Influence of sward structure on daily intake and foraging behaviour by horses.
Abstract: The spatial heterogeneity of grasslands determines the abundance and quality of food resources for grazing animals. As plants mature, they increase in mass, which allows greater instantaneous intake rates, but the cell wall concentrations increase too, reducing diet quality. In ruminants, daily intake rates are often constrained by the time needed for the ingesta to pass through the rumen, which is influenced by the rate of digestion. It has been suggested that the digestive constraint should have much less effect on hindgut fermenters such as equids. Horses play an increasing role in the management of grasslands in Europe, but the data on the influence of the heterogeneity of the vegetation on their daily intake and foraging behaviour are sparse. We report here the results of a preliminary study concerning the effects of sward structure on nutrient assimilation and the use of patches of different heights by horses grazing successively a short immature, a tall mature and a heterogeneous pastures (with short and tall swards). Daily nutrient assimilation was higher in the heterogeneous pasture compared to the short (+35%) and the tall (+55%) ones. The digestive constraints may have limited voluntary intake by horses on the tall swards. In the heterogeneous pasture, the mean height used for feeding (6 to 7 cm) by horses was intermediate between the heights used in the short (4 to 5 cm) and tall pastures (22 to 23 cm), and the animals may thus have benefited from both short swards of high quality and tall swards offering a higher instantaneous intake rate.
Publication Date: 2010-03-01 PubMed ID: 22443953DOI: 10.1017/S1751731109991133Google Scholar: Lookup
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- Journal Article
Summary
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The research explores how the structure of grasslands, specifically the different heights of grass known as swards, influences horse grazing behaviour and nutrient intake. The data suggests that horses consume more nutrients from pastures with a mix of short and tall swards.
Context and Objective
- The study is based on the influence of grassland heterogeneity, or the variation in grass sward structure, on the foraging behaviours and nutritional intake of horses.
- This research was undertaken in response to a scarcity of data on how horses, an increasingly important species in European grassland management, are influenced by the structure of the vegetation they graze on.
- The objective of the study was to determine the effects of sward structure, assessed through immature short, mature tall, and a mix of short and tall swards, on the daily nutrient intake of horses.
Methodology and Findings
- An experiment was conducted where horses grazed on different pastures with differing sward heights- short immature, tall mature, and a mixture of both, also known as a heterogeneous pasture.
- An observation was made that nutrient assimilation by horses was significantly higher in the heterogeneous pastures, with an increase of 35% from the short pastures and 55% from the tall pastures.
- In the heterogeneous pasture, the average height of grass used by the horses for feeding ranged from 6 to 7cm, a midway between the heights in the short (4 to 5 cm) and tall (22 to 23 cm) pastures. This indicates that horses likely benefited from both types of swards.
Conclusion
- The research suggests that pastures with varying sward structures offer the greatest nutritional benefits for horses.
- The horses used for this study seemed to have benefited from both the high-quality short swards and the tall swards, which provide a higher instantaneous intake rate.
- The findings from the study could be crucial for grassland management strategies and the provision of optimal grazing conditions for horses.
Cite This Article
APA
Fleurance G, Duncan P, Fritz H, Gordon IJ, Grenier-Loustalot MF.
(2010).
Influence of sward structure on daily intake and foraging behaviour by horses.
Animal, 4(3), 480-485.
https://doi.org/10.1017/S1751731109991133 Publication
Researcher Affiliations
- 1Les Haras Nationaux, Direction des Connaissances, Station Expérimentale des Haras Nationaux, 19370 Chamberet, France.
Citations
This article has been cited 3 times.- Weinert-Nelson JR, Meyer WA, Williams CA. Crabgrass as an equine pasture forage: impact of establishment method on yield, nutrient composition, and horse preference.. Transl Anim Sci 2022 Apr;6(2):txac050.
- Huruba R, Nemera S, Ngute F, Sahomba M, Mundy PJ, Sebata A, MacFadyen DN. Short duration overnight cattle kraaling in natural rangelands: Does time after kraal use affect their utilization by wildlife and above ground grass parameters?. PLoS One 2022;17(4):e0248795.
- Williams CA, Kenny LB, Weinert JR, Sullivan K, Meyer W, Robson MG. Effects of 27 mo of rotational vs. continuous grazing on horse and pasture condition.. Transl Anim Sci 2020 Jul;4(3):txaa084.
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