Omneity® Pellets
All-In-One Vitamin & Mineral Pellet
Topic:Nutrition
Nutrition in horses encompasses the study of dietary requirements and feeding practices that support equine health, growth, and performance. It involves the analysis of nutrients such as carbohydrates, proteins, fats, vitamins, and minerals, and their roles in equine physiology. Proper nutrition is essential for maintaining optimal body condition, supporting metabolic processes, and preventing dietary-related disorders. Research in this field examines the nutritional needs of horses at different life stages and activity levels, as well as the effects of various feed types and supplements. This page compiles peer-reviewed research studies and scholarly articles that explore the composition, digestion, and impact of different dietary components on equine health and performance.
[Enzootic calcinosis in the horse]. Cases of enzootic calcinosis in breeding mares in a Southwest German highland area are reported. The symptoms increased in the latter part of summer and existed in disturbances of movement, moderate kyphosis, sensitivity to palpation in the flexor tendons and, especially, the suspensory ligament, weight loss in spite of good food intake during summer-time and painful costal percussion; less clinical signs of renal and cardiac disorders were established. The sickness was caused by a high percentage of Trisetum flavescens in the feeding plants.
Coprophagy by foals: effect of age and possible functions. In colts and fillies observed from birth to 24 weeks old, coprophagy occurred from Weeks 1 to 19. Its frequency was greatest during the first two months. Coprophagy was rarely observed in mares and stallions. Foals usually ate the faeces of their mother but were observed to eat their own and those of a stallion and another unrelated mare. Urination by the foal occurred before, during or after 26 per cent of the coprophagy incidents. It is hypothesised that foals may consume faeces in response to a maternal pheromone which signals the presence of deoxycholic acid or other acids which the foal m...
Uraemia in the mare: effects of seasonal variations, of energy level of the diet and individual differences. Uraemia variations in the heavy breed mare were studied in different situations. A study with 35 mares during an entire grazing season was conducted. The mean uraemia varied between 48.5 and 67.5 mg/100 ml plasma, with season and type of grass. The highest values were found with first-cycle pasture grass. Uraemia was lower with winter diets: 28.6 to 36.0 mg/100 ml. A study using 15 mares fed isonitrogenous diets based on hay or straw, and concentrates offered two different levels, between two months before and 8 days after foaling, showed that the physiological stage had a very moderate effect...
Gluconeogenesis from caecal propionate in the horse. The production of propionate in the caecum of the horse has been measured in two Shetland-type ponies fitted with caecal and colonic cannulas and fed on hay or on hay and wheat bran. A continuous intracaecal infusion of 14C-labelled sodium propionate was used and samples were obtained from a cannula at the origin of the right ventral colon. A simultaneous intravenous infusion of [2-3H]glucose was used to measure total glucose entry. On a hay diet which provided 177 kJ/kg body-weight per d, mean caecal propionate production was 19.6 (range 17.2-21.2) mg/h per kg body-weight and on a hay and whe...
Feed preferences of ponies. Preference trials were conducted with mature ponies. In Trial 1, oats were compared with oats plus sucrose. Four of six pony geldings selected oats plus sucrose, but one pony demonstrated a dislike for sucrose and one selected from the bucket on the right side regardless of content. Oats, maize, barley, rye and wheat were compared in Trial 2 using six mature pony mares. Oats were the preferred grain, with maize and barley ranking second and third respectively. Wheat and rye were the least preferred. Even though the ponies demonstrated preference, the total intake at a given meal was not greatl...
The effect of artificial rearing on the growth of foals. Fourteen Quarter Horse foals were used to evaluate the effects of artificial rearing on growth. Seven foals were removed from their dams at 3 d of age and fed a reconstituted 26% crude protein (CP) milk replacer free choice for 1 mo, at which time ad libitum solid feeding began. Controls were weaned from their dams at 2 mo of age and fed a 21% CP concentrate ad libitum until the end of the trial. Variables measured during the 26-wk trial were live body weight, height at the withers and length of body from point of shoulder to point of hip. No significant differences were found between the two ...
Clinical observations on the response of equine hoof defects to dietary supplementation with biotin. Horses with weak hoof horn, which becomes misshapen and crumbles around the lower parts of the hoof walls, pose problems for treatment in practice. The effects of dietary supplementation with a high level of the B-group vitamin biotin (which has proved successful in the treatment of the similar condition in pigs) were investigated in more than 40 cases. Varying degrees of improvement in the hardness, integrity and conformation of the hoof horn were observed in all cases. The signs and progress seen in three typical cases are described. It is concluded that dietary supplementation with 10 to 30...
Effect of feeding on the fate of orally administered phenylbutazone, trimethoprim and sulphadiazine in the horse. Phenylbutazone, sulphadiazine and trimethoprim were administered to three horses on two occasions, recently fed and unfed, and the effect of feeding on the pharmacokinetics of the three drugs assessed. The mean peak concentrations of phenylbutazone and trimethoprim were reduced by feeding by 34 and 75 per cent, respectively. The pharmacokinetics of sulphadiazine were not significantly affected.
An investigation of the effect of hesperidin complex and lemon bioflavonoid complex on growth and development of thoroughbred horses. The objective of this study was to determine the effect of Hesperidin Complex and Lemon Bioflavonoid Complex (HC/LBC) on the growth and development of thoroughbred horses. The trial involved twenty-four foals (12 colts, 12 fillies) allotted to treatment shortly after weaning. The study was conducted for a 342-d growing phase and a 153-d training phase, or a total of 495-d. The HC/LBC was included in the test diet at a level calculated to supply the compound at 55 mg X kg body weight-1 X d-1. During the growing phase, average daily gain of colts that received HC/LBC was higher (P less than .05)...
Controls of feeding in horses. Members of the genus Equus are large, nonruminant herbivores. These animals utilize the products of both enzymatic digestion in the small intestine and bacterial fermentation (volatile fatty acids) in the cecum and large colon as sources of metabolizable energy. Equine animals rely primarily upon oropharyngeal and external stimuli to control the size and duration of an isolated meal. Meal frequency, however, is regulated by stimuli generated by the presence and (or) absorption of nutrients (sugars, fatty acids, protein) in both the large and small intestine plus metabolic cues reflecting body ...
Mare lactotransferrin: purification, analysis and N-terminal sequence determination. Mare lactotransferrin has been purified and analyzed. Its molecular mass is 81 kDa. A 28 amino acid long N-terminal sequence was established and a first series of comparisons with other transferrins was performed.
The starch digestion test in the horse. Variable results were obtained when the starch digestion test was carried out on a suspected case of malassimilation in a horse. In order to re-evaluate this test, 15 starch digestion tests were carried out using 4 horses. Results showed a marked variation in the increase in plasma glucose levels between individual horses and especially between poor and good condition horses when the dose of starch was based on body mass. Results also suggest that a fixed dose of starch may give more consistent results.
Hormonal responses to high and low planes of nutrition in weanling thoroughbreds. Growth-related skeletal diseases in young horses have been associated with high planes of nutrition, although the mechanisms underlying such an association have not been determined. It is likely that nutrition-induced effects on growth rate or growth quality involve the endocrine system. Hormonal and metabolic responses to the ingestion of meals containing either 80% (diet A) or 160% (diet B) of National Research Council energy and protein recommendations were examined in eight Thoroughbred weanling horses after 3 wk of dietary adaptation. After 24 h fasts, prefeeding serum concentrations of t...
Considerations of copper metabolism in osteochondrosis of suckling foals. Of 8 Thoroughbred foals in which osteochondrosis developed before weaning, 7 had serum copper and ceruloplasmin concentrations below normal. Three foals on one farm had serum zinc content high enough to suggest zinc toxicosis, and the liver of each foal contained abnormally high content of zinc. Four foals from the second farm had extremely low serum copper content, but normal serum zinc content. Evidence of environmental exposure to excess zinc was not found on either farm. The lesions in the zones of endochondral ossification of the afflicted foals were similar in many respects to those foun...
Skeletal abnormalities in young horses associated with zinc toxicity and hypocuprosis. Four young horses grazing pastures near industrial plants developed illthrift, lameness and skeletal abnormalities characterised by periarticular enlargement of the long bones. The clinical signs and lesions were attributed to hypocuprosis induced by an excessive intake of zinc from pasture. High pasture intakes of iron may have further compounded the problem.
Mammary secretions in normal spontaneous and induced premature parturition in the mare. Total calcium, total protein, albumin and globulin content were determined in 49 samples of mammary secretions from 37 crossbred and Thoroughbred mares. The mares were divided into three categories: Group 1--post partum samples from spontaneous full term Thoroughbred deliveries (n = 20); Group 2--pre- and post partum samples from spontaneous full term Thoroughbred deliveries (n = 6); Group 3--pre- and post partum samples from induced premature deliveries in crossbred mares (n = 11). Calcium concentrations of the mammary secretions proved useful in predicting full term and also in assessment of...
Pharmacokinetics of ticarcillin in the horse after intravenous and intramuscular administration. Serum and peritoneal fluid concentrations of ticarcillin were measured in 10 healthy adult horses from 0.5 to 8 hours after IV or IM administration of 44 mg/kg of body weight. After IV injection, the serum concentration at 30 minutes was 104.3 +/- 6.1 mg/L and the mean peak peritoneal fluid concentration (61.4 +/- 29.0 mg/L) occurred 2 hours after injection. The peak serum (28.3 +/- 5.5 mg/L) and the peak peritoneal fluid concentrations (19.2 +/- 6.0 mg/L) occurred 2 hours after the IM injection. Ticarcillin (greater than or equal to 2 mg/L) persisted in serum and peritoneal fluid for 6 hours ...
Esophageal anastomosis in two foals. Esophageal anastomosis was performed on 2 foals after resecting a midcervical stricture. Nasogastric tube alimentation and antibiotic therapy allowed these foals to recover, and they matured to useful performing horses. These cases demonstrated a feasible and successful surgical management regimen for the strictured esophagus.
Some nutritional aspects of colic in horses. Consistency of exercise and diet are important in colic prevention. Water should be offered before and after feeding. Fast-growing foals suckling heavily lactating mares may overeat grain at weaning. Creep feeding to accustom the foal to eating grain and gradually increasing the grain intake after weaning are helpful in preventing colic in foals. Stallions may overeat grain when taken off pasture in hot weather. Feeding hay initially and grain later helps avoid colic in these stallions. Type-D Clostridium perfringens may cause enterotoxemia in foals. Corn should be fed in moderation. High-Mg d...
Blood metabolite profiles of broodmares and foals. Serum amino acid profiles and other serum characteristics of broodmares and their foals wee studied. Compared with mares, foals had significantly higher concentrations of serum leucine, threonine, aspartic acid, asparagine, glutamic acid, glutamine, proline and tyrosine, glucose, cholesterol, creatinine and phosphorus. Foals had significantly less serum histidine, glycine, cystine, taurine, protein and urea nitrogen. Lysine and/or methionine supplementation of pregnant and lactating broodmare diets were conducted. Changes in serum amino acid profiles caused by dietary amino acid supplemented w...
Effects of dietary supplementation with butylated hydroxyanisole, cysteine, and vitamins B on tansy ragwort (Senecio jacobaea) toxicosis in ponies. Dried tansy ragwort, which contains pyrrolizidine alkaloids, was fed as 10% of a complete diet to ponies, with and without a mixture of additives. The additives provided a dietary supplement equivalent to 1% cysteine, 0.75% butylated hydroxyanisole, 200 micrograms of vitamin B12/kg of feed, and 5 mg of folic acid/kg of feed. The additives did not alter tansy ragwort toxicity, as assessed by survival time, liver changes, sulfobromophthalein (BSP) clearance rate, serum gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase activity, and plasma amino acid patterns. In ponies fed tansy ragwort, BSP clearance rate was a se...
The influence of dietary fiber digestibility on the nitrogen requirements of mature horses. Mature geldings at maintenance were fed different diets in a 4 x 4 Latin square design balanced to account for residual effects in an attempt to determine whether differences in the digestibility of the fibrous portions of feedstuffs would influence dietary nitrogen (N) requirements. Diet 1 contained corn and soybean meal (SBM); diet 2, corn, corn oil and urea; diet 3, corn, SBM, straw and urea; diet 4, corn, alfalfa and urea. Urea supplied 50% of the total N in diets 2 and 3 and 39% of the total N in diet 4. The diets were fed in amounts that met National Research Council (NRC) recommendation...
Odontodysplasia in a horse. Weight loss, poor growth and dysphagia occurred in a young stallion with some teeth missing, and soft, discolored and/or deformed deciduous incisors, premolars and molars. At necropsy, permanent teeth sites were filled with yellow, gelatinous material. Clinical signs suggested fluorosis but laboratory findings did not confirm the diagnosis.
Growth plate cartilage metabolism, morphology and biochemical composition in over- and underfed horses. Weanling Thoroughbred horses were fed diets providing 70%, 100%, or 130% of their daily energy and protein requirements for eight months. Biopsy specimens of growth plate cartilage were taken from the distal right radius at this time. Tissues from both overfed and underfed horses exhibited significantly decreased protein, hydroxyproline and hexosamine contents (on a dry tissue weight basis), increased DNA content and decreased LDH activity, compared to tissues taken from the animals fed 100% of their daily requirements. Growth plate thickness was proportional to diet level. The reserve and hyp...
