September 2004

Build Blood For Added Performance

If you need blood-building power, you need to look beyond iron.

It’s difficult to say if older horses truly qualify as “anemic.”

Trainers of horses in speed or endurance sports always want the best red-cell counts in their charges. More red cells mean more oxygen-carrying capacity and therefore more strength/stamina. But the trainers usually reach for an iron-containing supplement, not realizing that it’s unlikely the horse has a true iron deficiency.

In fact, iron doesn’t increase red-cell counts/hemoglobin. In fact, it can do more harm than good, even become toxic, since a potential cause of low red-cell counts is oxidative damage during heavy exercise. …