Artificially dehydrated lucerne for horses.

The research article focuses on the benefits of artificially dehydrated lucerne for horses’ nutrition, showing it to be a better alternative to grass hay in terms of its nutritive value, and highlighting its therapeutic applications.

Lucerne as a Better Source of Nutrients

• The study shows that artificially dehydrated lucerne, produced in the UK, is a more superior source of nutrients than typical grass hay. This suggests that lucerne could contribute more effectively to a balanced horse diet that meets all of their nutritional needs.

Eating Habits and Processing Impact

• The research indicated that horses tend to consume more lucerne when it is presented in pellet form. This implies feeding strategies utilizing pelleted lucerne may increase the intake of essential nutrients in horses.
• Furthermore, it was disclosed that the process of dehydrating and pelleting the lucerne does not affect its nutritive value significantly, ensuring the horses derive intended nutritional benefits from it.

Lucerne and Anti-nutritional Factors

• The paper also pointed out that lucerne does not seem to contain any significant antinutritional factors that could harm horses. This further underscored lucerne as a safe feed option for horses.

Lucerne as a Cereal-balancer or Roughages Upgrade

• In the study, it was stated that lucerne, due to its high contents of readily available calcium and protein, could be used as a cereal-balancer or to upgrade low-quality roughages in the horses’ diet. This contributes to a higher standard of general horse nutrition and health.

Therapeutic Applications of Lucerne

• Apart from its nutritive advantages, the research exhibited therapeutic benefits of lucerne in horses. It can be used in the correction of electrolyte imbalances and hoof horn problems, highlighting its curative role in horse health care.
• Lucerne also holds potential for intragastric nutrition and for feeding older horses, signifying its importance across different horse life stages and conditions.