Horse Digestion and Nutrition

Digestion and Nutrition

• Digestion is the process that facilitates the release of nutrients from feeds, which can then be used by the horse's body, beginning in the mouth.

Evolution of Horse Nutrition

• Horses enjoy consuming oats
• Timothy hay combined with oats is a good food source for adult horses.
• Researchers remain unable to establish the need for oats.
• Published guides and current practices are useful references.
• The National Research Council (NRC) has a Committee on Nutrient Requirements of Horses.
• The Board on Agriculture and Natural Resources and the Division on Earth and Life Studies are closely linked.

Digestive System

• Digestion happens in the small intestine and allows for absorption of nutrients.
• The large intestine includes the cecum, colon, and microorganisms.

Needs for Feed

• Horses share nutritional needs with other livestock, including carbohydrates, fats, protein, minerals, and vitamins
• A daily ration involves two items: roughage plus concentrates
• Roughage includes both hay and pasture.
• Concentrates includes protein, minerals and vitamins

Nutrient Needs

• Feeds and feedstuffs are important for dietary requirements
• Dietary needs include energy, protein, amino acids, and lipids.

Energy Requirements

• Energy needs are measured in calories.
• Different types of energies are gross energy (GE), digestible energy (DE), metabolized energy (ME), and net energy (NE)
• Energy is important for a variety of factors like maintenance, growth, reproduction, work, gestation, lactation, aging, and stalling.
• Underfeeding and excess of energy intake can be major factors in evaluating a horse's ration.
• A reduction in health and performance can occur if energy intake is not correct.
• Overfeeding can cause excessive fat.

Protein

• Protein is comprised of amino acids.
• Crude protein (CP) and digestible protein (DP) are protein sources for horses.
• Not enough protein leads to deficiency
• Too much protein leads to excess.

Minerals

• Macrominerals are those needed in larger quantities, like calcium, phosphorus, sodium, chloride, magnesium, sulfur and potassium
• Microminerals are only needed in trace amounts; examples include: copper, iodine, cobalt, manganese, fluorine, selenium, and zinc

Vitamins

• Fat-soluble vitamins: A, D, E, and K
• Water-soluble vitamins: thiamine, riboflavin, niacin, pantothenic acid, biotin, folacin, ascorbic acid, choline, and vitamin B12

Water

• Horses consume an average of 10-12 gallons daily.
• Higher water consumption is linked to hard work, exercise, and hot weather,.
• Dehydration and lack of electrolytes may result if a horse loses water and electrolytes.
• Electrolytes include: sodium, chloride, and potassium.
• A loss of chloride results in hypochloremia and metabolic alkalosis.

Requirements and Allowances

• The latest NRC publication is an important source for requirements
• The latest publications for horse nutrition was published in 2007.
• Recommendations are based on NRC.
• NRC daily requirements include digestible energy, crude protein, calcium, phosphorus, and vitamin A.

Summary

• Digestion and nutrition supplies a horse with nutrients in the proper amounts.
• Water is and important.
• Minerals are microminerals or macrominerals depending on quantity.
• Both fat-soluble and water-soluble vitamins exist.