VITAMIN E AND HORSE METABOLISM.

Vitamin E it benefits all horses, but will green grass and sunshine be enough? Would a high level performance horse benefit from additional vitamin E? What does vitamin E do in the horse? Vitamin E is a term used to describe a group of compounds known as tocopherols and tocotrienols. In equine nutrition most attention is paid to alpha-tocopherol. Alpha-tocopherol plays an important role in something called the glutathione pathway, which protects cells from oxidative damage, as well as reacting with free radicals produced by processes such as the lipid peroxidation chain reaction. Free radicals cause damage in cells because they have an odd number of electrons, which gives them an unstable electrical charge. In an attempt to become stable they “steal” electrons from other molecules. This causes a new molecule to be unstable, and it might not be able to perform its function within the body. A chain of oxidative destruction can result within the cell, which can negatively impact cell function and potentially cause cell death. Free radical formation is a natural consequence of various molecular processes within the cell, and we often hear it referred to as “oxidative stress.” It’s easy to label free radicals as “bad,” but they are in fact a perfectly natural consequence of the body using fats and carbohydrates for energy.Read more here;http://www.thehorse.com/articles/36737/when-do-horses-need-vitamin-e?utm_source=Newsletter&utm_medium=nutrition&utm_campaign=11-16-2015