid make up. Since protein is made of amino acids, feeding the proper balance is essential to maintaining healthy muscle, skin, hoof, and hair. This is why you have to look for specific amino acid listings on any feed tag, not just the crude protein levels.

   

• What are Amino Acids and their role in horse feed?

  Protein is made up of amino acids, similar to how a chain is made up of links. There are two basic categories of amino acids: Essential Amino Acids (horses can’t make these, so they need to be provided in feed) and Nonessential Amino Acids (horses naturally make enough of these). In order to fuel, repair, and recover muscle, equine diets must optimally contain a superior amino acid profile, including all 10 of the essential amino acids.

  The three most Limiting Essential Amino Acids are Lysine, Methionine, and Threonine. If a horse runs out of these from their feed, they can’t benefit from any other amino acids they’ve eaten.

• How does Nutrena feed support topline differently than other feed brands?

  The Nutrena^® Brand changed the feed industry over 20 years ago with the debut of the original SafeChoice^® Horse Feed, the first major controlled starch horse feed to hit the market. More recently, we changed the game again through our Topline Balance^® Technology, which focuses on amino acid content and balance to build muscle. Ensuring amino acid balance in feed is critical for delivering great appearance, strong recovery from performance, and sound growth and development. With the technology incorporated in our Nutrena products, you can build topline muscling on your horse through the feed you put in the bucket.

  In horses, the first three most-limiting amino acids, in order, are Lysine, Methionine and Threonine. Generally speaking, if these three amino acids are present in sufficient quantities, the ingredients used also provide the remaining amino acids in sufficient quantities. Unlike other feed brands on the market, Nutrena Premium Feed guarantees Lysine, Methionine, and Threonine on our feed tags to ensure your horse is getting the correct balance of amino acids in every feeding.

• How much Protein is needed in your horse’s diet?

  Answering how much protein you need in your horse’s feed is more complicated than it looks because it depends on how many total lbs of each feed type make up the total diet. To get an accurate estimate of protein in your hay, you need to have it tested. But as a general rule of thumb, total protein needed in diet includes:

  • 16% – 18% in Foals
  • 14 – 16% in Weanlings
  • 12% – 14% in Yearlings
  • 10% – 12% in Mature Horses
  • 12% – 14% in Lactating Horses

• How do you calculate Topline Evaluation System?

  Topline evaluation is done by measuring the musculature along the spine and giving a grade of A, B, C, or D. This score indicates amino acid status and muscle quality. The Topline Evaluation System looks at three areas:

  1. Wither & Back
  2. Loin
  3. Croup

  Assign a grade for each area. Add up the number of areas that are adequate-to-good to determine your horse’s TES grade.

  • 3 of 3 areas adequate to good = TES score of A.
  • 2 of 3 areas = B
  • 1 of 3 areas = C
  • 0 of 3 areas = D