Posted by J. Serot, Wed, Jan 25, 2017
Why would you feed coconut to your horse? In addition to being non-GMO and organic, there are multiple benefits!
Coconut Meal Benefits:
- Fat from medium chain triglycerides
- Sustained energy
- Digestive support
- Low sugar/low starch
Breaking down where the ingredient comes from:
The coconut meal that is used in Renew Gold™ Equine Supplement is the result of the extraction of part of the natural oil found in the inner meat of the coconut. It isn’t the same as the flakes used for baking cookies during the holidays!
ll fats are not created equal!
Coconut oil falls into a category known as medium chain triglycerides (MCT), or saturated fats. Something to note is that many of the other types of saturated fats in products are from animal fat, and not proper to use for horse feeds. So, what’s the difference in fats? The “medium” refers to the chain length of the fatty acids. Oils can be either a short chain, medium chain or long chain fatty acid. The medium chains are more rapidly absorbed and metabolized verses the longer chain triglycerides that are found in other non-animal saturated fats, such as vegetable oil, olive oil, corn oil, and soy oil. Coconut is unique in that, rather than being stored for fat like the longer chains, the body converts the MCTs found in coconut meal into fuel for muscles.
Energy
The saturated fat from coconut meal is digested directly into the blood, providing energy. This is superior to other fat sources which are converted to fat instead of energy. Being absorbed into the blood is beneficial because this gives a much quicker energy response. But we certainly aren’t looking to give our horse a quick burst of energy and then have them crash! The coconut meal in Renew Gold is blended with Stabilized Rice Bran and high Omega-3 fatty acids from flax, which provides an even, smooth and wide energy flow to the horse. So, why would you choose coconut energy over other energy sources? Because coconut oil is so energy dense, it yields about two times more energy than starch or protein. Sounds like a good reason to give coconut meal a try, doesn’t it?
Digestion
A unique aspect of the medium chain triglycerides (MCT) in coconut meal is their significant, clinically proven antibacterial, antiviral and anti-inflammatory properties. The MCT found in coconut meal is called lauric acid, which has strong antimicrobial effects. Actually, coconut oil is nature’s most abundant source of lauric acid (50%), followed by human breast milk (6%–10%). Pretty miraculous!
Low Sugar, Low Starch
Finally, coconut meal contains less than 2% starch, so it is less likely to cause starch-related issues such as tying up and laminitis. Also, the nutritional composition suggests that the fiber in coconut meal is similar to that of pasture grasses!
As you can see, when it comes to equine nutrition, there is more to coconut meal than meets the eye.
