Issue #10 - November 2009 |
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Say No to Fast Food! Healthy horses eat slowly! Ask me to show you poetry in motion, and I will show you a horse! Horses in motion embody elegance, power, and grace. At least that's what we strive for. But it can be difficult for a horse to look good if he doesn't feel good as a result of poor digestive health-and that's the harsh reality for many performance horses, according to research findings. Although the horse's digestive system seems very robust it is, in fact, easily upset. Evolution over 55 million years prepared the horse for a nomadic, grazing lifestyle, but didn't equip his digestive system to cope with the trappings of domesticity. The aim of this article is to show that gulping down concentrates turns out to be one of the worst traps of domesticity! Allow your horse all the time he needs to eat a properly designed concentrate meal and you will reap the benefits! Colic is generally the major fear when it comes to digestive upsets, but what may be surprising is just how often the stomach is affected by gastric ulcers. Studies show that 80 - 90% of race horses in training, 60 - 70% of eventers, 50 - 60% of endurance horses as well as 50 - 60% of show horses have ulcers. Just in case you may be thinking: "luckily not mine", note that in a recent study of 187 horses (Murray et al 1989), 52% of those displaying no clinical signs also had lesions of ulcers! Ray J. Geor, BVSc, MVSc, PhD, DACVIM, a noted nutritional researcher, has found that besides colic and gastric ulcers, even a low grade of hindgut acidosis can manifest itself as loss of appetite, changes in temperament, or vices such as cribbing or stall-walking. According to Geor, horses also drop weight as their ability to absorb nutrients from their food is compromised. Ever wondered why your horse is just not at 100% peak performance? |
Yet another "Cool" Customer Dear Equus, I would just like to comment on the quality of your feed. I have a very hot pony which I jump in the 110cm for pony riders (CA). Her name is Casablanca Express. She was on another brand of feed, but I had to use other supplements to keep her calm before a competition. I changed to Equus Cool ‘n Perform 12 a month ago and I could immediately see the difference in her. She is now much calmer and her condition has improved immensely. She used to have a running tummy when transported in the horse box and that has now also disappeared. She is now much easier to control in the arena. This feed really does work for my pony. Thank you Keralyn Du Preez (14) 2008 SA Pony Rider Show Jumping Champion |
Does the concentrate I select increase the risk of ulcers, colic and hindgut acidosis? Absolutely yes! Without any doubt, the most important factor in maintaining good digestive health remains the ingestion of lots of hay or other roughage continuously throughout the day, but your choice of concentrate will also have a major impact. Top quality concentrates which have been formulated utelising all the knowledge, science and technology available to us today, not only provide the necessary nutrition, but are also designed to be eaten very slowly, and this for very good reasons! The more slowly your horse eats, the more thoroughly he chews and the more saliva is produced. Let's look at a few interesting facts: 1) Rate of Chewing A horse chews concentrates and roughage at different rates as follows, • Typical Concentrates 350-500 chews/kg • Typical pelleted Feeds 400-480 chews/kg • Oats 800-1000 chews/kg • Hay 2000-2500 chews/kg Horses do not ruminate like cattle and therefore need to take in small amounts of food, chew well, and swallow. This is where the term 'trickle feeders' stems from. The nature of the feed that the horse eats will greatly influence the chewing rate and speed of ingestion. Not only will the horse eating hay chew more than 2000 times on every kg, he will also take a lot longer to eventually swallow the 1 kg of feed. The average 500kg horse will chew; • hay at a rate of 40 minutes per kilogram. • grain at a rate of 10 minutes per kilogram. If he finishes his feed very quickly, you might just be heading for a problem! 2) Saliva Production Horses salivate only when they are chewing and eating rather than in anticipation of food. The more food is chewed, the more saliva the horse produces as this helps to lubricate the bolus and prevent choke. Under natural pasture conditions, when chewing fibrous material, horses will easily produce 20 to 30 liters of saliva per day. Saliva contains high levels of bicarbonate and other alkaline buffers to neutralise the acid in the stomach, as well as to lubricate the food. This helps to provide a buffering and protective coating against gastric acid 'burn' around the 'gullet' inlet and upper non-glandular stomach region. Saliva production can differ as follows; • Hay and pasture - 4 to 5 liters saliva per kg consumed • Grain based feed - 1 to 2 liters saliva per kg consumed Meyer et al (1985) measured the amount of saliva produced when horses ate either hay, pasture or a grain feed. When fed hay and fresh grass, horses produced 400-480 grams of saliva per 100 g of dry matter consumed. When a grain-based feed was offered, the horses produced only 206g of saliva per 100 g of dry matter (about half). Meyer's work suggested horses that eat quickly, especially sweet feeds that do not stimulate salivation, may not salivate adequately to prepare the food for entry into the stomach, and are more likely to develop gastric ulcers in training. 3) The effect of diet on gastric PH In their natural grazing environment, horses graze for up to 18 hours per day. Keep in mind that horses constantly produce stomach acid, even when not eating, while saliva is produced only in response to chewing. Due to the amount of chewing and also the amount of saliva produced under more natural conditions, ulcers are extremely rare in horses maintained solely on pasture. Note the following: • The pH of gastric fluid in horses withheld from feed for several hours has consistently been measured to be 2.0 or less (Murray, 1992) - thus very acidic! • Horses that received free choice hay for 24 hours continuously had mean gastric pH readings that were signifi- cantly higher than fasted horses (3.1 in fed versus 1.5 in fasted horses) (Murray and Schusser, 1989). • Higher pH readings (i.e. less acidic) in hay-fed horses should be expected since forage consumption stimulates saliva production. Why does this reduced production of Saliva increase the risk of ulcers? The upper, inner portion of the stomach's lining is made up of a non-acid-secreting cell layer that is vulnerable to the acid secreted by the cells in the lower two-thirds of the stomach. When the equine stomach has food in it most of the time, as nature intended, the food tends to absorb the acid, thereby keeping this upper layer from an unwanted acid bath. But horses that are fed infrequently have empty stomachs much of the time, and so acids splash around and eat into the delicate mucosa, resulting in areas of gastric ulceration. If my horse is eating lots of hay anyway, why do I still need fibre or chaff in my concentrate? The main reason for increasing the fibre in the concentrate is to increase the chewing time and subseqent saliva production, but meals high in fibre also tend to absorb much of the stomach acid produced. Keep in mind that stomach acid is there to begin to digest and break down fibrous materials in the meal immediately after the food is chewed, broken up, and swallowed. Meals high in fibre also tend to stay in the stomach for longer periods than non-fibrous foods. The actual emptying time of the stomach is governed by the size of the meal so a large meal will empty faster than a small meal. Similarly, a predominantly grain or concentrate meal low in fibre will empty more rapidly. If the stomach empties quickly, there are longer periods where acid is produced in an empty stomach thus in- creasing the risks of ulcers. Is the Chaff in my concentrate not only a filler? Contrary to what some believe, quality fibre is not just a filler. The hindgut micro-organisms are very dependant on this fibre and exist in a very delicate balance which, if upset, may result in health and performance problems and may also suppress the immune status of horse, often creating a downward spiral of health problems. High quality concentrates will always use a mixture of quality chaffs with a high digestibility (e.g. both Lucerne and early cut oaten hay) and will also compensate for the reduced energy value of the chaff by adding high quality oils. Is it safe to use a concentrate without fibre or added chaff if my horse has hay available at the same time? Many feed practices work for years without any problems until another challenge presents itself which either acts as a trigger, or eventually just pushes the envelope too far! The problem with many traditional concentrates is that they rely too heavily on starch for energy whereas more modern concentrates use more fibre and derive additional energy from oils as opposed to starches. Feeding large quantities of high starch cereal based concentrates may swamp the foregut and be rapidly fermented by the hindgut micro-organisms. This can lead to metabolic problems and increased acidity in the hindgut, followed by the proliferation of undesirable micro-organisms which upset the delicate microbial balance. This leads to health problems such as colic, ulcers, loose droppings and even laminitis. Feeding correctly designed concentrates will slow down the horse's intake by encouraging chewing and helping the horse to digest the feed properly. If the fibre is so important, what about pelleted feeds? The downside of pellets is that most will generally be eaten more quickly than coarse mixes. The reason for this is simply that most manufacturers of horse pellets do not have machinery able to handle the fibre inclusion in their mixtures. Only large cubes,12mm diameter and bigger, can accommodate effective and healthy long fibre. It is good practice to break open cubes and examine them - it is quite easy to differentiate between a healthy high fibre cube and those milled into an unhealthy powder! Those who prefer feeding cubes should ensure that high quality cubes which contain lots of fibre and have added oils are selected over the cheaper products which may often conceal sweepings and refined materials in a compact pellet. Conclusion • Good digestion is one of the major keys to vibrant health and performance! • Over 50% of all performance horses with lesions of ulcers showed no clinical signs! • Even a low grade hindgut acidosis can compromise nutrient absorption and hamper peak performance! • Quality concentrates are more expensive per bag, but less needs to be fed and performance is not compromised. • Treating colic and digestive upsets can cost a fortune! Rather feed high quality concentrates! • Properly designed concentrates are not gulped down but eaten slooooowly! • Slower eating and more chewing produces more saliva which enhances good digestion! • The chaff in your concentrate keeps the good micro-organisms in the gut in balance, happy and working for your horse! • Pellets milled into powder are like eating refined pastry - not good for your child, not good for your horse! • If you are what you eat, what about your horse? Be informed and buy the best. It will save in the long run and bring you joy and satisfaction and justify the very reason you keep your horses in the first place! |
