Vitamin B6 for Horses
This little vitamin, B6, is not talked about much in equine nutrition, mainly because we still don’t know exactly what a horse’s dietary requirement is. We also assume a large part of their requirement is fulfilled by the Vitamin B6 produced by the bacteria in their hindgut.
We do know B6 is important for building muscle. A published paper has looked at Vitamin B6 supplementation and muscle development in rabbits. (https://www.publish.csiro.au/AN/AN15807…)
Even though a rabbit is a very different animal to a horse, from a gut physiology and nutrition perspective they are actually really similar, so it is worth a look to see what the researchers found.
Vitamin B6 supplementation was shown to significantly alter protein metabolism and increase the ratio of fore + hindleg muscle weight to body weight (i.e. supplemented rabbits had more leg muscle). Interesting!
How FeedXL Can Help
We do track a horse’s vitamin B6 intake in our Premium FeedXL plans … this just reinforces how important a horse’s base diet is when it comes to achieving specific outcomes. For example, if you are wanting your horse to build muscle but you aren’t meeting basic nutrient requirements (like vitamin B6) you could add all the fancy muscle building supplements you like to the diet and they won’t help!
You can’t build muscle unless you get your basics right first! Here at FeedXL, we can help you with that! Take a look at our plans and pricing here.
Do you have a question or comment? Do you need help with feeding?
We would love to welcome you to our FeedXL Horse Nutrition Facebook Group. Ask questions and have them answered by PhD and Masters qualified equine nutritionists and spend time with like-minded horse owners. It’s free!
Click here to join the FeedXL Horse Nutrition Facebook Group
