For the competitive horse, stress is a daily part of life. Sometimes it’s good, sometimes it’s bad, but it is always there, and it’s always expensive.
Stress expensive? Yes. The stress response “spends” the body’s energy reserves. Depending on the particular stressor, whether it is physical exercise, transporting to a show, stabling in a new environment, sudden changes in temperature, or any number of other possible examples, the energy expended can be enormous.
Why is this? Because the stress response evolved to insure survival, not to support wellness. The fact that the stress response causes a disruption in energy metabolism and suppresses the immune system isn’t important. Survival is a short term goal and is its own immediate reward.
To that end, the stress response can be seen as having distinct stages. Stage one is the “fight or flight” response to adrenaline release. This requires almost no explanation as we have all seen our horses display this stage. What we must remember is that stage one is expensive as the body mobilizes all its energy resources, dumping “cellular fuel” into the system to generate the metabolic changes – increased heart rate and respiration, heightened awareness, and noticeable muscle tension.
Stage two is characterized by the release of the hormone, cortisol. Cortisol is the hormone of prolonged stress. Here is where resistance to a stress is mounted. It is also where appropriate adaptation, if possible, is made. An example of an appropriate adaptation to physical stress would be increased fitness. However, if, for instance, you exceed the individual horse’s unique range of adaptation during training, excessive and continued release of cortisol can have serious health consequences, from suppressing his immune system, to interfering with the cellular uptake and conversion of glucose. Managing stress becomes a delicate and often imperceptible balancing act.
So what do you do to protect your horse from both intentional and unintentional stress? An increasing number of top riders and veterinarians would recommend feeding herbs called adaptogens. Adaptogens were first used in human sports nutrition, and have been part of many top training programs for decades.
Every trainer knows that one of the primary reasons a top athlete doesn’t make a competition is not from injury, but from illness. The training required to compete at the top of a sport often creates such sustained stress, i.e. the continued release of cortisol, that the athlete becomes immuno-suppressed. Respiratory illness is one of the top reasons athletes miss competitions.
For many top athletes, adaptogens prove invaluable in their unique ability to influence the way energy is released during a stressful event, conserving resources and aiding in the removal of cellular waste. When a stress response requires energy to be taken in to the cell, the rapid conversion of glucose to ATP quickly builds up toxic by-products called beta-lipo-proteins which, if not removed, can seriously interfere with cellular function. Studies have shown that the ability to take in glucose and convert it to ATP can be decreased by as much as 40 percent during a stressful event. Clearly a 40 percent decrease in available cellular fuel can be a contributing factor in everything from poor performance to significant immuno-suppression.

Stress Busters
Studies of important adaptogenic herbs, such as Eleutherococcus senticosus and Rhodiola rosea, have shown that they are able to help the body maintain proper energy supplies by minimizing the insulin-inhibiting action of cortisol, supporting the function of the enzyme, hexokinase needed to convert glucose to ATP and by aiding in the removal of toxic cellular waste, by-products of the conversion process.
Studies have also shown the remarkable ability of adaptogens to support healthy immune response. In one study, human subjects were given an adaptogen extract for 30 days. The adaptogen group showed an increase in all immune cells measured: T-helper/inducer (CD4) increased by 80 percent, cytotoxic T-cells (CD8) increased by 67 percent and; NK (natural killer) cells increased by 30 percent. Overall, the adaptogen group showed a total increase in T-cell numbers of 78 percent. In another study, conducted over a period of seven years, human subjects were given an adaptogen extract daily. During this period, the incidence of respiratory disease in the population decreased from 41.8 percent to just 2.7 percent!
All of this adds up to a very convincing argument for using adaptogens as supportive daily nutrition in the diets of competitive horses. In 2000, Dr. Michael Van Noy, an equine veterinarian with nearly 30 years in private practice, became convinced of the value of adaptogens and introduced APF – Advanced Protection Formula, a high potency adaptogen supplement for horses which quickly gained loyalty among top riders and veterinarians.
Top competitors who use and endorse APF include John Pearce, Susie Hutchison, Joie Gatlin, Karen and David O’Connor, Leslie Morse, Shannon Dueck and Bobby Meyerhoff. Equine sports therapists, Dougie Hannum, physical therapist for the USEF, recommends APF, noting a significant difference in overall attitude, performance and resistance to disease in horses being fed APF.
Doug Byars, DVM, Dipl. ACVIM, ACVECC, reported, “I have recently diagnosed two adult Thoroughbreds with fungal pneumonias secondary to significant immune deficiencies. I used APF as an adjunct immune therapy being the only daily oral supplement while treating with anti-fungal medications. Both horses responded with IgM and IgG levels reaching the normal ranges and both horses survived the pneumonias.”
In June of last year the Horse Journal, a highly regarded consumer advocacy publication, did a comparative study on top supplements for performance horses. Their findings put APF at the top of a field of 20 daily supplements.
Now this competitive season has opened with the recent outbreaks on both coasts of EHV-1, a deadly infectious disease that has become the newest hurdle facing the competitive horse. The alarming thing about this viral disease is that many horses harbor the virus and their risk of an outbreak increases with the immuno-suppressing effects of stress. APF is the only supplement specifically designed to protect your horse from the immuno-suppressing effects of daily stress and give your horse the protection he needs.
Article provided by Auburn Laboratories. For more information, please contact Auburn Laboratories, Inc. at 877-661-3505 or visit www.auburnlabs.com. APF is a formulation of four adaptogenic herbs in a water-alcohol extract: Eleutheroccocus senticosus, Schizandra chinensis, Rhodiola rosea, and Echinopanax elatus.