Just in-case any of our followers arent familiar with horses or some of you that just have no clue. Correct and balanced nutrition is a critical element of knowledge when you own or take care of other peoples horses. Horses, ponies and donkeys are non-ruminant herbivores which is also called a hindgut fermenter, which means as humans, horses only have one stomach. Unlike humans they have to digest large amounts of grass/hay (cellulose) which unlike ruminants, who digest fiber in plant matter by use of a multi-chambered stomach. Horses use microbial fermentation known as the cecum to help break down the cellulose. In easier to understand terms, horses prefer to eat smaller amounts of food steadily throughout the day just like they do when grazing on pasture. This is not always possible with modern stabling practices and human schedules that tend to favor feeding twice a day, its very important to remember the underlying biology of the animal when determining what to feed, how often and how much (in pounds). A horses digestive system is very delicate. Horses are unable to vomit, so if they eat something poisonous or overeat it can be deadly. Horses have a long, complex large intestine and a balance of beneficial microbes in their cecum that can become upset by rapid changes in feed or by receiving too much feed at once. This will make a horse susceptible to colic which is a leading death in horses. Therefore, horses require clean, high-quality feed, provided at regular intervals (if a hard keeper) or even once a day (if an easy keeper) or they can become very ill if there are abrupt changes. Horses are very sensitive to molds and toxins. They must NEVER be fed contaminated fermentable fibers such as fresh lawn clippings. Horses have a small stomach for their size, which limits the amount of feed that can be taken in at one time. The average sized horse (15 hands) has a stomach with the capacity of only 4 gallons and works best when it contains only 2 gallons. Numerous feedings and free choice hay are better than only 2 feedings or limited hay because the stomach begins to empty when it is 2/3 full, whether the food in its stomach is digested or not. The small intestine is 50-70 feet long and holds 10 gallons. This is the major digestive organ where 50 to 70 percent of all nutrients are absorbed into the bloodstream. Bile from the liver acts here, combined with enzymes from the pancreas and small intestine itself. Horses do not have a gall bladder, so bile flows constantly. The cecum is the first part of the large intestine which is also known as the hind gut. It is a blind-ended pouch, about 4 feet long that holds 7-8 gallons. The small intestine opens into the cecum, and the cellulose plant fiber in the food is fermented by microbes for approximately 7 hours. The fermented material leaves the cecum through another orifice and passes into the large colon. The microbes in the cecum produce vitamin k, b-complex vitamins, proteins and fatty acids. The reason horses must have their diets changed slowly is so the microbes in the cecum are able to modify and adapt to the different chemical structure of new feeds. Too quick of a change in diet can cause colic, because the new feed is not properly digesting. The large colon, small colon and rectum make up the remainder of the large intestine. The large colon is 10-12 feet long and holds up to 20 gallons of semi-liquid matter. Its main purpose is to absorb carbohydrates which were broken down from cellulose in the cecum. Due to its many twists and turns, it is a common place for a type of colic called an impaction. The small colon is also 10-12 feet long, holds about 5 gallons and is the area where the majority of water is absorbed and where fecal balls are formed. The rectum is about 1 foot long and acts as a holding chamber for waste which is then expelled from the body from the anus. Like all animals (and humans alike) horses require 5 main classes of nutrients to survive: water, energy (in forms of fats and carbs), proteins, vitamins and minerals. Part 2 will follow later on!
Posted on: Tue, 03 Dec 2013 21:23:14 +0000
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