30/07/2024
๐ฝ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ฉ๐จ ๐ค๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ฃ๐ ๐๐ง๐๐๐ฃ ๐ฉ๐ค ๐ฉ๐๐ ๐๐ค๐๐๐ง๐ฃ-๐ฟ๐๐ฎ ๐๐ฆ๐ช๐๐ฃ๐
๐ชฃ It is not uncommon to find cereal grains and grain by-products throughout the feed storage rooms of many horse owners across the globe in this day and age. Cereal grains and their by-products are often readily available and cost effective which makes them a favoured individual additive as well as a popular base ingredient for the countless premixed and ready-made feeds that circulate the market today. Corn or maize, barley, oats, wheat, rice, millrun, bran, and pollard are some of the most frequently used cereal grains and grain by-products found in the diets of many domesticated horses, however it is arguable that horses did not evolve on a diet that consisted heavily of these feeds, with exception to wild oats which may have been present throughout some grazing regions.
๐ด Cereal grains and their by-products can be linked to many health problems seen in the modern-day horse; often being blamed for causing or exacerbating issues such as dental problems, gastric ulcers, hindgut acidosis, laminitis, and metabolic diseases. In conjunction, nature and science suggests that horses are physiologically designed to be ingesting and digesting long-stemmed, fibre-dense roughage sources such as pasture and hay almost continuously, and do not benefit from large hard feed meals that consist of ingredients that are highly concentrated in sugar and starch.
๐ฆท ๐ฟ๐๐ฃ๐ฉ๐๐ฉ๐๐ค๐ฃ ๐๐ฃ๐ ๐๐๐ก๐๐ซ๐ ๐๐ง๐ค๐๐ช๐๐ฉ๐๐ค๐ฃ
It takes a horse double to three times the amount of time to consume one kilogram of hay than it does for them to consume one kilogram of concentrate feed or grain. This means that what type of food a horse is eating will impact the way their teeth wear over time; a horse who is fed a diet that consists mostly of hay and pasture will likely wear down sharp points in the mouth more effectively than a horse who is fed a diet that consists mostly of concentrates and grains, which donโt require as much mastication.
Cereal grains and grain by-products consumed in large quantities may exacerbate or predispose a horse to dental disease, just as sugary foods and drinks can do to humans. Poor dental maintenance and inappropriate feeding may result in a buildup of tartar over time which can lead to irritated and inflamed gums, or a condition known as Gingivitis which is one of the leading causes of Periodontal Disease in equines.
In addition to maintaining dentition more effectively, feeding less concentrate feed and more long-stemmed roughages is likely to result in an increased production of saliva. The enzyme amylase assists to break down starches in food consumed and then converts them into sugars. Very small to non-existent amounts of salivary amylase is found in the equine mouth, which suggests that horses are not adapted to eating large quantities of starch. How much amylase a horse produces depends entirely on the individual, which is why some horses appear to tolerate high starch diets quite well while others are so sensitive that they cannot have any grains or grain by-products in their diet at all.
๐๐ป ๐๐ฆ๐ช๐๐ฃ๐ ๐๐๐จ๐ฉ๐ง๐๐ ๐๐ก๐๐๐ง ๐๐ฎ๐ฃ๐๐ง๐ค๐ข๐
A horseโs stomach can be divided into two sections: the glandular and non-glandular regions. The glandular region makes up the lower portion of a horseโs stomach and is less commonly subject to ulceration as it is protected by a thick mucous layer, however this region is not exempt from developing ulceration which can be caused by stress, infections, or medications which affect the horseโs usual digestive process. The non-glandular region describes the upper section of a horseโs stomach which is the most common area for gastric ulceration to occur. Unlike the glandular region, the non-glandular region of a horseโs stomach is not protected by a thick mucous layer and is therefore more susceptible to ulceration, particularly when the horse does not have a fibrous mat (made of roughage) sitting in their stomach to prevent stomach acid from splashing up into the unprotected region. While horses produce gastric acid regardless of whether food is entering and exiting their stomachs, they will only produce saliva, which is essential for buffering gastric acid, while they are masticating food.
๐ฆ ๐๐๐ฃ๐๐๐ช๐ฉ ๐ผ๐๐๐๐ค๐จ๐๐จ
Hindgut acidosis describes a condition where the healthy microbial population within a horseโs hindgut is disrupted, causing an increase in acidity. Symptoms of a horse who may have hindgut acidosis can include an inability to gain and maintain weight, recurrent colic episodes, diarrhoea, laminitis, and recurring stereotypical behaviours such as wood chewing and weaving.
The large intestine of the horse, which is responsible for the final stages of the digestive process, is a fermentation vat designed to provide readily available energy from volatile fatty acids, as well as other nutrients whenever they may be required by the animal. Propionic acid is a volatile fatty acid that is produced in the hindgut as a result of starch fermentation. Propionic acid may be beneficial in amounts that are not excessive for horses who require a source of quick release energy during anaerobic and aerobic exercise as it is absorbed and converted directly to glucose in the horseโs liver.
Healthy microbial populations within the hindgut can be compromised by several factors; including large volumes of undigested sugars and starches, new feed types being introduced to the diet too quickly, inadequate water consumption resulting in impaction colic, use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, more commonly known as NSAIDs, and parasite burdens. As the hindgut of the horse is designed to be fermenting fibrous matter, undigested sugars and starches that escape the small intestine can cause pathogenic gut microflora to multiply, while the population of healthy microbes begins to diminish as they are not adapted to fermenting these unfamiliar sugars and starches. This promotes a build up of lactic acid within the hindgut, increasing the acidity of the environment and reducing the pH. Where faecal pH falls below 6.4, the horse is likely to experience increased motility as a result; regularly presenting as diarrhoea or poorly formed droppings.
๐ฑ ๐๐๐๐ง๐ ๐๐๐ง๐จ๐ฉ, ๐๐ฉ๐๐ง๐๐ ๐๐๐จ๐ฉ
Cereal grains and their by-products can be useful additions to the modern-day horseโs intake should they be prepared correctly (heat-treated) and fed responsibly as part of a species-appropriate diet. Cereal grains provide a good source of quick release energy and carbohydrates that can be beneficial for horses who are in hard and fast work, such as racing and endurance horses, or breeding horses such as broodmares and stallions who have higher energy requirements. With this in mind, there is an abundance of research that indicates that health concerns such as gastric ulcers, hindgut acidosis, laminitis, and reduced immunity may be linked to the overuse of feeds that are high in non-structural carbohydrates. It can be argued that in this day and age, cereal grains and grain by-products are fed in excessive quantities to domesticated horses who rarely have the exercise or workload requirements to warrant such a concentrated source of energy and calories. As a result of feeding too many non-structural carbohydrates in the form of cereal grains, in addition to the internal health problems that may be caused, domestic horses are likely to exhibit hyperactive and hypersensitive behaviours, which are often referred to as the horse being โhot,โ โspookyโ and โflighty.โ In many instances, the cause of these behaviours is often an energy input that simply exceeds the horseโs energy output.
Despite the benefit of grains being cost-effective and a fattening feed for most horses, the effects of many health conditions seen in the modern-day horse could likely be lessened or completely eliminated should horses be provided with a diet that focuses on more natural food sources, such as grasses, legumes, and fibre-dense whole ingredients, and less grain-based commercial feeds and whole ingredients that provide substantial amounts of unnecessary non-structural carbohydrates.
๐ Please feel welcome to share this article if you enjoyed it. โบ๏ธ
