Three Amigos

“Three Amigos delivers essential amino acids to support muscle development and exercise needs, in a palatable formula that’s easy to feed.”

—

Dr. Priska Darani, PhD

Equine Nutritionist, Director of Research

Three Amigos Supports:

• Muscle Development

• Athletic Performance

• Physical Stamina

• Hoof Strength and Growth

• Joints and Connective Tissue

• Coat Quality and Skin Health

• Post-Exercise Care

• Weight Maintenance

• Topline Muscles

• Immune Function

Mad Barn’s Three Amigos is an essential amino acid supplement for horses, formulated with lysine, methionine and threonine in an optimal 5:3:2 ratio to support protein synthesis, muscle development, topline and athletic performance.

Three Amigos provides a concentrated blend of limiting amino acids — the essential nutrients most likely to hold back protein synthesis when they are undersupplied in the diet.

For many horses that need muscle support, protein intake is only part of the picture. The horse’s diet may provide enough protein, but still fall short in the essential amino acids needed to build muscle, maintain topline and support healthy tissues.

By improving the amino acid profile of the ration, Three Amigos helps ensure the essential building blocks of proteins are available for the horse to use. This supports the synthesis of muscle proteins, collagen, keratin, enzymes, immune proteins and other functional tissues involved in growth, recovery, hoof quality, coat condition and normal body function.

This science-backed formula is especially useful for horses with higher amino acid demands, including horses in work, growing horses, broodmares, lactating mares, senior horses and horses on mature hay.

For horses that need more visible condition, better muscle support or a stronger nutritional foundation, Three Amigos is the best choice for supplementing amino acids in the diet.

What are Limiting Amino Acids?

Amino acids are the building blocks used to make proteins in the horse’s body. These proteins support growth, speed, strength, stamina, hoof health, skin and coat quality, joints, tendons, ligaments, reproductive function and more.

Some amino acids are essential, meaning they cannot be synthesized by the horse in sufficient amounts and must be supplied by the diet.

During digestion, dietary protein is broken down into single amino acids or short peptides, absorbed from the small intestine and delivered throughout the body. Inside cells, these amino acids are assembled in the specific sequence required to form each new protein.

Protein synthesis depends on the right amino acids being available in the right amounts. If one essential amino acid is too low relative to the horse’s needs, it becomes the limiting amino acid — the amino acid that restricts how efficiently the cells can use the rest of the amino acids.

In equine diets, lysine is typically the first limiting amino acid, followed by methionine and threonine. Horses can fall short in these amino acids because grass hay, pasture and cereal grains often do not provide enough of them to meet the horse’s needs.

Three Amigos supplies these first three limiting amino acids together in an optimal 5:3:2 ratio, with lysine provided at the highest level, followed by methionine and threonine. This helps support a better-balanced amino acid profile in the ration.

Roles of Lysine, Methionine and Threonine in the Body

Lysine

Lysine is the first limiting amino acid in many equine diets. It is the amino acid most likely to restrict protein synthesis when intake is too low relative to the horse’s needs.

• Protein Synthesis: Lysine is required to assemble proteins throughout the body, including muscle proteins, collagen, keratin, enzymes, transport proteins and immune proteins. It supports muscle development, topline maintenance, growth and normal recovery after exercise.

• Joints Mobility: Lysine contributes to collagen formation, a structural protein found in skin, bone matrix, cartilage, tendons, ligaments and other connective tissues.

• Bone Health: Lysine also enhances calcium absorption from the gut, increasing the availability of this mineral for healthy bone formation and normal muscle and nerve function. [5]

• Energy Metabolism: Lysine is required to synthesize carnitine, a vitamin-like nutrient involved in transporting long-chain fatty acids into mitochondria where they can be used for energy production.

According to the NRC (2007), a 500 kg (1,100 lb) horse at maintenance requires a minimum of 18 grams of lysine per day, with optimal intake estimated at 27 grams per day.

Exercising horses require approximately 29 to 35 grams per day, depending on workload. A 170 kg (375 lb) weanling requires 29 grams per day, while yearlings require approximately 48 to 50 grams per day.

Methionine

Methionine is a sulfur-containing essential amino acid that supports hoof quality, coat condition, connective tissue, cartilage, antioxidant defenses and normal cellular function.…