The Mighty Mitochondria Of Horses - #024 The Horse's Advocate Podcast

Within the cells of our horses are power stations where fuel converts into energy. Without this power station, called the mitochondria, the cell, and thus the horse, dies. In reality, the mitochondria are organisms (primitive bacteria) living within our cells in a symbiotic relationship - where each can't live without the other.

How well the mitochondria work is related to the fuel that it eats. The most efficient fuel is fat, with clean and abundant energy production. Glucose (the sugar of starch or non-structural carbohydrate of pasture and hay), on the other hand, burns dirty with less energy produced. Fructose (the sugar of sweet things such as spring pasture, treats, etc.) is inefficient in producing energy but very good at increasing body fat. Eating more glucose than the horse needs causes the muscles and liver to become insulin resistant, and the fat cells grow in size with the stored excess fuel. The result is a paradox where the horse gets hungrier in an abundance of food.

This podcast explains everything in a simple and story-like fashion, so once it is understood, owners will never feed starch above their horses' needs.

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HorsemanshipDentistry.com is a website that discusses how and why I perform equine dentistry without immobilization or the automatic use of drugs. I only accept new clients in Florida. Make an appointment in FL.

HorsemanshipDentistrySchool.com is a website for those interested in learning how to perform equine dentistry without drugs on 97% of horses. There are eight spots a year for interested students PLUS, there is a separate online course for those wanting to learn how to do this but can never get to South Florida for hands-on training.

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