Energy and stamina paste for horses: Star Power EQ

BioStar’s Star Power EQ™, is an energy paste to address the needs of your performance horse.

The energy requirements of competition horses can’t always be fully addressed by a feed program alone.  From show jumpers to dressage horses to eventers and barrel-racers, the energy and recovery needs of these athletes are vital to performance and well-being.

Performance horse energy from a whole horse perspective

Energy begins at the cellular level with the body’s energy currency called adenosine triphosphate (ATP).  Supporting ATP is fundamental for intracellular energy transfer.

The performance horse needs not only energy, but also brain support for focus, plus gastric and immune support for bodies and minds affected by stress.

How does your horse use energy?

Some horses get so excited or amped-up, they deplete their muscle glycogen stores and run out of steam too quickly.

Other horses take a long time to get going, and then cannot maintain energy over the duration of a show or clinic.

The BioStar approach to the energy needs of performance horses

• Increase the production of ATP, the energy currency of the body
• Reduce oxidative stress in muscles
• Support mental clarity and focus
• Help the body burn fat for energy
• Conserve muscle glycogen stores
• Support homeostasis
• Support the immune system
• Provide mucosal GI tract protection

Lactate does not cause Muscle Fatigue

Star Power EQ does not reduce lactate, and may enhance its production. Products that are marketed to reduce lactate are not up to date on current science and research.

For many years we believed that lactic acid/lactate causes muscle fatigue. Research has shown that this is not the case in humans or horses. Lactate is an intermediate link between aerobic exercise (sustained activity that burns carbohydrates and fat with oxygen) and anaerobic exercise (short bursts of intense activity that uses glucose without oxygen).  Lactate is actually essential for performance.

Racehorses and baking soda:

Remember when racehorse trainers were giving their horses a “milkshake” containing baking soda?  Research showed that the baking soda did not reduce lactate, it increased it. The racing commissions determined it to be performance enhancing and banned it. Yet the reason it was performance enhancing was not due to less lactate, it was due to more lactate.

How lactate benefits performance:

Lactate accumulation actually delays fatigue by mitigating an effect called depolarization, similar to a battery running low.  Lactate accumulation in muscle tissue counteracts the effects of depolarization. Lactate production is a protective mechanism that actually is an alkalizing buffer to harmful acidity in muscle cells.

Lactate produced during exercise can be recycled into glucose and used as fuel by the muscles, heart, and brain.

Star Power EQ helps reduce fatigue

Exercise increases the production of Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS). This can lead to a decrease in ATP production, resulting in oxidative stress in muscles.  Horses become fatigued and their muscles can become inflamed and sore.

Star Power EQ provides adaptogen plants and fungi that provide critical enzymatic action against ROS and muscle soreness.

The whole equine athlete

Focusing on the importance of cellular energy and balance for the equine body system during performance and recovery, we have researched specific plants and medicinal mushrooms used for centuries in Eastern Medicine, and today by many top human athletes around the world.

The tonic ingredients in Star Power EQ also address other elements vital to performance: adrenal support, mental focus, GI tract protection, and immune support.

Ginseng and rock rose: Ancient medicine, modern science

Ginseng and rock rose have been used by humans and animals for several thousand years in Traditional Chinese Medicine and Ayurvedic Medicine. In the late 1950’s Soviet scientists began studying specific plants from Traditional Chinese Medicine, including ginseng (Panax ginseng) and rock rose (Rhodiola rosea). The purpose of these studies was to provide their soldiers, cosmonauts, and elite athletes with energy-enhancing plants to increase performance and endurance. Because of the positive results of their research, ginseng and rock rose became essential nutritional components for Russian athletes, cosmonauts, and soldiers until they began synthesizing steroids.

Ginseng and rock rose are classified as adaptogens in Ayurveda. An adaptogen is therapeutic and restorative to the body. Adaptogenic plants increase resistance to stress and restore homeostasis.  Adaptogens may also be called “tonics” for their ability to combat fatigue and stress.

Red ginseng and fermented red ginseng work together:
Your horse receives dual benefits from both non-fermented and fermented red ginseng. Red ginseng root powder provides longer-acting effects while fermented red ginseng increases the rate of absorption.

Red Ginseng for the performance horse:
Among the variety of ginseng plants is Red Ginseng, also known as Panax ginseng.  The botanical name Panax is derived from the Greek words Pan meaning “all” and axos meaning “cure”.  Panax can literally be translated as “cure-all.”

Red ginseng root powder helps to burn fat for energy, increase stamina, and spare muscle glucose thereby reducing fatigue.

Red ginseng supports the production of superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione, and catalase, enzymes that are the primary defense against oxidative induced exercise stress. Oxidative-induced exercise stress leads to fatigue and muscle soreness.

Red ginseng, as an adaptogen, also supports adrenal health, strengthens the immune system, and increases mental clarity and focus.

Fermented ginseng goes to work quickly:

Fermented red ginseng mimics the fermentation process that occurs in the digestive tract. This results in a more bioavailable ginseng with 15 times greater absorption than non-fermented ginseng. With its greater absorption, fermented red ginseng goes to work faster.. Similar to fermented foods, fermented red ginseng also supports the beneficial bacteria in the gut.

Rock rose, a tonic for energy and stamina:

Traditional eastern healers and the Soviets are not the only ones to historically use rock rose.  Its use includes the ancient Greeks and Vikings, who relied on it for strength and endurance.

Rock rose increases the production of creatine phosphate and ATP, enhancing muscle energy, stamina, and recovery. It is considered restorative in Chinese Medicine and a tonic for the nervous system and lungs.

Cordyceps mushrooms for horses

For increased oxygen:

Cordyceps mushroom is one of the essential mushrooms in Traditional Chinese Medicine. Commonly recommended for fatigue, it is classified as an adaptogen, capable of balancing the body under stress.

Cordyceps drew attention in 1993 when Chinese athletes, on a program of cordyceps mushrooms, broke three world records. Cordyceps is now widely used by athletes around the world.

Recent clinical research shows that Cordyceps increases endurance and energy through efficient enzyme activity of red blood cells to increase oxygen.  Cordyceps can preserve glycogen usage during prolonged exercise. Cordyceps can assist in using lactate for energy, thus reducing fatigue.

For the immune system:
Cordyceps, as an adaptogen, supports and strengthens the immune system by stimulating cells and specific chemicals.

Capros® improves performance

Capros® is a patented extract from Amalaki berries (Indian Gooseberry), which can increase nitric oxide production by 50%.  Capros also helps reduce oxidative stress, a marker for inflammation.

Nitric oxide is the master circulatory molecule in the body.  It increases blood flow to deliver more oxygen to muscles and helps to remove metabolic waste products.

Sunflower lecithin supports the brain and the gut

Sunflower lecithin supports the neurotransmitter acetylcholine.  This element plays an essential role in several vital functions including memory and muscle control.

Sunflower lecithin also protects the gastrointestinal lining, including the glandular portion of the stomach where recurrent ulcers can form.

MCT oil from coconut:

Medium chain triglycerides (MCT) is a type of fatty acid that is easily digested and provides an immediate source of fuel to the body.

 

Star Power EQ addresses the energy needs of different horses

The key to energy is not only fuel (carbohydrates, sugar, and fat), but is also the fundamental cellular energy of the body: ATP.

The ingredients in Star Power EQ support the production of ATP, so that horses who burn energy quickly don’t run out of gas, and horses who have low energy can increase stamina.

Field-testing Star Power EQ:

We tested Star Power EQ on horses who are “hot” and have lots of energy but burn themselves out. We found these horses had less fatigue, better focus, and did not become over-stimulated on Star Power EQ.

We also tested Star Power EQ on horses who are slow to warm up and are quick to fatigue. We found these horses had greater endurance and more prolonged energy on Star Power EQ.

“Adiah gets her tube of Star Power EQ, she hits the ring and is READY TO RUMBLE! After she finishes her test, she prances back to the barn and feels great.” – Jim Koford, Grand Prix Dressage Rider and Trainer

 

 

 

Star Power EQ is show safe.

 

 

 

About the Author: With over 30 years experience in the equine and human supplement industry, Tigger Montague knows nutrition from the synthetic side as well as the whole food side. She started BioStar US in 2006 with formulas she created in her kitchen.  Before she started the company, she was an avid rider and competitor with eventing and show jumping, until she got hooked on dressage in the late 1980’s.  She has competed on horses she’s owned and trained all the way from training level to Grand Prix.

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References/Links:

• Science fact or fiction? Lactic acid buildup causes muscle fatigue and soreness? Get Science.com
• Horsemen feed baking soda for varying reasons. Daily Racing Form
• A preliminary review of studies on adaptogens. The National Center for Biotechnology Information
• Pharmacological and therapeutic potential of Cordyceps with special reference to Cordycepin. The National Center for Biotechnology Information
• Medicinal uses of ginseng and related plants in the soviet union: Recent trends in the Soviet literature. Science Direct
• Before Steroids, Russians Secretly Studied Herbs. National Geographic