Supporting the Aging Process with Nutrition this Winter

Winter can be especially challenging for veteran horses and understanding the aging process helps us to provide the best nutritional support.

Ageing is accompanied by loss of muscle mass, changes in fat storage and mobilisation, an increase in insulin resistance and, in extreme cases, onset of Cushings.

Additionally, wear and tear systems – joint degradation, onset of laminitis (exacerbated by the preceding disorders) – cause physical damage. Finally, some decrease in enzymatic efficiency occurs and this may affect absorptive capacity, which can act as a stress factor and also impact on biochemical processes.

There are two systems in play; metabolic dysfunction has a direct inflammatory input, whilst physical damage indirectly works through inflammatory cues increasing oxidative damage.

Feeding the veteran needs to take these parameters into account, and metabolic stresses can be alleviated by improved nutrition, such as more digestible protein, and concentrating on hindgut fermentation for energy production, but supplying bioactives that support the normal inflammation and oxidative processes can be as important. Equally important is to actually improve the bioavailability of these actives, as they can have poor absorbability and systemic life.

TurmerAid™ from The Golden Paste Company addresses these concerns. The major component is turmeric, which contains a range of bioactives from essential oils (terpenes) to polyphenols (curcumin) to sterols; where the terpenes have a direct role in supporting the inflammatory cycle, curcumin is a powerful antioxidant and their interaction is what helps support a myriad of processes involved in ageing.

However, it is the additional products in TurmerAid™ that fully support the veteran. Black pepper and apple cider vinegar both act to increase systemic longevity of turmeric, whilst yucca improves the absorbability of the active ingredients. Both turmeric and beet pectin help improve hindgut fermentation and absorption, which is beneficial to the veteran.

The RRP for a 2kg tub is £19.99. A 15kg sack is also available, RRP £125.99.