Clinical nutrition of adult horses.

This research explores the clinical nutrition needs of adult horses, focusing on specific dietary adjustments necessary for various health conditions like trauma, sepsis, severe burns, hepatic failure, renal failure, chronic heart failure, post-gastrointestinal surgery, and geriatric age.

Nutritional Needs in Trauma, Sepsis, and Severe Burns

• The study suggests that horses that are suffering from trauma, sepsis, or severe burns require a diet which contains 12% to 16% protein (dry matter basis).
• Reduced appetite can be an issue in such cases, so the feeds should be energy-dense (>2 Mcal DE/kg) to fulfill the horse’s energy requirements.

Feeding Horses with Hepatic Failure

• For horses with hepatic failure, their maintenance protein requirements (8% on a dry matter basis for adult horses)should be met with feeds that are high in short branched-chain amino acids and arginine, while being low in aromatic amino acids and tryptophan.
• Suggested feeds include milo, corn, soybean, or linseed meal, accompanied by grass hay.
• Vitamins A, C, and E should also be supplemented to support overall health.

Dietary Adjustments in Renal Failure and Heart Failure

• For horses experiencing renal failure, the levels of protein, calcium, and phosphorus should be kept to maintenance levels or lower.
• Feeds such as grass hay and corn are recommended in these cases as they are suitable for horses with reduced renal function.
• Horses with dependent edema from uncompensated chronic heart failure should not be offered free-choice salt.

Nutrition after Gastrointestinal Resection and in Diarrhea

• After undergoing gastrointestinal resection, horses should be fed legume hay and grain mixtures.
• For horses with diarrhea, prolonged deprivation of oral or enteral alimentation should be avoided. If bulk or gastrointestinal motility pose a problem, liquid formulas can be utilized.

Specific Feeds for Certain Conditions

• Using apple cider vinegar and a high grain diet may reduce the incidence of enteroliths in horses prone to this issue.
• Pelleted feeds can decrease fecal volume and produce softer feces for horses that have undergone rectovaginal lacerations or surgery.
• Horses with small intestinal dysfunction or resection should initially be offered low residue diets. However, long-term maintenance requires diets that promote large intestinal digestion like alfalfa hay, vegetable oil, and restricted grain.

The Special Diets for Geriatric Horses

• The research also highlights that geriatric horses, those over 20 years old, need diets similar to those recommended for horses 6 to 18 months old, indicating a shift in dietary needs with ageing.