Hästägaren är den som har det yttersta ansvaret för hästens välbefinnande. En viktig uppgift är att se till att hästen får ett väl anpassat foder för att undvika foderrelaterade sjukdomar. Det finns stora skillnader mellan den domesticerade och den vilda hästens foderstat. Den största och mest markanta skillnaden är att den domesticerade hästens foderstat till stor del består av stärkelse från spannmål då detta ingår i kraftfoder. Fång är också en foderrelaterad sjukdom där de mest framträdande symtomen är smärta i hovarna.

Glycogen is the storage form of glucose and is used by the skeletal musculature as energy both for intense and endurance events. The glycogen content in the horse?s middle gluteal muscle is more than 600 mmol/kg dry weight, and almost 400 mmol/kg dry weight in the human?s Vastus lateralis. In some special occasions, for example in competitions with several moments on following days, there is a need of a fast muscle glycogen resynthesis. The feed intake is of importance for the velocity of the resynthesis.

The aim of the project was to study the effect of oral administration of glucose and leucin on the resynthesis of muscle glycogen after intense exercise in Standardbred trotters. In a crossover design, 11 Standardbred trotters performed a standardized exercise test on two occasions in order to deplete muscle glycogen. The exercise test comprised a warm up period, 7 repeated bouts of exercise on an uphill 500 m slope, and a recovery period. After the exercise test horses received: 1) a solution of glucose and leucine via a nasogastric tube at 0 minutes and at 240 minutes post exercise and a single bout of glucose at 120 minutes post exercise or 2) water (placebo) at 0, 120 and 240 minutes. Blood samples for measurement of glucose and insulin concentrations were collected at rest, when the horses returned to the stables directly after exercise and throughout the 6 hour recovery phase. During the first recovery hour, samples were collected every 15 minutes and then every 30 minutes over the next 5 hours.