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How to fuel your friesian horse?

The do’s and don’ts

C.J.G.Delesalle@uu.nl

Catherine.Delesalle@UGent.be

Prof. Dr. Cathérine Delesalle, DVM, PhD, Dipl. ECEIM

-What’s the evolutionary history of the horse? -What can happen if you feed your horse the wrong way? -The 8 most important reasons why horses are sensitive for developing colic in a domesticated setting -Physiology of equine digestion -tips: how to feed your horse

Lay out of the talk

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The horse basically is designed to process high amounts of low

nutritional quality forage

Colic is still the number one cause of death in the domesticated horse

Colic up to 10 out of 100 horses/year (Kaneene et al., 1997; Tinker et al., 1997) Recent changes in feeding (14D) (Cohen et al., 1995, 1999)

Amount: daily feeding of concentrate at 2.5 to 5 kg/day increased colic risk 4.8 times and > 5 kg/day increased colic risk 6.3 times compared to horses fed no grain (Tinker et al., 1997)

Changes in hay (Cohen et al., 1999) (alterations in colonic pH, VFA production, colonic microflora, FIBERS)

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tijdsprofiel koliek aanbod

jan feb mar apr may june july august sept okt nov dec

0

25

50

75

colic cases

%

TIME PROFILE ADMITTANCE AMOUNT COLIC CASES TO VETERINARY CLINIC

Horse in nature Grass eaters (β-linked polysacharides ~cellulose~no digestive enzymes mammals ~ bacterial fermentation → specialized hindgut fermentation) Eat 16-20 h each day (10 to 12 meals a day), walk 8 – 26 km/day No access to concentrate feeding (barley, maize, oats) Constantly moving during eating No stall confinement: fight/fright reflex

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Horses Anno 1900, Anno 2013

Professionalization sector Competition (hobby, semi-professional, professional) A lot of horse owners have very little room Stall confinement Straw bedding is not fashionable Limited access to grazing Little movement: every day??? Meal feeding; frequency? What’s feasible? Transportation Concentrate feeding, limited or rich roughage

In one study, the frequency of gastric ulceration increased from <6% prior to 1945 to approximately 18% after 1975, 2013: 37-66% leisure horses.

Conclusion

-HORSES ARE MADE TO EAT ALL DAY LONG LOW NUTRITIONAL HIGH QUALITY ROUGHAGE -HORSES IN FREE NATURE EAT PRACTICALLY ALL DAY AND WALK ENORMOUS DISTANCES. THIS IS QUITE OPPOSITE TO HOW WE KEEP THEM NOWADAYS. -EPIDEMIOLOGICAL STUDIES SHOW THAT WE AS HORSE OWNER CAN DO A LOT TO PREVENT OCCURENCE OF COLIC

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What happens if you give your horse the wrong diet?

Depending on the type of dietary disbalance

colic

Muscle problems: tying up/poor performance

Gastric ulcer disease

OCD

Poor body condition/overfeeding

Behavioral problems, laminitis, etc, etc

Malmkvist et al., 2012

Lack of fibre in the diet

Obvious pain is obvious, lower degree or more masked pain is a different story

The cold- blooded

nightmare

DEGREE PAIN ~ SEVERITY OF PATHOLOGY??????

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Doubt? Check pulse Check mucuous membranes

± 40 beats/min Alarming: continuously > 56 to 60 beats/min

Prevalence Gastric ulcer disease

Highest prevalence in race horses (>90%) Murray et al. 1996: race horses n=200; Johnson et al., 2001;

Ferrucci et al., 2003

Sport and leisure horses (37-66%) Murray et al., 1989; Bertone 2000; Hartmann and Frankeny 2003; Nieto

et al., 2004; McClure et al.,2005

25 to 51% in foals *Malmkvist et al; 2012: glandular lesions in 55.2%

Non-glandular lesions in 40.6% (stud farm

(dressage & jumping, n=96, lesions 2-4)) (74%)

*Tamzali et al. 2011: endurance n=30, 93% prevalence

*Marques et al., 2011: race horses n=94 Western Canada,

84%

Gastric mucosal damage is not associated with established crib biting in mature horses maintained on pasture. Thus, owners of crib biting horses with adequate foraging access Should not suspect gastric ulcers as being the primary cause of their behavior

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MUSCLE PROBLEMS

Recurrent tying up (several degrees)

The equine digestive system

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Why are DOMESTICATED horses so sensitive to develop colic?

1. VERY SMALL STOMACH: PASS ON FEED TO THE SMALL INTESTINE

± 8-15L

predator

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2. A horse can’t vomit

Why are DOMESTICATED horses so sensitive to develop colic?

-Toxic plants? -gas accumulation? -gastric overload?

-GI reflux

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3. Small intestine ~ four storey high building

4. In the border of a 1.5m long curtain

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5. ± 30L capacity appendix

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Malmkvist et al., 2012

6. Very voluminous large colon completely free in the abdomen

horseshoe

± 80 L capacity

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Displacements in all directions

Source: the Glass horse

8. Horses are hindgut fermentors

GAS PRODUCED DURING NORMAL FERMENTATION

±48h-72h

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1. THE VERY SMALL HORSE STOMACH IS DESIGNED TO CONTINUOUSLY PASS FOOD FROM THE EOSOPHAGUS TO THE SMALL INTESTINE 2. A HORSE CAN’T VOMIT 3. THE SMALL INTESTINE IS VERY LONG AND HAS A LOT OF LIBERTY OF MOVEMENT 4. THE CAECUM HAS THE FORM OF A BAG OF FRENCH FRIES (30L) 5. THE COLON IS LARGE, CONTAINS SEVERAL ARMS THAT CAN BE NARROW OR WIDE AND LIES COMPLETELY FREE IN THE ABDOMEN. ONE ARTERIAL LOOP RUNS ACCROSS IT 6. HORSES ARE HINDGUT FERMENTORS. EVERY ML OF GAS THAT THEY PRODUCE DURING FERMENTATION NEEDS TO BE EVACUATED VIA THE ANUS

Basic physiology of Equine digestion

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Overview of digestive compartments

STARCH & SIMPLE SUGARS & PROTEINS & FATS & OIL (ILEUM)

FIBER

24-Hr acid production even without food uptake

Murray and Schusser, Equine Vet J, 1993.

Hours

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

pH

0 6 12 18 24

Good

Bad

3.Horse~monogastric omnivore with continuous gastric acid production

MEAL FEEDING?????

Adult horses secrete approximately 1.5 liters of gastric juice hourly (↔ humans ± 1500 ml/dag)

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24-Hr Gastric pH: Free Choice Grass Hay

Murray and Schusser, Equine Vet J, 1993. Hours

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

pH

0 6 12 18 24

Good

Bad

Gastric emptying of concentrated meal occurs within 30-60 minutes, whereas complete gastric emptying of a roughage hay meal occurs in 24 hours.

THREE MAJOR CAUSES OF GASTRIC ULCER DISEASE 1. FASTING 2. FEEDING HIGH AMOUNTS OF CONCENTRATE FEEDING & LOW AMOUNTS OF ROUGHAGE 3. MULTIPLE HOURS OF TRAINING EACH DAY

Squamous (non glandular) tissue Less resistant to acid injury (± 80% Equine ulcers)

Glandular and mucus secreting tissue More resistant to acid injury (20% of equine ulcers)

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-Increased intra-abdominal pressure during intense exercise causes gastric compression, pushing acid contents into proximal stomach

Lorenzo-Figueras and Merritt, AJVR 2002;63:1481-1487

HCl,VFAs Bile acids

-In humans, upper gastrointestinal tract problems develop in as many as 58% of surveyed athletes and are related to the type and intensity of exercise

AMYLASE BREAKS DOWN STARCH TO GLUCOSIS (LIMITED) LIPASE BREAKS DOWN FATS PROTEINASES BREAK DOWN PROTEINS (small intestine vs caecum and colon) MINERALS

Small intestinal digestion

AD

AP

TATIO

N TO

DIETA

RY

C

HA

NG

ES

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Large intestinal digestion

Horses do NOT produce digestive enzymes in the large intestine They USE fibre as a slow energy source They NEED fibre as an energy source for their hind gut residents

400 species -Bacteria -Fungi -protozoa

VFA Acetate Butyrate Propionate CO2 CH4

PH 6.7 AD

AP

TATI

ON

TO

DIE

TAR

Y C

HA

NG

ES

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Overall prevalence of endotoxaemia

25-41% colic horses (King & Gerring, 1988; Fessler et al, 1989; Steverink et al., 1995)

Typical equine feature

transmural leakage of intestinal endogenous endotoxin

Fluid shift/centralization bowel ischemia ↑

Gram – bacterial flora

Bacterial lysis and floral disbalance antibiotic use

Caecum & ventral colon under normal conditions 2g free endotoxin (Mackay R, 1992)

Vessel wall permeability/ Endotoxaemia Important to bear in mind when starting up fluid therapy in an endotoxaemic horse

How to feed your horse?

Enough good quality roughage: min 1,5% BW horse (7,5 kg / day) Feeding roughage before concentrates SALIVA ( does NOT reduce precaecal starch digestibility)

Pay attention to roughage quality: ANALYSIS Use slow feeders alfalfa: May be more protective than other forages because of higher protein and Ca2+ content: buffering effect: dietary antacid.

ROUGHAGE

Roughage should be provided throughout day and night Lutherson et al., 2010: When roughage interval exceeds 6h → EGUS ↑

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How to feed your horse? ANALYSIS OF ROUGHAGE: NO COW REFERENCES!

Factor analyzed values

Ewpa/ kg dm (the amount of energy for the horse based upon fibre fraction and sugars)

0,55-0,70 (type of hay)

VREp (digestible raw protein fraction)

High: > 90-100 g/kg dm Low: > 40 g/kg ds

Minerals and spore elements Cu, Zn

Sugars High: > 100g/kg dm Low: < 50-60 g/kg dm

Raw ashes (sand) High: > 100 g/kg dm

PH (haylage & silage) Ideal 5,8-6,1

Dm=dry matter content

hay 80-85%

haylage 55-75%

silage 50%

How to feed your horse? The meadow as energy source: -on an average: 0,16 kg dm/100kg BW per hour -max dm intake per day: 2-2,5% BW -7-9h/day grazing: 1,12-1,44 kg dm/100 kg BW (6,72-8,64 kg dm grass/day for 600 kg horse)

Dry matter Ewpa VREp

Grass contains 0,68-0,96 Ewpa/kg dm

77-199 VREp/kg dm

600 kg horse at rest

11,7 1900g

Licht work 6,5 506

In lactation 10,3 1153

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How to feed your horse? CONCENTRATE FEEDING

CONCENTRATE average values

Energy content 0,75-0,95 Ewpa/kg

Protein content 75-105 g VREp/kg

Starch and sugar 300-450 g ST&S/kg

Raw fat 24-55 g/kg

Fibre 55-105 g/kg

Raw protein 95-140 g/kg

Vit E 60-350 mg/kg

Selenium 0,2-0,6 mg/kg

How to feed your horse? CONCENTRATE FEEDING

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Watch out with starch content concentrate: starch intake < 2.0 g/kg BW (remember stomach fermentation & reduction of small intestinal starch digestibility to 60%: starch will reach the hindgut) Provide energy with fat: fuel your horse with fat Feed omega 3 and 6 fatty acid: not any kind of fat Rice bran containing feeds: contain phospholipids ptotecting mucosal stomach lining Concentrates should be fed in small amounts, distributed in at least 3 feedings throughout day (ESPECIALLY STARCH RICH HORSE FEED) Prevalence EGUS 75% fed twice a day versus 57.9% (Feige et al., 2002) fed TID

How to feed your horse? CONCENTRATE FEEDING

FLAXSEED

Hydrocyanic acid

www.Equifirst.eu

Conclusion

Feeding your horse the wrong way can cause a lot of problems

Meal feeding with concentrates is possible if we respect certain rules

Fat is a safe energy source for horses. There are still sugars needed for

explosive efforts, however to a lesser extend

Horses can digest starch, however to a certain amount at a time