Factors in the control of feed intake of horses and ponies.

The research investigates how horses and ponies maintain their nutritional intake through a combination of consuming small frequent meals and digesting through enzymatic and bacterial means. The study reveals that these animals primarily rely on oral and external stimuli to regulate the volume and frequency of their feed intake.

Enzymatic Digestion and Bacterial Fermentation in Horses and Ponies

• This research highlights the ability of horses and ponies to utilize the products of enzymatic digestion in the small intestine and bacterial fermentation in the cecum and large colon as sources of their metabolizable energy.
• Through recent studies, the research has shown that ponies make use of nutrient stimuli from both carbohydrate and fat digestion in the small intestine, as well as volatile fatty acids (VFAs) in the cecum and large colon to control their meal frequency.

Role of Oropharyngeal and External Stimuli in Feed Intake

• The animals predominantly depend on oropharyngeal (pertaining to the oral cavity and pharynx) and external stimuli to determine the size and duration of their meals.
• This reliance seems to be an adaptation to their feeding pattern of consuming small, frequent meals and to the type of food sources they have, which supply substantial amounts of nutrients to the animal’s system only after microbial fermentation in the hind gut.

Comparing Feed Intake Control in Different Animal Types

• Nutrient cues utilized in controlling feed intake in omnivores, carnivores, and ruminants seem to be important mainly for the regulation of meal frequency and maintaining long-term energy balance in equines.
• The study underscores the exceptional emphasis on oropharyngeal stimuli in the immediate control of feed intake in ponies, reflecting the unique digestive physiology of these creatures when compared to other animals studied so far.