Horse nutrition Flashcards
What are the only three things a normal, healthy horse needs?
good quality hay, water, salt block
***remember high quality
At what age are horses considered geriatric?
Over 20 years old
Horse owners get what percentage of feeding information from their veterinarian?
80%
T/F: Adding supplements to a horses diet is usually necessary
FALSE
adding supplements often will UNBALANCE their diet
Where does fermentation take place in the horse GIT?
Cecum and large intestine
How much times does a horse spend doing “feeding behaviors” throughout the day?
12 - 16 hours a day
Horses are “trickle feeders”. They eat small amounts throughout the day to get feed to accumulate in the cecum and large colon
The best way to avoid GI issues/colic in horses, is by feeding a diet that will be digested in the _________
large intestine/hind gut
How often should a horses teeth be evaluated?
Yearly evaluation, then floating prn (typically not needed that often)
Fill in the blank with Mandibular or maxillary
____________ arcade tends to be more narrow than the ________ arcade. This can lead to uneven wear and form points.
Mandibular = narrower
than the maxillary
Maxillary points are on the ______ side, and mandibular points are on the _____ side
Maxillary = buccal
Mandibular = salivary
What horses have the most problems with dentition?
Geriatric horses
Bc horses are have continuous erupting teeth, that are a fixed length
Should the entire surface of the tooth be smoothed when floating horse teeth? Why or why not?
NO - the surface of the horse tooth has an inter-digitated pattern that helps to grind food
Can a horse with “wave mouth” be treated?
This is difficult to treat and can not be completely resolved
Where are the points located on a “shear mouth”
Maxillary teeth - buccal side
What is a comfortable capacity of the average horse stomach?
8 L
How often should a horse be fed?
Horses should be eating all day. So if a client has to stall feed - they should do so, no less than three times a day
Ideally horses should be grazing on a pasture daily
Does a horse use the products of its fermenting as a source of protein?
No - ruminants do this, but horses do not
T/F: Horses absorb proteins as amino acids
TRUE
Where do horses absorb vitamins and minerals?
Small intestine
Vitamins like A, D, E, and K, carotene
Digestion and feed intake problems occur if greater than _____ % small intestine is removed
50%
average feet of small intestine in the horse is 70ft
What is the site of absorption of carbohydrates in the horse?
small intestine
**hydrolyzable carbs like starches
What is the primary site of water absorption in the horse?
Large intestine
The horse circulates _____ times the normal blood volume of a horse, of water through the large intestine mucosa daily
2-3
** the colon can be water reservoir
What are the 3 important volatile fatty acids produced via fermentation in the hind gut?
Acetate, butyrate, and proprionate
T/F: Bacterial overgrowth is a common cause of colic or GI issues in the horse
FALSE
Bacterial overgrowth rarely occurs, but the population of organisms can play a role in systemic and metabolic conditions
What are the two Carbohydrate classifications and examples of each?
Non structural carbs: soluble carbs: simple sugars, starch, fructans (**these ones are higher risk to cause GI issues in the horse)
Structural carbs: cellulose, hemicellulose, ligno-cellulos, lignin
Carbs can also be categorized in what three categories? What category causes the most GI issues, and the least?
- Hydrolyzable: digestion in the small intestine; simple sugars and non resistant starches –*most likely to cause colon dysfunction and poor gut health (mostly grains)
- Rapidly fermentable: Microbial digestion in the Large intestion; resistant starches and some oligosaccharides (fructans)
- Slowly fermentable: microbial digestion in the large intesting –*** best for colon health
Where are fructans found? When are they at highest concentration?
Fructans are found in grasses (varies among spps)
Usually they are in higher concentration in the morning, and in the spring and summer months (increased rain and sun)
“over conditioned” horses will often develop ________
laminitis
often due to high fructan levels in the grass
Do horses all have the same ideal body condition?
No - depends on their purpose
work horse, racing horse, leisure etc
What type of feed has the most variability?
Forages
What are the criteria for good quality hay?
Harvested early - digestibility and protein content decreases as it matures
Free of mold, dust, weeds
Not undergone excessive weathering
LEAFY - not stemmy - and green
T/F: grains are less stable in nutrient composition than forages
FALSE
Grain composition is stable
Does processing increase or decrease the bioavailability of the nutrients within feeds?
Improves nutrient extraction!!
What are some processes used to process feed?
Grains: crimping, rolling, grinding, crushing, pelleting
Roughages - chopping, cubing, pelleting
What are some advantages and disadvantages of commercial pelleted feeds?
Pros - easy to store, always consistent
cons - expensive, usually causes a decrease in colonic healthy bc they tend to pass through the proximal GI tract very fast without a large amount of digestion
If a feed lists a certain quantity of vitamins and minerals, will the horse eating the feed get that amount?
Not necessarily. Just bc the macro nutrients are listed, does not mean that is the quantity that is bio available. There can also be nutrient reactions that makes one more or less available than the other