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Animals : an open access journal from MDPI2021; 11(7); doi: 10.3390/ani11072109

Ingestion of Soil by Grazing Sport Horses.

Abstract: Data on soil ingestion in horses are lacking in contrast to other free-range animals. The importance of soil as a vector for environmental pollutants to food is less relevant in horses but several disorders secondary to soil ingestion, such as sand colic or enteritis have been reported. Therefore, soil ingestion has been studied on Irish sport horses grazing at three offered levels of daily herbage: 2, 3 and 4% of their body weight. Soil ingestion was estimated by the faecal recovery of a soil natural marker. Horses had 4.5, 4.1 and 3.7% of soil in their total intake respectively for the 2, 3 and 4% herbage offers. The 4% offer presented significantly less intake (543 g/d) compared to the more restricted offers (624 and 648 g respectively for 3 and 2%). The post-grazing sward height was significantly lower on the 2% offer (3.1 cm) compared to the higher offers (4.1 and 4.4 cm respectively for 3 and 4%). Thus, restricted herbage allowance made grazing closer to the ground and increased soil ingestion. The sward height appeared to be a reliable indicator to manage animal withdrawal from a pasture to limit soil ingestion and the risk of gastrointestinal pathologies caused by it.
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Publication Date: 2021-07-15 PubMed ID: 34359235PubMed Central: PMC8300157DOI: 10.3390/ani11072109Google Scholar: Lookup
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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.

This research investigates the ingestion of soil by grazing sport horses in Ireland, studying the different herbage levels offered to them, and their effect on soil intake. It highlights that intake of soil can potentially lead to health issues like colic or enteritis, and suggests that managing sward height can help limit this ingestion and risk of related illnesses.

Background

  • The study begins by stating that there is a lack of data regarding soil ingestion in horses. This, the authors note, is in contrast with the data available on other free-range animals.
  • The focus of the study lies on soil ingestion due to its role as a vector for environmental pollutants. While this issue may not be directly related to food safety in the context of horses, it can lead to various health problems, including sand colic and enteritis.

Research Methodology

  • The study focused on Irish sport horses, testing the soil ingestion at three offered levels of daily herbage: 2%, 3%, and 4% of their body weight.
  • To estimate soil ingestion, the researchers tracked the recovery of a natural marker present in soil through the horses’ feces.

Findings

  • Findings showed that horses had 4.5, 4.1, and 3.7% of soil in their total intake for the 2%, 3%, and 4% herbage offers respectively.
  • Interestingly, horses provided with the 4% herbage offer had significantly less soil intake, at 543 g/d, compared to the other horses who were offered less herbage (624 g/d and 648 g/d for 3% and 2% offers respectively).
  • The post-grazing sward height (the remaining grass length after grazing) was found to be significantly lower in horses given the 2% offer, compared to those provided with more herbage. This implies that limited herbage allowance caused the horses to graze closer to the ground, consequently resulting in higher soil ingestion.

Conclusions and Implications

  • The study concludes that sward height appears to be a reliable indicator for managing when to withdraw an animal from a pasture, in order to limit soil ingestion and reduce the risk of related gastrointestinal pathologies.
  • This research presents important implications for caretakers and owners of grazing horses, suggesting that strategic management of pasture offerings could help curb soil intake and thus avoid potential medical concerns due to excessive soil ingestion.

Cite This Article

APA
Jurjanz S, Collas C, Quish C, Younge B, Feidt C. (2021). Ingestion of Soil by Grazing Sport Horses. Animals (Basel), 11(7). https://doi.org/10.3390/ani11072109

Publication

Animals : an open access journal from MDPI
ISSN: 2076-2615
NlmUniqueID: 101635614
Country: Switzerland
Language: English
Volume: 11
Issue: 7

Researcher Affiliations

Jurjanz, Stefan
  • UR Animal et Fonctionnalités des Produits Animaux (URAFPA), Université de Lorraine-INRAE, F-54000 Nancy, France.
Collas, Claire
  • UR Animal et Fonctionnalités des Produits Animaux (URAFPA), Université de Lorraine-INRAE, F-54000 Nancy, France.
Quish, Carol
  • Department of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science and Engineering, University of Limerick, V94 T9PX Limerick, Ireland.
Younge, Bridget
  • Department of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science and Engineering, University of Limerick, V94 T9PX Limerick, Ireland.
Feidt, Cyril
  • UR Animal et Fonctionnalités des Produits Animaux (URAFPA), Université de Lorraine-INRAE, F-54000 Nancy, France.

Conflict of Interest Statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

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