Final: Equine Flashcards
horses in the wild, aka their “natural” environment spend 15 to 20 hours a day eating. Why is this important to remember?
Motility and gas passage relies on movement so if the horse isn’t moving, they can be prone to gas and motility problems. Our domestic horses don’t spend this much time moving around, so they can be prone to colic for this reason
why do domestic horses often need dental care?
Wild horses are grazing and chewing grass (not concentrates which is. a part of the domestic horse diet) which wears down their teeth. WIld horses can develop sharp points, but this is less important for wild horses considering they don’t have to wear a bit in their mouth or anything like that, etc. Wild horses do not do what domestic horses do!
what can happen if you give a horse too many simple carbs/sugars?
carbs are broken down in the small intestine, so if you give too much, some will be fermented in the large colon which can cause colic and laminitis, huge GI upset for the horse
horses can lose up to how much of their small intestines and still be okay?
50%! WOWZERS
in a horse, where does enzymatic digestion happen, and where does microbial digestion happen?
enzymatic digestion: stomach and small intestine
microbial digestion: cecum, large colon, small colon
true or false: horses have relatively small stomachs
true! it is only has an 8-15L capacity!
you’re doing a rectal on a old horse that has been losing a bit of weight and you feel sharp little fibers in the colon. When you look in the mouth, you see the teeth need some work. What is happening to this horse?
the horse’s teeth are bad, so the horse can’t chew and grind up the fiber in its feed properly, which is necessary for fiber digestion in the large colon, so this horse is passing the whole grain particles and not digesting them or absorbing energy from them, leading to weight loss
can horses live without incisors? what about cheek teeth?
incisors are for cutting grass but horses can live without them just fine. BUT they NEED cheek teeth aka molars in order to chew/grind their food. If they don’t have cheek teeth you have to give the a liquid diet that requires no chewing
fat digestion mainly happens where?
small intestine
the fermentable fibers get sent ____ where they…
large colon where they are broken down into VFAs
briefly describe what happens when you feed a horse too much/when you “overload the system”
if there are too many nutrients like carbs, proteins, and fats, the horse doesn’t have enough time to digest it all, some some spills over into the large colon, and this results in large gas production because the microbes are producing methane! These methane producing bacteria are the “bad” bacteria. So if a horse is chronically colicky and gassy, consider theyre being fed too much
what part of the GI tract of horses is responsible for the majortiy of the digestion and absprtion of digestible carbohydrates?
small intestine
horses should ideally be eating ____ hours a day
15
for horses, most of the nutrient requirements can be met with
good forages
how many acres of good pasture is required to graze one horse during the summer?
3-5 acres
for adult horses, the daily dry matter intake should be about what percent of their body weight?
1.5-3%, USUALLY 2%!!!!! most adult horses average at 500kg, so that is about 10 kg dry weight of feed
because horses have a relatively small stomach, how much can they eat in one sitting before their stomach is full?
5lbs, about 2.5 kilos
on average, what is the daily maintenance amount in Mcal/day for a 500kg horse? This will provide energy for what?
16.7Mcal/day. this provides ONLY maintenance: basal metabolism, basic daily activity, temp reg, maintenance of weight. it DOES NOT include work, growth, lactation.
what percentage of the daily maintenance energy requirement is used for resting energy/basal energy requirement?
70%
how long does it take for a horse to get used to a new environment/climate?
21 days
what kinds of temperatures will change the metabolic rate of a horse?
either too hot or too cold!
daily energy requirement increases by how much for each 1 degree below -20?
1.3-2.5%
true or false: older horses have more efficient thermoregulation
false! they have less efficinet thermoreg
why does obesity increase heat stress?
there is less circulation in adipose tissue
what are some ways in which heat affects metabolic rate?
horses will sweat leading to an increased need for electrolytes, water, and energy requirements, and a lot of horses use a LOT of energy swatting flies!
what are the most to least thermoproductive feed types?
most thermoproductiive to least: hay, grain, fat
which macronutrients are the most thermoproductive and which are the least?
most to least: fiber, protein, starch, fat
why is it a bad idea to supplement protein but not provide enough energy in the feed?
if the energy needs are not met, the animal will burn protein for energy instead, so there’s no point in giving them extra if their energy requirements aren’t being met, they will just poop out all the extra protein!
