KEEPING YOUR HORSE IN THE RACE — The Smart Trainer's Guide to Preventing Tying Up
Every trainer knows the sick feeling of watching a horse lock up after a work. The muscle rigidity, the reluctance to move, the sweat and distress — tying up, or Exertional Rhabdomyolysis as it is clinically known, is one of the most frustrating and performance-limiting conditions in racehorses and showjumpers. It can end a preparation, cost a race start, and in severe cases cause lasting muscle damage.
The good news is that tying up is largely preventable. And the solution comes down to two things: giving your horse's muscles the nutrients they need to work efficiently, and managing the metabolic processes that cause the problem in the first place.
At Equine2000 we carry two products that every serious performance horse trainer should have in their programme — Mega-Sel and Finish Line JCS X-Tie Up. Used together, they address tying up from two complementary angles and give your horse the best possible foundation for healthy, powerful, and consistent muscle performance.
Understanding Why Horses Tie Up
To understand why these products work, it helps to understand what is actually happening in the muscle when a horse ties up.
Tying up occurs when muscle cells are damaged during exercise — either through a deficiency of key nutrients that protect muscle cell integrity, or through the accumulation of lactic acid and other metabolic byproducts that overwhelm the muscle's ability to function and recover. In many horses it is a combination of both. Horses with a history of tying up often have chronically low selenium and vitamin E levels, and their muscles struggle to utilise energy efficiently under the demands of hard training and racing.
The result is a horse that never quite reaches its potential — stiff, sore, reluctant to work freely, and at risk of a significant tying up episode at any moment.
Mega-Sel — The Foundation of Muscle Health
Mega-Sel is the number one equine nutritional supplement for muscles in the United States, rated number one by the USA Horse Journal — and it earns that reputation for good reason.
At the core of Mega-Sel is a patented liquid combination of Selenium and Vitamin E, two of the most critical nutrients for equine muscle health. Selenium and Vitamin E work synergistically as powerful antioxidants — they protect muscle cell membranes from the oxidative damage that occurs during intense exercise, and they support the repair and recovery of muscle tissue after a hard work or race.
The difference between Mega-Sel and standard selenium supplements is in the delivery. As the USA Horse Journal noted, the liquid formulation achieves significantly higher blood levels than powdered forms — meaning more of what you are paying for actually gets to the muscle where it is needed. This has been demonstrated through numerous absorption studies conducted at Michigan State University and in field conditions, and it is why trainers who switch to Mega-Sel consistently report better results than they achieved with powders or injections.
Selenium deficiency is one of the most common underlying causes of tying up in performance horses, and New Zealand soils are notoriously selenium deficient. For the NZ racehorse or showjumper, Mega-Sel is not a luxury — it is a foundation supplement that addresses a genuine and widespread nutritional gap.
Every production batch is independently laboratory tested to measure selenium content, giving trainers complete confidence in what they are administering. It is also palatable — horses take it readily in feed, making daily administration straightforward even with fussy eaters.
For horses in moderate to hard work, administer 30 to 60ml twice daily in feed.
Finish Line JCS X-Tie Up — The Lactic Acid Manager
Where Mega-Sel works at the level of long-term muscle cell protection, JCS X-Tie Up tackles the acute metabolic side of the tying up equation — specifically lactic acid accumulation.
During intense exercise, the horse's muscles produce lactic acid as a byproduct of energy metabolism. In a well-conditioned horse with optimal nutritional support, this lactic acid is cleared efficiently and recovery is fast. In a horse that is deficient in key B vitamins, lactic acid builds up in the muscle faster than it can be cleared — contributing directly to the muscle cramping, stiffness, and pain of a tying up episode.
JCS X-Tie Up contains a proprietary blend of all natural B vitamins — Thiamine (B1), Riboflavin (B2), Niacinamide (B3), Pantothenic Acid (B5), Pyridoxine (B6), and B12 — in therapeutic concentrations specifically formulated to help muscles utilise energy more efficiently and moderate lactic acid accumulation during and after exercise.
Thiamine in particular plays a critical role in carbohydrate metabolism — it is the key nutrient the muscle needs to convert glucose into usable energy cleanly and efficiently. When thiamine is inadequate, lactic acid production increases and the muscle's ability to recover between efforts is compromised. For a racehorse asked to perform at maximum intensity, this matters enormously.
JCS X-Tie Up is administered directly to the back of the horse's throat using the simple three-dose protocol — a third on day one, a third on day two, skip day three, and the remainder on day four. This targeted approach delivers a concentrated therapeutic dose at the right time to support the horse through a demanding preparation or race campaign.
It contains absolutely no side effects and is composed entirely of natural ingredients — important for trainers competing under rules that prohibit synthetic performance-enhancing substances.
The Complete Muscle Protection Programme
Used together, Mega-Sel and JCS X-Tie Up create a comprehensive muscle protection programme that addresses both the underlying nutritional deficiencies that make horses susceptible to tying up, and the acute metabolic demands of hard training and competition.
Mega-Sel daily to build and maintain the selenium and vitamin E status that protects muscle cell integrity at the foundational level. JCS X-Tie Up administered strategically through your preparation to support efficient energy metabolism, moderate lactic acid, and give your horse the best possible muscle function on race day and through recovery.
For the racehorse trainer or showjumper who has dealt with tying up — or who wants to ensure they never have to — this is a protocol worth committing to. The cost of prevention is a fraction of the cost of a tying up episode, the lost preparation time, the veterinary bills, and the missed race starts.
Your horse's muscles are the engine. Protect them accordingly.
Both products are available now at equine2000.co.nz, see links below;
https://www.equine2000.co.nz/collections/muscle-support/products/jcs-x-tie-up
https://www.equine2000.co.nz/collections/muscle-support/products/mega-sel
Always consult your veterinarian before introducing new supplements, particularly for horses with a history of tying up or other muscle conditions. Follow label directions for dosage and administration.