Hay is a primary forage source for horses, consisting of dried grasses or legumes harvested and stored for feeding. It serves as a significant component of the equine diet, providing essential fiber, energy, and nutrients necessary for maintaining digestive health and overall well-being. Common types of hay fed to horses include timothy, alfalfa, and orchard grass, each varying in nutritional content and suitability for different dietary needs. The quality and nutritional value of hay can be influenced by factors such as the plant species, stage of maturity at harvest, and storage conditions. This page compiles peer-reviewed research studies and scholarly articles that explore the composition, nutritional evaluation, and impact of hay on equine health and performance.
Martin A, Lepers R, Vasseur M, Julliand S.Large amounts of high-starch concentrates are traditionally fed to horses in training. However, this has been associated with digestive or muscle diseases and behavioural modifications. In parallel, it has been demonstrated that horses fed high-fibre, low-starch diets achieve the same performance over an exercise test as the ones fed high-starch diets. However, whether the same performance level can be maintained over a longer training cycle is still being determined. This study aimed to compare the evolution in physical performance and cardiorespiratory responses of two groups of French Trott...
Carvalho Seabra J, Hess T, Martinez do Vale M, Spercoski KM, Brooks R, Dittrich JR.Free choice forage could be the best option regarding horses' welfare but can lead to increased body weight (BW), and waste of hay. Automatic box feeders (BF) and slow feeders (SF) decrease food waste, but it is unknown how these affect the horses' time-budget (TB). This study compared the effects of feeding free choice hay (FC), to a SF and an automated BF on the horses' cortisol circadian rhythm (CCR) and behavior by 24-hours continuous behavioral sampling (CBS). The study was designed as a 3 × 3 Latin square design with 15 polo horses divided into 3 groups, for 15 days on each treatment....
Bordin C, Raspa F, Harris P, Ellis AD, Roggero A, Palestrini C, Bergero D, Valle E.The application of hay feeding devices, such as the use of hay nets or slow feeders, can help with the management of weight in ponies; however, there is still a lack of knowledge regarding their effect on equine posture. Therefore, the aim of the study was to assess the effect of different feeding devices on the posture of ponies using morphometric analysis. Two different breed types, Shetland type (SH, n = 5) versus Welsh Cob type (WC, n = 4), were fed the same forage in four different ways: on the ground (G), using a fully filled haynet (HF), using a partially filled haynet (HL) and...
Hyde KA, Altman A, Banasek R, Gastal MO, Gastal EL.Hay wastage when feeding round bales due to contamination, deterioration, and animal refusal can accrue large financial losses for farmers. The present study investigated the efficiency of the conventional Tombstone-style feeder system compared to the Hay Saver feeder system to reduce hay wastage in feeding round hay bales. Mares were distributed equally into two groups, Tombstone and Hay Saver, and fed six bales per group over 48 days. Hay wastage was collected daily, dried, and weighed, while the mares were weighed weekly. Overall, the Hay Saver feeder showed less hay wastage, higher mean ma...
Kranenburg LC, van der Poel SH, Warmelink TS, van Doorn DA, van den Boom R.Equine squamous gastric disease (ESGD) is common in horses and poses a serious welfare problem. Several risk factors have been identified and ESGD is routinely treated with omeprazole. Fourteen mares, previously used as embryo recipients and diagnosed with ESGD, were selected. Horses were confined to individual stalls, exercised once daily, and fed ad libitum hay, 1 kg of a low starch compound complementary feed and a mineral supplement. Half of the horses received a compound containing hydrolysed collagen (supplement) and the other half did not (control). At the start of the study, ESGD score...
Moore-Colyer M, Westacott A, Rousson L, Harris P, Daniels S.Despite our improved understanding of equid digestive health and accurate rations formulations, obesity in the UK horse population remains high. Study aims: (1) to determine how owners are feeding their horses and what influences their choices, (2) to understand owners' knowledge of haylage and (3) to identify key areas that require additional education. Data were collected in 2020 from 1338 UK horse owners via two online surveys. Survey 1 was on general feeding practices, and Survey 2 was specifically on the feeding of haylage. Data were processed using chi square analyses + Bonferroni tests,...
Petz V, Khiaosa-Ard R, Iben C, Zebeli Q.Chewing is an essential physiological process in horses; yet, the physical form of feeds may affect their chewing and feeding behaviour with consequences for equine digestion and health. The present study evaluated the potential of a commercial forage cubes made from alfalfa and mixed meadow grasses to maintain chewing activity when compared with a traditional long and fibre-rich hay. An additional aim was to measure the dust formation during feeding. The experiment was a crossover design with six horses (11 ± 4 years old, mean ± SD), fed with 5 kg (as-fed basis) of their feed (long hay...
Muhonen S, Julliand V.Racing events challenge the fluid balance of athletic horses. The equine large intestine functions as a fluid reservoir, since the properties of dietary forage fibre affect the digesta water content and the milieu of this ecosystem. This study aimed to investigate the effect of grass maturity and legume forage on the faecal water-holding capacity (WHC) and microbial ecosystem, and the fluid balance and body weight (BW) of French trotters in race training. Six geldings were offered three diets with different fibre compositions: concentrate and late-harvested mature grass haylage (35:65 energy r...
Leise JM, Leatherwood JL, Paris BL, Walter KW, George JM, Martinez RE, Glass KP, Lo CP, Mays TP, Wickersham TA.Thirty stock type geldings (15 ± 3 years; 556 ± 63 kg BW) were used in a randomized complete design over 28 days to determine the influence of cannabidiol (CBD) oil supplementation levels on body weight, body condition, and blood chemistry. Horses were randomly assigned to one of three dietary treatments (n = 10 per treatment) formulated with canola oil to provide 1.50 mg CBD/kg BW (TRTA), 0.75 mg CBD/kg BW (TRTB), or 0.00 mg CBD/kg BW (canola oil; CTRL). Treatments were top-dressed onto concentrate and individually administered twice daily. Horses were maintained in adjacent dry lots and re...
Baumgartner M, Erhard MH, Zeitler-Feicht MH.Automated feeding systems offer numerous advantages for animals and humans, but the associated benefits and risks can often only be seen under practical conditions. The space allowance (~80 cm per horse) at time-controlled hay racks for horses in group housing, unlike at partitioned feeding stands or transponder-controlled feed stations, currently falls below the required individual distance between the horses, which can result in a high level of aggression between the horses due to the lack of partitions between them. Hence, a feed-through at a time-controlled hay rack cannot be equated with ...
Stang FL, Bjerregaard R, Müller CE, Ergon Å, Halling M, Thorringer NW, Kidane A, Jensen RB.Carbohydrates in forages constitute an important part of the feed ration for all horses. The aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of harvest time on carbohydrate composition and digestion of various grass species. The experiment was divided into three parts 1) characterization of the chemical composition of experimental feeds (6 grass species: meadow fescue [MF], cocksfoot [CF], perennial ryegrass [PR], smooth bromegrass [SB], tall fescue [TF], and timothy [TI], and 3 harvest times: early, medium, and late first cut), 2) measurements of the in vitro digestion of selected expe...
Olave CJ, Ivester KM, Couetil LL, Burgess J, Park JH, Mukhopadhyay A.Racehorses commonly develop evidence of mild asthma in response to dust exposure. Diets deficient in omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (Ω-3) might exacerbate this response. Objective: To compare dust exposure, bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) cytology, and plasma Ω-3 and specialized pro-resolving mediators (SPM) concentrations amongst racehorses fed dry hay, steamed hay, and haylage. Methods: Forty-three Thoroughbred racehorses. Methods: Prospective clinical trial. Horses were randomly assigned to be fed dry hay, steamed hay, or haylage for 6 weeks. Measures of exposure to dust in the...
Pisch C, Wensch-Dorendorf M, Schwarzenbolz U, Henle T, Greef JM, Zeyner A.Steaming hay is increasingly used to treat low-quality forage because it was proven to reduce inhalable allergens such as mould spores, bacteria, and airborne dust particles. Preliminary results have shown a substantial loss of precaecal (pc) digestibility (D) of crude protein (CP) and amino acids (AA). For this purpose, six different batches of hay from central Germany were divided into four subsamples, and each one was individually steamed. Native hay and four replicates of each steamed subsample were analysed for CP, AA, neutral detergent insoluble crude protein (NDICP), neutral detergent s...
Rutledge JJ, Paegelow J, Ritchey J, Singh A, Rizzi T, Murray C, Gilliam L, Crisman E, Williams NJ, Holbrook TC.The objective of this study was to determine the extent that nebulized glycosylated caffeic acid phenylether ester-4-O-alpha-D-glucopyranoside (G-CAPE) attenuates particulate-induced airway inflammation in healthy horses. Our hypothesis was that nebulization with G-CAPE would result in improved respiratory scores, higher arterial oxygen partial pressure, and less inflammatory airway infiltrates in horses with induced airway inflammation, compared with untreated controls. Five healthy adult horses were housed inside a climate controlled, closed barn on straw bedding and fed moldy grass hay for...
Hodgson S, Bennett-Skinner P, Lancaster B, Upton S, Harris P, Ellis AD.These studies assessed the pressure forces exerted by horses to extract forage from haynets. Study 1 measured horse posture and pressure in Newtons (10 N = 1 kg Force) exerted on haynets when feeding from either a single (SH) or double layered (DH) haynet (3 kg Hay), hung low or high. Mean and maximum pull forces were higher for the DH vs. SH (DH: 81 ± 2 N, max 156 N; SH: 74 ± 2.9 N, max 121 N; p < 0.01). Horses pulled harder on low (max pull 144 ± 8 N) compared to high (109 ± 8 N; p < 0.05) hung haynets. Mean maximum angles (nose-poll-withers) recorded were 90° ± 9 for SH and 127...
Orr EL, Staniar WB, Smarsh DN.Various aspects of nutritional management can impact both a horse's gastrointestinal (GI) health and caretaker costs. The objective of this study was to characterize the feeding management and GI issues of horses in Pennsylvania (PA). An online survey was distributed from February 27th to August 31st, 2020. Kruskal-Wallis and Mann-Whitney tests were used to analyze the data. Nonparametric statistics were used when data were not normally distributed. From 470 responses collected, the average horse age was 15.7 ± 7.5 years, and the most common breeds were the Quarter Horse and Thoroughbred. Of ...
Köninger M, von Velsen-Zerweck A, Eiberger C, Jilg A, Töpper A, Visscher C, Reckels B, Vervuert I.Roughage alternatives for equine nutrition must be found due to the increasing climatic challenges. The aim of this study was to examine the nutrient composition and feed hygiene of alfalfa hay in comparison to meadow hay and to investigate the acceptance, weight development and faecal quality of broodmares fed alfalfa hay. The feed used was examined for nutrient content and hygiene status according to the standards of the Verband Deutscher Landwirtschaftlicher Untersuchungs- und Forschungsanstalten (VDLUFA). Twenty adult pregnant warmblood mares were fed in two groups (n=10) with a defined am...
Paul LJ, Ericsson AC, Andrews FM, McAdams Z, Keowen ML, St Blanc MP, Banse HE.The purpose of this study was to characterize the relationship of diet and management factors with the glandular gastric mucosal microbiome. We hypothesize that the gastric mucosal microbial community is influenced by diet and management factors. Our specific objective is to characterize the gastric mucosal microbiome in relation to these factors. 57 client-owned horses in the southern Louisiana region with and without equine glandular gastric disease. Diet and management data were collected via a questionnaire. Gastroscopy was used for evaluation of equine gastric ulcer syndrome and collectio...
Schwarm A, Clauss M, Ortmann S, Jensen RB.Sieve analyses of hindgut contents of horses as well as observations in horses where plastic markers had been applied to a caecal cannula suggested that there may be a discrimination by particle size in the passage or retention of digesta. Here, we performed a similar experiment with five caecum-cannulated horses (562 ± 31 kg) fed a constant amount (6.81 kg dry matter/day) of grass hay. Passage markers representing the liquid (Co-EDTA) as well as the particulate digesta phase (Yb-undefined; Cr mordanted fibre 1-2 mm; Ce-mordanted fibre 8 mm) were given as a pulse-dose into the can...
Blanchard T, Fantinati M, Domange C, Priymenko N.The present report describes two novel cases of suspected intoxication with Galega officinalis in 6- and 21-year-old Arabian mares displaying acute respiratory signs. Both animals showed signs of pulmonary edema at physical examination, with the oldest of the two also manifesting severe dyspnea and foamy nasal discharge. The mares were grazing on the same meadow with hay available ad libitum. Botanical analysis of the latter showed traces of the toxic plant Galega officinalis (L.), which has been daily ingested at a dose of around 14 g of dry matter for three days. Based on the respiratory sig...
Zhang Z, Gao X, Dong W, Huang B, Wang Y, Zhu M, Wang C.Equines and ruminants have evolved as grazing herbivores with specialized gastrointestinal tracts capable of utilizing a wide range of fibrous feeds. In China, agricultural by-products, including corn straw, wheat straw, peanut vine, wheat husk, rice husk, and grass hay, have been extensively included in both equine and ruminant diets. These plant materials, which are composed predominantly of cellulose, hemicellulose, noncellulosic polysaccharides, and lignin, are largely undegradable by equines and ruminants themselves. Their breakdown is accomplished by communities of resident microorganism...
Loos CMM, Urschel KL, Vanzant ES, Oberhaus EL, Bohannan AD, Klotz JL, McLeod KR.The objectives of the study were to study the effects of the synthetic ergot alkaloid (EA), bromocriptine, on glucose and lipid metabolism in insulin dysregulated (ID, n = 7) and non-ID (n = 8) mares. Horses were individually housed and fed timothy grass hay and two daily concentrate meals so that the total diet provided 120% of daily DE requirements for maintenance. All horses were given intramuscular bromocriptine injections (0.1 mg/kg BW) every 3 days for 14 days. Before and after 14 days of treatment horses underwent a combined glucose-insulin tolerance test (CGIT) to assess insulin sensit...
Raspa F, Vervuert I, Capucchio MT, Colombino E, Bergero D, Forte C, Greppi M, Cavallarin L, Giribaldi M, Antoniazzi S, Cavallini D, Valvassori E....Horses are often fed high amounts of starch in their diets despite the well-established benefits of a fibre-based diet to promote gut health and animal welfare. The aim of the present study was to compare the effects of two different diets - one based on high amounts of starch (HS) vs. one base on high amounts of fibre (HF) - on specific parameters of the gut environment across different intestinal compartments of the horse digestive tract. To this end differences in the gastrointestinal environment between HS vs. HF fed horses were assessed in terms of dry matter, organic matter and ash conte...
Intemann S, Reckels B, Schubert D, Wolf P, Kamphues J, Visscher C.The hygienic quality of forage for horses is discussed as a potential health hazard, especially regarding respiratory diseases, colic, and hepatopathies. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to investigate the possible relations between microbiological counts, as well as endotoxin levels and disease symptoms. Data from microbiological examination reports were analyzed retrospectively, including the results of sensory examination, microbiological counts, and lipopolysaccharide contents. Sensory analysis gave an indication of deficiencies in microbiological analysis, but both methods did not...
Grimm P, Laroche N, Julliand S, Sorci G.It is increasingly difficult to control equine strongyles with synthetic drugs, as resistance is commonly observed. Here, we investigated the possible anthelmintic effect of sainfoin (), a polyphenol-rich legume, in naturally infected horses. On Day 0 (D0), 17 horses were allocated to three different homogenous groups in terms of fecal egg count (FEC): the control group (CONT) received a diet composed on a DM basis of 83% hay and 17% wheat bran, while in the sainfoin 1 (SF1) and sainfoin 2 (SF2) groups, half or all wheat bran, respectively, was replaced by dehydrated sainfoin pellets. The infe...
Cavallini D, Penazzi L, Valle E, Raspa F, Bergero D, Formigoni A, Fusaro I.Dry hay (composed of grass, legumes, or a mixture of the two) provides the primary source of alimentary fiber in stabled horses with limited access to fresh pasture. However, hay can also give rise to health problems in the horse, depending on the quality and quantity of its components. Pathologies may be rooted in biological problems, such as inadequate digestion disturbances, or reflect mechanical difficulties-for example, due to the presence of sharp plant parts that irritate the oral mucosa, or due to physical intake problems that inhibit consumption. Unwanted plants in the hay may cause s...
Winter JC, Thieme K, Eule JC, Saliu EM, Kershaw O, Gehlen H.Primary photosensitization rarely occurs in horses and can easily be misinterpreted. Descriptions of the disease in horses after ingestion of parsnip are lacking. The aim of this case series was to describe the dermatological and ocular changes due to photosensitization and to raise awareness of parsnip being a possible aetiologic agent. Methods: Nine horses from three different stables in Berlin and Brandenburg, Germany, presented variable degrees of erythema, scaling, crusting and necrosis of unpigmented skin at the head and prepuce. Horses were of different breeds with a median age of 15 ...
Sroka L, Müller C, Hass ML, These A, Aboling S, Vervuert I.Senecio jacobaea contains pyrrolizidine alkaloids that can induce severe hepatic intoxication in horses, either acute when ingested in high amounts or chronic when consumed over a long period. The aim of this study was to determine horses' rejection behaviour towards the presence of Senecio jacobaea in hay when fed ad libitum. We hypothesized that adult horses can sort Senecio jacobaea out of the contaminated hay when hay is fed ad libitum. Six warmblood geldings with a mean (±SD) age of 15 ± 2 years were included. In a randomized study, Senecio jacobaea contaminated hay (5% or 10% con...
Willard JG, Willard JC, Wolfram SA, Baker JP.Three cecal-fistulated horses were used in a 3 × 3 latin square experiment to determine the influence of diet and of cecal infusions of Na2C03 on cecal fermentation and feeding behavior. The three treatments were hay, concentrate and concentrate plus hourly infusions of Na2CO3. Cecal fluid samples and cecal pH readings were taken at zero through 11 hr following feeding at the end of each experimental period, and animal activity was measured by the use of a movie camera set to take 5 sec of film every 5 minutes. Cecal pH was significantly lower at 4, 5 and 6 hr following feeding for the horses...
Contreras-Aguilar MD, Hevia ML, Escribano D, Lamy E, Tecles F, Cerón JJ.This study aims to evaluate the effect of the presence of food and the material used in a panel of biomarkers in saliva of horses. For the food effect study, clean saliva was incubated with a known amount of food consisting of oats, hay or grass. Significant changes were observed when saliva was incubated with oats for total protein (P = .050) and phosphorus (P = .008), with grass for total protein (P = .037), salivary alpha-amylase (sAA, P = .018), total esterase (TEA, P = .018), butyrilcholinesterase (BChE, P = .037), adenosine deaminase (ADA, P = .037), and total bilirubin (P...
Destrez A, Grimm P, Cézilly F, Julliand V.The digestive system of horses is adapted to a high-fiber diet consumed in small amounts over a long time. However, during training, high-starch and low-fiber diets are usually fed which may induce hindgut microbial disturbances and intestinal pain. These diets can be described as alimentary stress. The aim of the present study was to investigate to what extent changes in behavior are associated with alimentary stress and microbial composition changes of the cecal or colonic ecosystem. Six fistulated horses were used. The alimentary stress was a modification of diet from a high-fiber diet (100...
Goodson J, Tyznik WJ, Cline JH, Dehority BA.Microbial numbers, pH, fluid volume, and turnover rate in the pony cecum were measured during an abrupt change from an all-forage to an all-concentrate diet, both fed at maintenance energy levels. Concentrate feeding resulted in increased (P less than 0.01) numbers of total viable anaerobic bacteria. The numbers of organisms growing on selective starch medium increased (P less than 0.01) when concentrate was fed, while numbers on xylan and pectin media decreased (P less than 0.025). Seven days after the diet change to concentrate, the number of bacteria growing on lactate medium increased (P l...
Cheeke PR.Plant toxins are the chemical defenses of plants against herbivory. Grasses have relatively few intrinsic toxins, relying more on growth habit to survive defoliation and endophytic fungal toxins as chemical defenses. Forage grasses that contain intrinsic toxins include Phalaris spp. (tryptamine and carboline alkaloids), sorghums (cyanogenic glycosides), and tropical grasses containing oxalates and saponins. Toxic effects of these grasses include neurological damage (Phalaris staggers), hypoxia (sudangrass), saponin-induced photosensitization (Brachiaria and Panicum spp.), and bone demineraliza...
Cymbaluk NF, Christison GI.Horses are reared in all types of weather. Temperatures as diverse as -40 degrees C to 40 degrees C are tolerated by horses. The nutrient requirement most influenced by cold weather is energy. In cold weather, feeding good quality hays free-choice is usually sufficient for mature horses in good body condition. Grain may have to be fed when poor quality hays are used. Hot weather (greater than 30 degrees C) necessitates heat loss to maintain body core temperature. Horses sweat to reduce body heat. Heat stress can be minimized by feeding diets that reduce the heat increment. Use of grain and fat...
Muhonen S, Julliand V, Lindberg JE, Bertilsson J, Jansson A.The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of an abrupt change from grass hay (81% DM) to grass silage (36% DM) or grass haylage (55% DM), fed at similar DM intakes, and to compare the effects of silage and haylage on the composition and activities of the colon microflora. The forages were from the same swath harvested on the same day. Four adult colon-fistulated geldings were randomly assigned to diets in a crossover design. The study started with a preperiod when all 4 horses received the hay diet, followed by an abrupt feed change to the haylage diet for 2 horses and the sila...
Zhu Y, Wang X, Deng L, Chen S, Zhu C, Li J.Diet is an important factor affecting intestinal microbiota in horses. Fecal microbiota is commonly used as a substitute for studying hindgut microbiota when investigating the relationship between intestinal microbial changes and host health. So far, no study has compared the difference between the fecal microbiota found in horses that are fed pasture grass, silage, and hay. The present study aims to characterize the fecal microbiota in horses that were exclusively on one of the three forage diets, and to analyze the potential impact of these forages, especially silage, on horse intestinal hea...
Pirie RS, Collie DD, Dixon PM, McGorum BC.To evaluate inhaled hay dust suspensions (HDS) as a tool for the diagnosis and investigation of heaves, the pulmonary inflammatory and functional consequences of inhalation challenge with 3 different HDS were determined in 6 control and 7 asymptomatic heaves horses. Heaves horses given HDS challenge developed the characteristic features of heaves, including airway neutrophilia, obstructive airway dysfunction and mucus hypersecretion. While HDS challenge induced a mild airway neutrophilia in controls, the no-response threshold for controls was greater than that of heaves horses, and there was n...
Woods PS, Robinson NE, Swanson MC, Reed CE, Broadstone RV, Derksen FJ.Airborne dust concentration (ADC) was measured in 2 different horse management systems using an Andersen cascade impactor in the box-stall, and a personal Marple cascade impactor attached to the halter to measure ADC in the breathing zone. The levels of aeroallergens implicated in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease were measured by radioallergosorbent-inhibition immunoassay. A conventional management system (System C) utilising hay feed and straw bedding, and a recommended environment (System R) utilising wood shaving bedding and a complete pelleted diet were studied. In the stall, total an...
Kleiber C, McGorum BC, Horohov DW, Pirie RS, Zurbriggen A, Straub R.Equine recurrent airway obstruction (RAO) is thought to result from an aberrant immune response to inhaled antigens, modulated by T lymphocytes via the secretion of pro-inflammatory cytokines. However data relating to the phenotypes of the T lymphocytes present in peripheral blood and bronchoalveolar lavage fluid of RAO horses and their cytokine profiles are contradictory. The aim of this study was to further investigate the cytokine (IL-4, IL-5, IL-13 and INF-gamma) mRNA expression profile in peripheral blood lymphocytes and bronchoalveolar lavage lymphocytes from RAO and control horses, befo...
Pearson RA, Merritt JB.Four donkeys and four ponies maintained in climate rooms, were provided with meadow hay or barley straw supplemented with minerals and vitamins ad libitum. Both diets were given to all animals for periods of 21 days. Measurements were made during the last seven days following single doses of two non-absorbable markers (Cr-fibre and Co-EDTA). After six weeks the donkeys repeated the trial, walking 14 km and ascending 260 m five days per week. At rest ponies ate more than donkeys, however the donkeys showed a higher digestibility of dry matter (DM), organic matter (OM) and acid detergent fibre (...
Johnson AL, McAdams SC, Whitlock RH.The objective of the current retrospective study was to describe naturally occurring type A botulism in horses in the United States. In the past 10 years, the Botulism Laboratory at the University of Pennsylvania's School of Veterinary Medicine has identified 3 isolated cases and 8 outbreaks of type A botulism in horses via samples positive for Clostridium botulinum type A toxin or spores using the mouse bioassay test. Additional information was obtained by review of submission forms and by telephone or email interviews. Almost all type A cases and outbreaks occurred in the western United Stat...
Rapson JL, Schott HC, Nielsen BD, McCutcheon LJ, Harris PA, Geor RJ.Age and diet may affect insulin sensitivity (SI) but these factors have received limited investigation in horses. Objective: To measure minimal model parameters during an insulin-modified frequently sampled intravenous glucose tolerance test (FSIGTT) after adaptation to a forage only diet (HAY) or forage supplemented with either starch/sugar-rich (SS) or oil/fibre-rich (FF) concentrate feeds; and to assess glucose and insulin responses to a standardised meal challenge (SMC, 4 g/kg BW of SS) after diet adaptation in adult and aged mares. Methods: Latin square design with eight adult (5-12 yea...
Bailey SR, Menzies-Gow NJ, Harris PA, Habershon-Butcher JL, Crawford C, Berhane Y, Boston RC, Elliott J.To determine whether pasture, and specifically the addition of fructan carbohydrate to the diet, induces exaggerated changes in serum insulin concentration in laminitispredisposed (LP) ponies, compared with ponies with no history of the condition, and also to determine insulin responses to the dexamethasone suppression test. Methods: Prospective study. Methods: 10 LP and 11 control adult nonobese mixed-breed ponies. Methods: Insulin-modified IV glucose tolerance tests were performed (5 ponies/group). In diet studies, ponies were kept on pasture and then changed to a hay diet (10 ponies/group)....
Dallaire A, Rucklebusch Y.For several weeks, three ponies kept in an environment with controlled light and temperature, were studied for behaviour (time spent in recumbency and time required to consume hay or oats) and for electrical activity of the brain (cortical and sub-cortical) during the night phase of the circadian rhythm. Recumbency was adopted by all the ponies for six or seven periods during the night. With a regimen of hay ad libitum, about four hours were cumulated in sternal recumbency and only one hour in complete lateral recumbency. Various degree of sleep, as identified by cortical and hippocampal elect...
Earing JE, Cassill BD, Hayes SH, Vanzant ES, Lawrence LM.The objective of this study was to determine if in vitro methodologies developed for the Ankom Daisy(II) incubator could produce accurate estimates of in vivo equine DM digestibility (DMD) and NDF digestibility (NDFD) when equine feces were used as the inoculum source. Four mature geldings were utilized in a 4 × 4 Latin square design experiment with a 2 × 2 factorial arrangement of dietary treatments (timothy hay, alfalfa hay, timothy hay plus oats, and alfalfa hay plus oats), in which the geldings were individually housed and fed. During each 5-d total fecal collection period, feces were co...
Divers TJ, Cummings JE, de Lahunta A, Hintz HF, Mohammed HO.To determine whether equine motor neuron disease (EMND) could be induced in adult horses fed a diet low in vitamin E and high in copper and iron. Methods: 59 healthy adult horses. Methods: Horses in the experimental group (n = 8) were confined to a dirt lot and fed a concentrate low in vitamin E and high in iron and copper in addition to free-choice grass hay that had been stored for 1 year. Control horses (n = 51) were fed a concentrate containing National Research Council-recommended amounts of copper, iron, and vitamin E. The hay fed to control horses was the same as that fed to experimenta...
Elia JB, Erb HN, Houpt KA.The natural diet of free-ranging horses is grass, which is typically high in fiber and calorically dilute, however diets for high performance domestic horses are often low in fiber and calorically dense. The aim of the study was to determine the motivation of horses for hay when fed a low roughage diet. Their motivation could be used to determine if low roughage diets compromise the welfare of horses. Eight mares were fed two different diets in counterbalanced order: ad libitum orchard grass hay; a complete pelleted feed (pellets). Each trial lasted three weeks, with a one-week transition peri...
Murray MJ, Schusser GF.A glass combined pH-reference electrode was placed in the stomachs of 5 adult horses and pH was recorded every 6 mins for 24 h while (1) feed and all bedding materials were withheld for 24 h (unfed), (2) horses had free access to Timothy grass hay for 24 h (fed), and (3) horses had free access to Timothy grass hay and were treated with ranitidine, 6.6 mg/kg body weight, orally, every 8 h for 48 h (fed + ranitidine). There was a significant (P = 0.007) difference in median 24-h gastric pH amongst the 3 protocols, the value being 3.1 in fed horses and 1.55 in unfed horses (P = 0.05) and 4.6 in f...
Olave CJ, Ivester KM, Couetil LL, Kritchevsky JE, Tinkler SH, Mukhopadhyay A.Respirable dust exposure is linked to airway inflammation in racehorses. Feeding haylage may reduce dust exposure by 60-70%. The objective of this study was to compare dust exposure, airway cytology, and inflammatory cytokine concentrations between horses fed haylage or hay over 6 weeks while in training. Seven healthy Standardbred horses were randomly assigned to be fed alfalfa hay (n = 3) or grass-alfalfa mix haylage (n = 4) for six weeks while training on a treadmill. Dust exposure was measured gravimetrically at the breathing zone. Endotoxin and β-glucan concentrations in respirable dust ...
Ragnarsson S, Jansson A.The aim of the present study was to compare digestibility and metabolic response in Icelandic and Standardbred horses fed two grass haylages harvested at different stages of maturity. Six horses of each breed were used in a 24-day change-over design. A total collection of faeces was made on days 15-17 and 22-24. Blood samples were collected on day 24 of each period and analysed for total plasma protein (TPP), plasma urea, non-esterified fatty acids, cortisol and insulin concentration. There were no differences in digestibility coefficients of crude protein, neutral detergent fibre or energy be...
Franz R, Soliva CR, Kreuzer M, Hummel J, Clauss M.It is assumed that small herbivores produce negligible amounts of methane, but it is unclear whether this is a physiological peculiarity or simply a scaling effect. A respiratory chamber experiment was conducted with six rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus, 1.57±0.31 kg body mass) and six guinea pigs (Cavia porcellus, 0.79±0.07 kg) offered grass hay ad libitum. Daily dry matter (DM) intake and DM digestibility were 50±6 g kg⁻⁰·⁷⁵ d⁻¹ and 55±6% in rabbits and 59±11 g kg⁻⁰·⁷⁵ d⁻¹ and 61±3% in guinea pigs, respectively. Methane production was similar for both species (0.2...
Ellis-Iversen J, Pritchard GC, Wooldridge M, Nielen M.Campylobacter jejuni and C. coli are the most prevalent causes of bacterial diarrhoea in most of the Western World. In Great Britain, the source remains unknown for the majority of cases, though poultry is considered the main source of infection. Molecular typing methods identify cattle as a potential source of a proportion of the non-source-attributed cases, mainly through direct contact, environmental contamination or milk, but little is known about the epidemiology of Campylobacter in cattle. A cross-sectional study was undertaken on young cattle 3-17 months of age on 56 cattle farms in Eng...
Little D, Blikslager AT.Deal impaction is prevalent in the south-eastern USA, where feeding of Coastal Bermuda hay has been implicated as a risk factor. Alternatively, infection with the tapeworm Anoplocephala perfoliata has been identified as a risk factor for ileal impaction in the UK. We hypothesised that feeding Coastal Bermuda hay and failure to administer routinely an anthelmintic with efficacy against tapeworms would place horses at risk of developing ileal impaction in the USA. Seventy-eight horses, with surgically confirmed ileal impaction and 100 horses admitted for colic that did not have an ileal impactio...
Clarke LL, Roberts MC, Argenzio RA.The association of feeding practices with the development of digestive disorders in horses has long been recognized, although the underlying mechanisms had been barely considered. The physiologic consequences of meal frequency may help to explain the relationship and prove to be of major significance in the induction of many conditions. Many Equidae kept for performance and leisure activities are fed high-energy, low-forage rations twice daily, with limited access to hay or grazing. Rapid ingestion of such meals stimulates a copious outpouring of upper alimentary secretions and results in tran...
Goodwin D, Davidson HP, Harris P.The restricted access to pasture experienced by many competition horses has been linked to the exhibition of stereotypic and redirected behaviour patterns. It has been suggested that racehorses provided with more than one source of forage are less likely to perform these patterns; however, the reasons for this are currently unclear. To investigate this in 4 replicated trials, up to 12 horses were introduced into each of 2 identical stables containing a single forage, or 6 forages for 5 min. To detect novelty effects, in the first and third trials the single forage was hay. In the second and fo...
Tassone S, Renna M, Barbera S, Valle E, Fortina R.Successful studies on in vitro digestibility measurement of feedstuffs with fecal inoculum have been reported for horses, whereas data on donkeys are currently lacking. In this study, we evaluated the use of the Daisy Incubator for in vitro digestibility measurement of feedstuffs using donkey feces as source of microbial inoculum. The method was tested using seven feedstuffs commonly used in donkey diets (alfalfa, bromegrass, ryegrass, and timothy hays; wheat bran and wheat straw; barley grains). Feces were obtained from four female donkeys, and incubations were carried out at 1-week interva...
Udén P, Rounsaville TR, Wiggans GR, Van Soest PJ.1. Digesta passage and retention were measured in heifers, sheep, goats, equines and rabbits of varying body-weights when given timothy (Phleum pratense) hay. 2. Two passage markers were compared, cobalt (III) ethylene diamine tetraacetate (CoEDTA) and chromiummordanted timothy fibre for liquid and solid phase respectively. Both markers were injected into the rumen of the ruminants and into the caecum of the equines and rabbits. 3. In ruminants, two different sets of rate constants (k1 and k2) were derived from a two-pool model for marker passage, using a graphical approach and a computer-base...
Morrison PK, Newbold CJ, Jones E, Worgan HJ, Grove-White DH, Dugdale AH, Barfoot C, Harris PA, Argo CM.Obesity is an important equine welfare issue. Whilst dietary restriction is the most effective weight-loss tool, individual animals range in their weight-loss propensity. Gastrointestinal-derived bacteria play a fundamental role in host-health and have been associated with obesity and weight-loss in other species. This study evaluated the faecal microbiome (next-generation sequencing of 16S rRNA genes) of 15 obese Welsh Mountain pony mares, in the same 11-week period across 2 years (n = 8 Year 1; n = 7 Year 2). Following a 4-week acclimation period (pre-diet phase) during which t...
