Effect of Dental Correction on Fecal Fiber Length in Horses.

The study assesses how dental correction impacts the length of fecal fibers or waste matter in horses that have never received dental treatments. It concludes that dental treatment can significantly reduce fecal fiber length suggesting improved mastication (chewing) efficiency and potentially serving as a measure for dental health in horses.

Research Methodology

• The study involves 30 adult horses with varying mild to moderate dental issues including sharp enamel points, focal overgrowth, shear mouth, step mouth, wave mouth, accentuated transverse ridges, and diastema.
• The horses are kept in individual stalls and provided a divided diet of Tifton hay at 1.5% body weight per day.
• Fecal samples for analysis of fecal fiber length (FFL) are collected before (Day 0) and after (Day 15) the dental correction treatment. The mean FFL, as determined by laboratory examination, is noted down for each horse for both points in time.

Data Analysis

• The collected FFL data is submitted to Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) utilizing the SAS statistical program. The result averages are then compared by a T-test, with a significance level of p less than .05 (p < .05).
• The comparison reveals a significant reduction in the FFL following dental correction. The mean fecal fiber length changes from 3.27 ± 2.27 mm before treatment to 2.15 ± 1.29 mm after the dental correction.

Study Findings and Implications

• The noticeable reduction in FFL following dental treatment suggests an improved chewing efficiency in the horses.
• As a result of this observation, the study proposes the FFL as a potential assessment tool for the evaluation of dental health in equines. This would mean that the length of fecal fibers could be used as an indicative measure to determine the state of a horse’s oral health, especially their chewing efficiency.