June 2005

Muscles, Lies And Lactic Acid

Most people firmly believe that lactate/lactic acid is the cause of muscle fatigue, “burning” and tying up. They’ll purchase supplements believing the products can reduce lactic acid, and they’ll make dietary changes for the same reasons. But lactic acid’s relationship to muscle fatigue is terribly misunderstood. Lactic acid isn’t the enemy.

Muscles And Energy

Muscles produce lactic acid continuously. It’s generated during the breakdown of glucose as an energy source. If the horse is moving slowly, most of the lactate is further broken down to pyruvate and goes into aerobic energy pathways. However, as the horse moves faster and needs to produce energy quickly to keep up with the demands, the aerobic…