Chapter 11 - Nutrition and Feeding of Horses
- Read chapter and answer questions at the end of the chapter
- [ Lecture Notes ]
- Be familiar with the nutritional diseases of horses (see p. 469).
- Be able to formulate a horse ration (refer to V pp. 460-462) using the
Horse Ration Worksheet. (see appendix V p 572, for a blank worksheet.
- Work the problem below and turn in your work tomorrow. You will be
required to submit the answers on Web Quiz 13.
A working horse requires 23 Mcal of digestible energy
daily. If the horse is consuming 16 lb of bromegrass hay (.70 Mcal/lb) per day,
how many pounds of oats (1.3 Mcal/lb) must be supplemented to meet the energy
needs? Explain how you calculated your answer.
Chapter Highlights
- see table 11-1 for energy and protein requirements of horses
- energy requirement of horses is expressed as Mcal of digestible
energy (DE)
- energy is needed for maintenance, growth, lactation, reproduction, and
work
- mares during the last 3 months of gestation require approx. 2 Mcal of DE
above their maintenance requirement
- horses are non-ruminant herbivores
- it is recommended that high quality protein diets, adequate in amino acids
are fed to horses
- approximately 1 lb. of crude protein per 1,000 lb BW has been suggested as
a maintenance level of protein; requirements will increase due to pregnancy
(0.35 lb/day over her maintenance requirement) and lactation (0.04 lb of
protein per day per lb. milk produced)
- for example a 1000 lb mare producing 30 lb of milk per day requires 1 lb
protein for maintenance + 1.2 lb (30 lb milk x .04 lb protein/lb milk
produced) of protein for lactation.
- minerals are needed to develop sound feet and legs
- horses should receive adequate amounts of Ca , P, salt and trace minerals
in their daily ration
- the Ca:P ratio will vary with the growth stage; but it ranges betweeen
1.5- 2.0:1.
- nature has provided the horse with the ability to produce most of its
needs for vitamins D, K, C, and probably most of its normal
requirements for B vitamins- mainly through sunlight and the microflora that
inhabit the horse cecum and large intestine.
- hay or pasture is usually fed a the rate of 1 to 2 lb/100 lb of BW
per day.
- hay quality and the nutrients it furnishes should be given a great deal of
consideration in feeding horses
- bromegrass, orchardgrass, timothy, and bermudagrass make excellent hay for
hourses
- hays must be free of dust and mold
- oats, corn, and other grains are commonly used with oats being the most
popular grain for horses
- soybean meal is used extensively in horse diets
- fats and oils are also used for several reasons including increasing the
caloric and digestiblity of diets especially for the equine athlete
- review section III on feeding horses