High-Protein Diet Okay for HYPP Horse?

My 13-year-old Quarter Horse is HYPP +/-. He’s worked moderately twice a week and is on turnout with access to grass and hay. I’ve switched his feed, but it contains 14% protein. I’ve heard high levels of protein make sa horse “hot.” Is this true?
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Q:I have a 16.1-hand Quarter Horse who is HYPP +/-. He is 13 years old and gets moderate work once or twice a week. He is on turnout with access to grass and hay. I have just switched him to Ultra Dynamix (Seminole), but I am concerned that it contains 14% protein. I was always told that high levels of protein would make a horse "hot." Is this true?

Rosemarie, via e-mail


A:Your question is an excellent one, but unfortunately not one to which there is an easy answer. (This area of) equine nutrition remains a hotly debated topic with very little in scientific literature to support much of the anecdotal evidence noted by the equine community. There are surprisingly few studies that examine the effects of diet on equine behavior.

When looking at the factors that make a horse "hot" (excitable, full of energy), many issues need to be taken into account, such as lack of adequate stimulation, lack of exercise, and excess amount of energy reserves, to name a few. The feeds that have been associated with making horses more energetic have often been feeds with high starch content, including many grain concentrates

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Written by:

Maeva Louis May, DVM, Dipl. ACVIM, is a lecturer at the University of Pennsylvania.

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