Equestrian
For the sport, draft, and aging horse astaxanthin can promote muscle health and mobility. Explore astaxanthin studies and supplements formulated for equine health.
Horses Need Muscle Support
Horses are powerful aerobic athletes. At maximum exercise intensity, horses consume a total of 100 L of oxygen per minute – more than twice that of an elite human athlete after adjusted for body mass. To power muscles for performance, horses need a continuous supply of energy and effective muscle recovery after for promoting performance consistency and career longevity. Astaxanthin can support endurance by protecting muscle mitochondria that produce energy, and combating exercise induced muscle damage to help promote recovery.
AstaReal® Astaxanthin Reduced Muscle Damage in Study
Thoroughbred horses showed significant increase in muscle damage marker (creatine kinase) after two months of training, which indicates slower recovery that can affect performance. When 75 mg of AstaReal® Astaxanthin was mixed in with fodder once daily for 2 months, training did not produce any increase in creatine kinase levels, showing that astaxanthin helped horses more fully recovery from the physical effort of training (1).
AstaReal® Astaxanthin Combined with Carnitine
In another study, thoroughbred horses underwent training 5 days a week, with 2 high-intensity days and 3 low intensity days. Muscle damage marker (creatine kinase) was analyzed 5 weeks before supplementation, then 3 days and 8 weeks after supplementation. The control group had increased creatine kinase levels after 3 days and 8 weeks of training. Horses fed 75 mg AstaReal® Astaxanthin and 3g L-carnitine were more resilient and didn’t show any increase in muscle damage after 3 days. After 8 weeks of training the horses in the supplementation group did have increased muscle damage, but at a significantly lower level than compared to the group that didn’t receive the supplement (2).
Antioxidants Support Equine Muscles
Antioxidants like vitamins C and E are common feed supplements used to improve antioxidant status in horses and maintain muscle health. These results suggest that AstaReal® Astaxanthin may be a powerful new tool, helping to attenuate exercise-induced muscle damage in thoroughbred horses (3).
Explore AstaReal® Branded Astaxanthin Products
References
- Sato, F. et al. Carotenoid Science 17 (2012) 19 – 21.
- Sato, F. et al. Journal of Equine Veterinary Science 35 (2015) 836–842.
- Larson, E. (2014). Could a supplement ease the effects of tying up? The Horse. https://thehorse.com/148418/could-a-supplement-ease-the-effects-of-tying-up/