Equine Nutrition & Feeding

1. Equine Nutrition & Feeding Equine Science & Technology

2. Equine Nutrition Carbohydrates- organic compounds composed of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen. • Include the sugars, starch, cellulose, gums, and related substances. • Account for three-fourths of all dry matter in plants. • Used as a source of heat and energy.

3. Equine Nutrition Carbohydrates • Excess is stored in the body as fat and glycogen (animal starch). • Carbohydrates consist of nitrogen-free extract (NFE) and crude fiber.

4. Equine Nutrition Lipids, Fats, & Oils Lipids-a fat or fat like substance. • Contain three elements: carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen. • Serve as a source of heat and energy and the formation of fat. • A high fat diet will increase the reproduction and lactation performance of broodmares.

5. Equine Nutrition Proteins- complex organic compounds made chiefly of amino acids. • Soybean meal is often used as a protein supplement. Amino acids- structural units • Always contains carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, and in addition, usually sulfur and frequently phosphorous.

6. Equine Nutrition Proteins • Primarily found in the structural and protective tissues such as bones, ligaments, hair, hooves, skin, and soft tissues that include the organs and muscles. • Horses of all ages require protein for maintenance, growth, conditioning, reproduction, lactation and work.

7. Equine Nutrition Minerals- a naturally occurring, inorganic substance that is an essential nutrient. • Furnish structural material for the growth of bones, teeth, and tissues. • Minerals can be divided into two groups: • Major or macro minerals, and • Trace or micro minerals. • Inadequate supplies may result in poor gain, lack of thrift, inefficient feed utilization and decreased performance.

8. Equine Nutrition Major Minerals Calcium and Phosphorus • Horses are more likely to suffer from lack of calcium and phosphorus than any other mineral. • These minerals account for three-fourths of the ash of the skeleton and from one-third to one-half of the minerals of milk.

9. Equine Nutrition Magnesium • A deficiency in magnesium results in hyperirritability, trembling and convulsions. Potassium • Significant amounts of potassium are lost during heavy sweating.

10. Equine Nutrition Salt • Necessary in maintaining the osmotic pressure of body cells and the removal of waste materials. Sulfur • Not an essential dietary constituent of the horse

11. Equine Nutrition Trace Minerals Cobalt • Cobalt is required by cecal and colonic bacteria for the synthesis of vitamin B12 in the intestinal tract of the horse. Copper • Copper is closely associated with normal bone development in young growing animals.

12. Equine Nutrition Iodine • The thyroid glands, mammary gland, and placenta all use iodine from the blood for hormones, milk, and the fetus. Iron • Mainly used in the body for oxygen transport as a component of hemoglobin.

13. Equine Nutrition Manganese • Required by the body for the formation of cartilage. Selenium • Closely involved with Vitamin E in protecting the body from oxidative damage.

14. Equine Nutrition Zinc • Involved in many enzymes throughout the body.

15. Equine Nutrition Vitamins • Organic compounds that are required by the horse in small amounts. • Vitamins are involved in a variety of bodily functions. • The lack of vitamins in a horse ration may lead to failure in growth or reproduction, poor health, and even deficiency diseases. • Can be classified into two groups: • Fat soluble, and Water soluble.

16. Equine Nutrition Fat-Soluble Vitamins Vitamin A • Must be provided in the feed either as vitamin A or as carotene. Vitamin D • Helps regulate plasma, calcium concentrations.

17. Equine Nutrition Vitamin E • Protects the cells of the body from damage, and prevents neurological damage. Vitamin K • Important for the activation of many of the clotting factors.

18. Equine Nutrition Water-Soluble Vitamins Choline • A metabolic essential for building and maintaining cell structure and for transmitting of nerve impulses.

19. Equine Nutrition Folacin (Folic Acid) • Involved in protein formation and in red blood cell synthesis. Niacin (Nicotinic Acid) • Important for the metabolism of carbohydrates, lipids, and amino acids.

20. Equine Nutrition Riboflavin • Important for energy production and oxygen utilization. Thiamin • Synthesized in the lower gut of the horse by bacterial action.

21. Equine Nutrition Vitamin B6 • Involved in amino acid metabolism, glycogen utilization, and lipid metabolism. Vitamin C • Prevents damage to the lipids, proteins, and cell membranes.

22. Equine Nutrition Water • One of the most vital of all nutrients. • Water makes up to 75% of the body weight of an adult horse. • Essential for the production of saliva. • Necessary to the life and shape of every cell.

23. Equine Nutrition Water • Assist with temperature regulations in the body. • Necessary for many chemical reactions of digestion and metabolism.

24. Equine Nutrition Grasses Generally, 60% of the horses day should be spent grazing. Grasses are often referred to as either cool-season or warm-season grasses. Cool-Season Grasses • Grow best at temperatures of 60 to 80 degrees Fahrenheit and are normally seen in the spring and fall.

25. Equine Nutrition Cool-Season Grasses • Common cool-season grasses include: Tall fescue, Orchardgrass, Kentucky bluegrass, Timothy, Tall wheatgrass, and Ryegrass. Timothy Orchardgrass Kentucky bluegrass

26. Equine Nutrition Warm-Season Grasses • Grow best at temperatures of 80 to 90 degrees Fahrenheit and are seen in the summer and early fall. • Common warm-season grasses include: Bermudagrass, Big bluestem, and Switchgrass. Switchgrass Bermudagrass

27. Equine Nutrition Legumes Plants that have nodules on their roots enabling them to make their own nitrogen. • The leading legumes are alfalfa, trefoil, sweet clover, white clover and red clover. • Legumes are more aggressive during establishment than most grasses. • Legumes produce more foliage in the summer months than the cool-season grasses.

28. Equine Nutrition Types of Hay Alfalfa • An important perennial with trifoliate leaves and bluish-purple flowers. • Capable of surviving dry periods because of its extraordinarily long root system. • Adapts to widely varying conditions of climate and soil. • Yields highest tonnage per acre.

29. Equine Nutrition Clover • Many different types of clover • Red clover can give high yields • Sweet clover and white clover are low yielding.

30. Equine Nutrition Grass Hay Bermudagrass • Produced heavily in the southern United States. • May provide three or more cuttings per year.

31. Equine Nutrition Oat • Easy to cure • Early cutting increases feeding value.

32. Equine Nutrition Timothy • Preferred hay of most horse owners. • Easy to harvest and cure. • Low in crude protein and minerals.

33. Equine Nutrition Silage • A highly nutritious forage for horses during winter months. • Corn silage and grass-legume silage most common.

34. Equine Nutrition Concentrates Barley • Can tolerate a short and dry growing season. • Leading horse grain in the western United States. Corn • Palatable, nutritious and rich in energy. • Provides twice the energy as oats.

35. Equine Nutrition Dried Brewer’s Grains • A byproduct of beer production. • Lower in energy and higher in protein. Molasses • A byproduct of sugar factories. • Two types: sugar cane and beet molasses.

36. Equine Nutrition Oats • The leading U.S. horse feed. • Are very palatable. Wheat • Used when price is favorable. • Should be limited to 20% of the concentrate and fed with bulkier feeds. (May cause colic).

37. Equine Nutrition Balancing a Ration • Calories are used to express the energy value of feed. Pearson Square Method- used to set up an equation around a square to determine the amounts of two feed sources needed for a ration.

38. Equine Nutrition • Place the percent protein desired in the ration in the center of the square. • Place the percent protein of one supplement outside the square in the upper left hand corner and the percent protein of the other supplement outside the square at the lower corner % Protein in grain = 10 % Protein wanted =18 % Protein in soybean meal = 50

39. Equine Nutrition • Subtract diagonally across the square. (subtract without regard to signs.) • Add the cross totals • Divide by the total (32+8 =40) to determine percentages. 50 -18 = 32 % Protein in grain = 10 % Protein wanted =18 % Protein in soybean meal =50 18 – 10 = 8 32 + 8 = 40

40. Equine Nutrition 32/40 = 0.8 x 100 = 80% oats 8/40 = 0.2 x 100 = 20% soybean meal Thus, in making 100 lbs of an 18% protein ration, 80 lbs would be oats and 20 lbs would be soybean meal.

41. Equine Nutrition Nutritional Disorders Epiphysitis- an inflammation of the growth plate of the long bones. • Primarily found at the lower end of the radius above the knee. • Caused by mineral deficiencies. • Results in a firm and painful swelling.

42. Equine Nutrition Calcium Deficiency • Deficiency in young horses characterized by poorly formed, soft bones which may bend or bow. • Older animals will have porous, fragile bones.

43. Equine Nutrition Salt Deficiency • Decreased appetite may occur over a long period of time. • Rough coat, reduced growth. • Lowered milk production.

44. Equine Nutrition Vitamin A Deficiency • Severe deficiency may cause night blindness (impaired adaptation to darkness). • Poor or uneven hoof development. • Convulsive seizures.

45. Equine Nutrition Vitamin D Deficiency • Rickets- a bone disease causing crooked legs and enlarged joints. • Lameness • Increased risk of fractures.

46. Equine Nutrition Vitamin E Deficiency • Lower conception rates. • Early embryonic death. • Birth of offspring with muscle degeneration.