Horses Flashcards
Which disease in horses can Fumonisin (a common mycotoxin found in maize) cause?
Equine Leucoencephalomalacia (because it inhibits the sphingosine biosynthesis)
What is grass sickness? (when can it happen, what is the cause, clinical signs and treatment)
Horses grazing pasture after a dry period can develop this condition
The exact cause of grass sickness is not known, but there is evidence that a botulinum toxin is involved
It is characterised by muscular tremors, difficulty or inability in swallowing, regurgitation of stomach contents, abnormal stance, impaction of the colon and loss of weight. These signs are the results of damage to the autonomic nervous system.
Acute cases of grass sickness are nearly always fatal. Less severe, chronic cases can be treated by changing the diet from forages to concentrates.
Which are the main end-products of starch digestion in equines?
Latic acid and acetate
Is it better to feed large or small meals to the equines? Why?
Small.
Large meals decrease the transit time - some nutrients that should have been digested in the small intestine would go to the hindgut and be fermented there.
Which are the end-products of fermentation in particular from the intense fibrolytic activity?
short-chain or volatile fatty acids (VFA) predominantly acetate, propionate, and butyrate.
Which horse will need more water provision? The one on only hay diet or the one on a hay-grain diet?
The one on an all-hay diet (3-5L water/kg feed), whereas the hay-grain need 2-4L water/kg feed
Which factors can influence the water requirements of a horse?
are influenced by total DM consumed, DM content of feed (higher with hay vs pasture), protein intake, sweat production, water salinity, water temperature, ambient temperature, and interhorse variability.
Which are the nutritional risk factors for equine gastric ulcers?
Decreased number of meals (increased time in-between meals) - less saliva to buffer
Increased starch => fast consumption and decreased saliva
VFA can increase the pH
forage once per day
Intermittent access to water
Preferable to feed alfalfa hay over grass hay (as it decreases risk of ulcers). Alfafa chaff can increase the risk
> > > A combination of factors resulting in a reduction of chewing time, salivation, and buffering may cause a cumulative negative effect.
What dietary management should be done in horses with EGUS (ulcers)
Pasture turnout
Alfalfa hay should be preferred/good quality grass hay
Slow feeders and double hay nets to increase feeding time
No or limited amount of concentrates, grains or sweet food (use vegetable oil in case of high energy demand).
What are the main end products of amylolytic bacteria during starch digestion?
lactic acid and acetate
What is the importance of not having a gallbladder to fat digestion?
Due to the absence of a gallbladder, bile is continually
produced and bile salt excretion, important for fat digestion,
depends on an intact enterohepatic circulation. Pancreatic secretion is also continuous.
To ensure gastrointestinal and behavioural health, what is the minimum amount in g DM/kg btw/day that a horse should be fed with forages?
15 g DM/kg bwt/day (and more ideally at 20 g DM/kg bwt/
day)
What is the recommended intake amount of NSC (starch and WSC) in horses (per meal and per day)? What about horses prone to laminitis (in DM)?
<1 g/kg bwt per meal and <2 g/kg bwt per day.
total rations providing <10% NSC on a dry matter basis for those
animals prone to laminitis
Why is the meal size important to be considered in horses?
Meal size is therefore another basic issue that should always be addressed due to the effect of meal size on consumption rate and digestive transit time. This influences precaecal starch digestion and therefore not only the glucose and insulin response to the meal but also the pH of the hindgut
What are the main effects of soaking forage?
Reduce WSC (sugar and fructans) *non-predictable amounts (2-3% more or less)
Small loss of DM
Loss of some water-soluble proteins and other nutrients
Prolonged soaking increases the mould and bacteria count: soaking 30 min max in hot water and 60min ma in cold water. you should pour out the water before feeding the forse.
Are horses or donkeys more efficient in digesting poor nutritional quality fibre? What could be a potential problem of this higher efficiency?
Donkeys, in particular highly fibrous roughage such as straw. They have superior digestive efficiency, due to a longer mean retention time of feed in the GIT.
The donkeys’ adaptation to thrive on poor nutritional quality feed can easily lead to obesity, in particular companion donkeys when fed the same way as horses and ponies.
What is the ideal diet for a donkey in terms of fiber and NSC?
A diet which is high in fiber and low in energy and nonstructural carbohydrates (NSC; starches and sugars) is ideal
These diets are best supplied using straws (barley or wheat straw, checked to have few seed heads) or stover (the leaves and stalks of field crops such as corn, maize, or sorghum), which may be supplemented with a variable proportion of coarse, low-energy hay, haylage, and/or grazing depending on what is available locally.
Where possible and when dental health is good, straw should be provided ad libitum, should help reduce boredom and unwanted behaviors such as the chewing of fences and other wooden structures
Should we feed donkeys with cereal grain-based feeds?
The use of cereal grain-based feeds is discouraged in donkeys because their use increases the risk of donkeys developing gastric ulcers laminitis, and colic
What should be the nutritional management of obese or laminitic or with EMS (equine metabolic syndrome) donkeys
When having healthy teeth: straw with very limited grazing in warm climates, and straw with limited hay when weather is cold (<10C). If there are concerns about nutritional deficiency, vitamin, mineral, and protein supplements designed for equids may be provided.
Pasture management should be part of the plan, with intake being restricted by the use of temporary electric fencing.
+ Exercise
Aim: 2-3% of BW/month
What are important things to consider about grass in laminitic donkeys?
Evidence suggests that fructan levels in grass are rarely sufficient to trigger ration-induced laminitis owing to disrupted fermentation in the hindgut.
It is likely that high NSC (simple sugars, starches, fructans) levels in grasses promote excessive insulin secretion and the development of endocrinopathic laminitis.
It is important to maintain a healthy grass sward, because NSC levels can be high in lush pastures but also in frosty grass and
grass stressed by drought or overgrazing.
What should be the nutritional management of donkeys with hyperlipemia?
Prevention through reduction of stress and maintenance of
appetite is important;
Many sick donkeys will maintain an appetite and should be given a diet similar to that normally provided. Offering small tasty meals and forages along with the opportunity to browse and graze is also helpful.
Stimulate appetite with molasses and cereal grains in the short term! or add fruits and vegetables, dried mint and fenugreek, unmolassed beet pulp, fruit juices, or yeast extracts to a base fiber feed
What should be the nutritional management of donkeys with dental diseases?
For these animals, it is essential to replace long fiber forages with alternative fiber sources that can be easily chewed and digested. Short-chopped products designed for laminitic equines are suitable, and many of the low-energy products can be used to replace all fiber sources.
Donkeys that do not require such drastic changes in diet can be given small, frequent feeds of high fiber concentrates and unmolassed sugar beet pulp, alongside forage.
