1. Equine Nutrition & Feeding
Equine Science & Technology

2. What do animals eat? Look over the feed samples being passed around.
Write the number of the sample of the animal feed or feed ingredient on your paper and then write the name of the product next to its number. Try to match the name to the correct feed.

3. Your Choices: Cracked Corn Molasses, dry Wheat Mash Rye Barley Sorghum
Cotton seed
Rice
Beet Pulp
Alfalfa Leaf Meal
Brewers Grain
Rolled oats
Porcine meal
Corn Gluten
Molasses, dry
Rye
Soybean hull pellets
Vitamin blend
Wheat bran
Wheat middling
Blended Feed
Crumb
Meal
Pellet
Wheat
Barley
Oats
Soybean meal
Alfalfa cubes
Corn Silage
Whole corn
Shelled corn
Ground Corn
Dry, Fat
Fish Meal

4. What are the feeds? 1.& 30. Alfalfa cubes 16. Molasses, dry 17. Oats
18. Oats, rolled
19. Porcine meal
20. Rice
21.Rye
22. & 33 Soybean hull pellets
23. Soybean Meal
24. Vitamin blend
25. Wheat
26. Wheat bran
27. Wheat middling
28. Blended Feed
29. Crumb
31. Mash
32. Meal
1.& 30. Alfalfa cubes
2. Alfalfa Leaf Meal
3. Alfalfa Silage
4. Barley
5. Beet Pulp
6. Brewers Grain
7. Whole Corn
8. Cracked Corn
9. Corn, ground
10. Corn gluten
11. Corn Silage
12. Cottonseed
13. Fat, dry
14. Fish meal
15. Sorghum

5. Unit Objectives
After completing this unit of instruction, students will be able to:
A. List and discuss basic nutrients;
B. Identify feeds important to horses;
C. Balance an equine ration; and
D. List and describe equine nutritional disorders.

6. Classes of feed nutrients
Carbohydrates
Lipids, fats, oils, waxes
Proteins
Minerals
Vitamins
Water

7. 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.

8. 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.

9. 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.

10. Equine Nutrition
Proteins- complex organic compounds made chiefly of amino acids.
Two main sources – animal and plant derived.
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.

11. 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.

12. 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.

13. 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.

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

15. 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

16. 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.

17. 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.

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

19. Equine Nutrition
Zinc
Involved in many enzymes throughout the body.

20. 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.

21. 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.

22. 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.

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

24. 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.

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

26. 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.

27. 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.

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

29. 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.

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

31. 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

32. 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.

33. 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.

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

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

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

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

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

39. 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.

40. 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.

41. 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).

42. 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.

43. 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

44. 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.
= 32
% Protein in grain = 10
% Protein wanted =18
% Protein in soybean meal =50
18 – 10 = 8
= 40

45. 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.

46. 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.

47. 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.

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

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

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

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

52. Factors Affecting the value of Feed
Harvesting - time of harvest, condition of field and crops, method of harvest, weather
Soil conditions (mineral availability)
low minerals in soil = low in feed
Palatability - flavor of the feed
Fiber and Lignin content - higher as plants mature; less digestible and palat.

53. Determining the Value of Feed
Cost per unit weight
example - $100/ton; $1.35/pound 2000 lbs in one ton!
Cost per unit weight of TDN
Cost per unit weight of protein
example - $7/unit of crude protein

54. Measurements of Feed
As-fed - contains amount of water it usually does when fed to livestock
Dry Matter - feed left after water is removed
CWT = hundred weight

55. Calculating Dry Matter
Grind and weigh (as fed)
dry in oven
weigh sample again
divide dry weight by as fed weight and multiply by 100%

56. Example of calculating dry matter %
4.1 lb original weight of feed and container weight of container = 4.0
3.5 lb. Weight of dry feed and container weight of container = 3.4
3.4/4.0 = 0.85 x 100% = 85% dry matter

57. Calculating Nutrient on as fed basis.
If you know Dry Matter%
then multiply the Dry Matter %
By the percent crude protein to determine as fed crude protein value.
Example:
You have a feed that is 82% dry matter, its CP content in 12% - what is the amount of CP on an as fed basis?
.82 X .12 = 9.84 CP As Fed.

58. Calculating Dry matter from as fed.
To determine %TDN dry matter from % TDN As Fed. Divide % TND as Fed by dry matter %.
Example:
You have 11.9% CP as fed its dry matter is 89% so take 11.9/89 = 13.37