The effect of a hay grid feeder on feed consumption and measurement of the gastric pH using an intragastric electrode device in horses: a preliminary report.

The research is a preliminary report studying the impact a hay grid feeder has on food intake, gastric pH and activity of horses, in comparison to ground feeding. It investigates whether using a hay grid could help manage horse obesity and squamous gastric ulceration without compromising time the horses spend eating.

Objective and Methodology

• The objective of the study was to compare the hay consumption, intragastric pH and activity of horses when fed from ground versus hay grid feeder.
• The method of the study was a crossover experiment where a pH electrode was inserted into the horse’s stomach to record its intragastric pH continuously for 48 hours. The horses were fed 1% of their body weight in grass hay twice a day.
• The horses were arbitrarily assigned to the ground feeding or hay grid feeder for 24 hours and then swapped to the alternating method for another 24 hours. Their activity was continuously taped and the duration spent eating, walking, standing, and resting was computed.
• The researchers used paired t-test to compare the two-point data and repeated measures ANOVA to compare pH over time.

Results

• It was found that the horses consumed considerably more hay when they were fed on the ground than with the hay grid feeder.
• On the other hand, they did not observe any significant discrepancies between the groups about the average values of intragastric pH, the time length that the pH was below 4.0, and the percentage time spent by horses drinking, walking, standing, or lying.
• A consistent observation in each group was that horses spent more time eating during the day compared with the night.

Conclusion

• Based on these preliminary findings, the researchers concluded that the studied hay grid feeder can be utilised to decrease the amount of hay consumed by horses without reducing the time horses spend eating.
• This might be a useful tool for owners seeking to manage or prevent obesity in horses while not compromising their eating habits or comfort. Further detailed studies can help substantiate these findings.