Equine Nutrition I Flashcards
Horse populations started to decline after what year?
1920s
equine demographics in the US - most horses are used for?
pleasure
average human age in a horse
-many more geriatric horses due to ?
24.5 years
feeding better and medicine advancements
who is the #1 person owners asking for nutritional advice ?
veterinarians
what do most owners feed their horses?
commercial feeds in grain form or pellet and supplement due to marketing
equine are what type of feeders?
non ruminant herbivores
equine are naturally meant to eat ?
grass for 14-18 hours/day!!
horses chew food how many times?
-important to chew food into big or small pieces to do what?
once
chew food into small pieces to maximize digestion
what are the 3 phases of the chewing action?
opening, closing, power stroke (circular motion)
lateral excursion is what direction
rostro-caudal movement is for what?
oval side to side direction
to increase amount chewed
saliva contains what and what does it do?
contains bicarbonate which buffers and protects amino acids
difference in male and female teeth
males have canines, females dont
GIT: esophagus
-can they vomit?
-risk of ?
-cant vomit!!!
-1 way street
-risk of obstruction “choke”
equine should be eating how many meals and how often?
small, frequent meals because they are grazers
stomach: enzymes for digestion (2)
optimal pH
pepsin for protein digestion
hydrochloric acid - breaks down solid particles and decreases bacT fermentation
2.6-5.4 –> not as acidic in the dog! - if gets more acidic = risk of gastric ulcer
Small intestine: function
protein digestion!
-absorbed as AA
-high quality protein = more digested pre cecal
if start to to ferment in SI = good or bad?
BAD –> COLIC = abdominal pain no matter the cause
small intestines - what gets digested and absorbed?
what fat soluble vitamins?
impt point of small intestines?
importance of adding oils?
some carbs and absorption
A D E and K
impt is for enzymatic digestion
add oils = increase time in SI –> slows down transit time to get more nutrients digested because increase absorption – Use in high performing horses and skinny horses to add calories
cecum importance
hind gut fermenters - microbial digestion!!! and breaks down feed not digested in the SI
large colon
-how many L can it hold?
-function (2)
-if microbiome is altered –> what happens
can hold ~85 L of water
primary site of water absorption and microbial digestion!!!
colic!!! if ABX administered
small colon
-function
reclaim excess moisture
fecal balls formation
expelled to anus
ideal food they should be eating?
should be eating high quality pasture or hay
how to create equine feeding program?
based on body condition score NOT body weight
how much of their BW do horses eat/day?
2-2.5% of their BW
Henneke body condition scoring system
1-9
1: emaciated
9: obese – worry about laminitis
IDEAL: 5
areas to measure fat (6)
along the neck, along the withers, crease down back, tail head, ribs, behind shoulder
