Sponsored Content Brought To You By LIFELINE Equine
Stress can be a significant challenge for your performance horse, particularly during event season when the demands of training increase and normal routines are disrupted by travel and competition. You may see obvious signs that your horse isn’t coping well with an ongoing stress challenge—a grumpy mood, unwillingness to train, decreased appetite due to stomach upset. But there’s more to equine stress than meets the eye.
The more complex effects of stress take place in your horse’s gut where immune system cells originate and dwell, ready to fight foreign invaders. When the immune system mistakes stress for an invader it triggers an immune response, just as it would if an infection or injury were present. This immune response then triggers inflammation that can be felt throughout the entire body. When stress-related immune and inflammatory responses go unaddressed they can result in poor performance and health.
The serum-based bioactive proteins found in orally-administered LIFELINE Equine performance supplements support normal immune function so horses can more easily withstand the effects of stress they may encounter. When bioactive proteins are introduced, they help the horse’s immune system and gut work together to control the normal immune response. These bioactive proteins are derived from bovine serum and to date, 1,427 proteins have been identified in serum. With recent advances in analytical techniques, the discovery of many more is on the horizon.
Of the proteins found in serum, the ones with the greatest impact on supporting and enhancing animal health include immunoglobulins, transferrins and growth factors. Immunoglobulins such as IgM, IgA, IgD and IgE have been shown to support the integrity of the gut wall. Transferrins, which are blood plasma proteins associated with the innate immune system and growth factors, such as platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF), transforming growth factor (TGF), platelet-derived endothelial growth factor (PDEGF), interleukin 1, and insulin-like growth factor (IGF), act by stimulating different cell mechanisms.
In horses, bioactive proteins may help with gut health issues, soreness associated with daily exercise, and body condition issues such as a rough hair coat. Additionally, serum-based bioactive proteins may be able to help horses that are hard keepers, horses that go off feed easily when stressed, and horses with behavioral issues such as nervousness, grumpiness or being unwilling to work.
Learn more about Lifeline Equine performance supplements from 4-time Road to the Horse champion Chris Cox. Watch his testimonial video below.
Click here to learn more about LIFELINE Equine.
You can also check out the training tip video below from Chris Cox, as he demonstrates the most effective method of leading your horse into a stall and how to safely remove the horse’s halter.
