Behavior of horses is affected by soy lecithin and corn oil in the diet.

This research investigates the impact of dietary fats, including soy lecithin and corn oil, on horse behavior, specifically activity and reactivity. The study suggests that incorporating these dietary fats in horse feed reduces their activity levels and reactions to various stimuli.

Study Design and Methodology

• The researchers started with the hypothesis that dietary fats could enhance the tractability, or manageability, of horses.
• Their approach to diagnosing this involved comparing the effects of four total mixed diets on the animals’ behavior.
• The control diet (labelled CON in the study) included chopped hay, corn, oats, beet pulp, molasses, and a mineral mix. In contrast, the three test diets had an additional 10% (by weight) of corn oil (CO), soy lecithin-corn oil (SL-CO), or soy lecithin-soy oil (SL-SO).
• Eight horses were assigned to each diet in a random order over four separate three-week periods, with behavior surveys running throughout the final week of each feeding period.

Measurements and Observations

• Two primary aspects of behavior were assessed – spontaneous activity and reactivity.
• Spontaneous activity was measured using a pedometer, a device that records each step a horse takes, and was found to be less in horses given the SL-CO diet than in controls (P = .022).
• Reactivity, the horse’s response to stimuli such as pressure, loud noises, and sudden visual changes, varied across the diets. Compared to control horses, horses fed SL-CO showed less reactivity during the visual stimulus test (P = .036).
• Horses fed CO were less reactive in all three tests (the noise test, the pressure test, and the visual stimulus test), though differences were not statistically significant, with P values of .093, .108, and .116 respectively.
• Horses fed SL-SO were also less reactive in the visual stimulus test, though again with a non-significant P value of .108.

Conclusion and Implications

• The findings present the first quantitative proof that dietary fats can lower the activity and reactivity of horses.
• Such evidence could be valuable to those working with horses, like trainers or veterinarians, as a means of better managing and understanding horse behavior.
• Further research is necessary to confirm these initial findings and further explore the mechanisms behind the observed behavioral changes. It would also be interesting to see if different types or amounts of dietary fats produce different effects.