Ingestive mastication in horses resembles rumination but not ingestive mastication in cattle and camels.

The research study explores how horses chew food, known as ingestive mastication, in comparison to cattle and camels. The findings reveal that horses mastication resembles rumination but is distinct in its regularity.

Overview of the Research

• The research aimed to compare the mastication patterns of horses, cattle, and camels. The primary goal was to observe if the mastication of horses is more similar to rumination rather than the mastication of other animals.
• The basis of comparison was the particle size reduction achieved during mastication, which illustrates the efficiency of the chewing process.
• To conduct the study, six domestic horses, cattle and Bactrian camels were monitored while they ate grass hay over a period of 15 minutes. The monitoring was done using chew-monitoring halters.
• The measurements for cattle and camels continued even after they finished eating until rumination was observed.

Key Findings

• The study found that except for one horse, 96% of the horses’ ingestive mastication process was identified as ‘rumination’ by the RumiWatch algorithm. This algorithm played a key role in characterizing the chewing patterns of the animals.
• In contrast, the ingestive mastication of cattle and camels was less regular than rumination, indicated by the standard deviations of chewing peak intervals, peak heights, and peak breadths.
• Horses showed a more regular and uniform chewing pattern compared to cattle and camels.
• The chewing pattern of horses was similar to rumination, suggesting an equally regular rhythm.
• Cattle and camels, on the other hand, demonstrated less uniform mastication patterns that did not have an apparent adaptive value nor did it promote higher ingestion rates. A possibility for this could be to avoid high tooth wear rates by delaying systematic mastication until the ingesta soften and the grit washes off in the forestomach.
• Despite not maximizing ingestion rates, this irregular pattern of mastication might protect the teeth of the animal by delaying regular mastication until food has been softened significantly.