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Animals : an open access journal from MDPI2023; 13(2); 245; doi: 10.3390/ani13020245

Evaluation of an Oral Supplemental Cannabidiol Product for Acceptability and Performance in Mature Horses.

Abstract: Thirty stock type geldings (15 ± 3 years; 556 ± 63 kg BW) were used in a randomized complete design over 28 days to determine the influence of cannabidiol (CBD) oil supplementation levels on body weight, body condition, and blood chemistry. Horses were randomly assigned to one of three dietary treatments (n = 10 per treatment) formulated with canola oil to provide 1.50 mg CBD/kg BW (TRTA), 0.75 mg CBD/kg BW (TRTB), or 0.00 mg CBD/kg BW (canola oil; CTRL). Treatments were top-dressed onto concentrate and individually administered twice daily. Horses were maintained in adjacent dry lots and received coastal bermudagrass hay ad libitum. Body weight and body condition scores (BCS) were obtained every 14 days. On day 0 and 28, blood was collected via jugular venipuncture and serum was harvested to perform a blood chemistry panel and drugs of abuse screening at the Texas Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Laboratory. Data were analyzed using PROC MIXED of SAS (v9.4), and the model included treatment, time, and the treatment × time interaction, and linear and quadratic orthogonal polynomial contrasts to partition sum of squares. Analysis of composited treatment samples revealed lower CBD concentrations than indicated from initial testing by the manufacturer (0.13 mg CBD/kg in TRTA; 0.12 mg CBD/kg in TRTB). At this level of supplementation, canola-based CBD oil was well-accepted by mature horses, banned substances were not detectable in blood, and blood chemistry parameters were not adversely affected as a result of supplementation. More research is warranted to describe the discrepancy between formulated levels compared to tested levels of CBD in the canola-based supplement.
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Publication Date: 2023-01-10 PubMed ID: 36670785PubMed Central: PMC9854761DOI: 10.3390/ani13020245Google Scholar: Lookup
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  • Journal Article

Summary

This research summary has been generated with artificial intelligence and may contain errors and omissions. Refer to the original study to confirm details provided. Submit correction.

The research paper focuses on an experiment that has been conducted on thirty horses to analyze the influence of different levels of cannabidiol oil supplementation on body weight, body condition and blood chemistry. It was found that cannabidiol oil was well-tolerated by mature horses and did not show any adverse effects on blood chemistry parameters. However, further investigation is required to describe the inconsistency between the formulated levels in comparison with the tested levels of CBD in the supplement.

Research Design and Methodology

  • The experiment was carried out on thirty “stock type” geldings, aged between 12 to 18 years, each weighing approximately 556 ± 63 kg.
  • The testing period lasted for 28 days and was designed to be a randomized complete test.
  • The horses were randomly assigned into three groups and each group received varying concentrations of cannabidiol (CBD) oil of 1.50 mg/kg (TRTA), 0.75 mg/kg (TRTB), or no CBD but only canola oil (CTRL).
  • The supplements were mixed into a concentrate and administered twice daily.
  • Body weight and body condition scores (BCS) were recorded every 14 days.
  • Blood samples were collected on day 0 and 28 to perform a blood chemistry panel and drugs of abuse screening at the Texas Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Laboratory.

Results of the Study

  • The CBD content in composited treatment samples was lower than initially tested by the manufacturer.
  • The mature horses well-accepted the canola-based CBD oil.
  • No banned substances were detected in the blood of the horses.
  • The supplementation did not adversely affect the blood chemistry parameters of the horses.

Conclusion and Further Research

  • Overall, the study indicated that CBD oil is well-tolerated by mature horses and it had no adverse effects on their blood chemistry parameters.
  • However, there were discrepancies in the formulated and tested levels of CBD in the canola-based supplements that warrant further research.
  • The study recommends further research to address the discrepancy between the formulated levels and the tested levels of CBD in the canola-based supplement.

Cite This Article

APA
Leise JM, Leatherwood JL, Paris BL, Walter KW, George JM, Martinez RE, Glass KP, Lo CP, Mays TP, Wickersham TA. (2023). Evaluation of an Oral Supplemental Cannabidiol Product for Acceptability and Performance in Mature Horses. Animals (Basel), 13(2), 245. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani13020245

Publication

Animals : an open access journal from MDPI
ISSN: 2076-2615
NlmUniqueID: 101635614
Country: Switzerland
Language: English
Volume: 13
Issue: 2
PII: 245

Researcher Affiliations

Leise, Julia M
  • Department of Animal Science, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843, USA.
Leatherwood, Jessica L
  • Department of Animal Science, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843, USA.
Paris, Brittany L
  • Department of Animal Science, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843, USA.
Walter, Kelly W
  • Agricultural Science Department, Truman State University, Kirksville, MO 63501, USA.
George, James M
  • Department of Animal Science, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843, USA.
Martinez, Rafael E
  • School of Agricultural Sciences, Sam Houston State University, Huntsville, TX 77340, USA.
Glass, Kati P
  • Veterinary Large Animal Clinical Sciences, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843, USA.
Lo, Chih-Ping
  • Texas Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Laboratory, TVMDL, College Station, TX 77843, USA.
Mays, Travis P
  • Texas Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Laboratory, TVMDL, College Station, TX 77843, USA.
Wickersham, Tryon A
  • Department of Animal Science, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843, USA.

Conflict of Interest Statement

The authors affirmatively acknowledge that they were free from influence by any funding sources or their employees that would result in any conflict of interest.

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Citations

This article has been cited 9 times.
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