​​THE TRUTH ABOUT TRYPTOPHAN...

The problem we have where tryptophan is concerned is that the science that has been done all suffers from a simple fundamental flaw in that it makes the assumption that CALMING and SEDATION are the same thing, there NOT. That means the tests that have been developed to test calming actually test sedation. As tryptophan doesn’t sedate (which is a good thing) it will always fail these experiments.

Some of the papers referred to in this article use the “Reaction Speed Test”; this measures the initial flight response to a scare over a distance of two metres. In those tests “control” (untreated) horses canter away at about 5 metres per second. Sedated horses (given ACP, ACE or Sedalin) trot away at about 3.5 metres per second.

Sedated horses distance per second: 3.5m ---------------------
Control horses distance per second: 5m     ------------------------------

Magnesium, in small doses, also slows the reaction response down to a trot, which is to be expected as its sedative effects are well understood – though many equine nutritionists argue against this.

Sedatives impair brain function. They are drugs that force the body to do something unnatural when they are used. Good nutrition should enable the body to work normally not it force it. That is what tryptophan does. To understand this we have to consider the role of serotonin. Serotonin is made from tryptophan and has two major but different jobs in the body:

1. Inside the brain serotonin is used as a neurotransmitter. That is a chemical message sent from one nerve cell to another. It is only used in a small part of the brain which is involved in our horse’s sense of wellbeing and relaxation. If there is enough tryptophan to make serotonin, this part of the brain will function normally and the horse will have this ability to remain calm.
2. 80-90% of the serotonin in the body is actually used in the gut. When an animal is stressed it produces serotonin and that tells the gut muscles to contract emptying the gut, make the animal lighter for flight or fight. Many of us have witnessed this effect on our horses, whether it’s putting their travel boots on to get into the trailer/lorry, or introducing them to a new environment:

 "Seriously horse, surely you cannot produce any more pooh... Oh wait there's more!"

This understanding shows how a horse’s tryptophan reserves may be depleted – STRESS. Stressed horses may become tryptophan deficient. Hence the ONLY horses that will benefit from tryptophan will be those that stress a lot.
Unfortunately, the ‘scientific’ research into the benefits of tryptophan does appear to be flawed, notably for the following reasons:

1. Pre-stressed horses did not appear to be used. Earlier in the article we discussed the fact only stressed horses will benefit from Tryptophan.
2. Sedatives were not removed from their diet in the lead up to the experiments – most notably Magnesium. For more information on the effects of Magnesium in a horse’s diet, read our article Myths about Magnesium Horse Calmers article.

So having rather trashed the science, what are the things that many years of experience and careful monitoring of outcomes in the real world tells us?

Tryptophan either helps or it doesn’t there isn’t much of a grey area. It will work in stressful situations but only if other nutritional issues are not impacting negatively on behaviour. This is why we nearly always work to get chelated calcium and magnesium right before using tryptophan to fix specific, stress related issues.

Case Study

When first investigating tryptophan we were aware of the claims that it could affect stamina. So first a gram or two was very carefully given. Then one of our sponsored riders gave a 3* event horse (with a history of stress in dressage arenas) 40 grams! The horse completed all three phases perfectly – no stamina issues in any phase at all (not even the XC!). Since then we have often started horses on 10g or 20g and never had any stamina issue reported in any horse (including endurance horses).

Is Tryptophan always needed?

As horses gain in confidence their need for tryptophan diminishes. The horse mentioned above ended the season on just 3 grams a day and later dropped to no tryptophan at all, at which level it qualified for a senior British team.

The eventing anecdote quoted above took place in 2011. We have been selling tryptophan since then and, based on customer feedback, refined the advice we give and the circumstances in which we use it. In the right circumstances it is a really powerful nutritional tool with no downsides that we have identified in normal use.

For more information on how your horse’s diet can affect their behaviour, please give our advice team an email: advice@equifeast.net or if you would prefer give us a call on: 01 441453 836974

CLICK HERE to buy Optimax our Tryptophan based product.