Nutrient Requirements

What are the 7 factors that affect nutrient requirements? (BCLPMAG)

1. Body weight 2. Climate and environment conditions 3. Level of activity 4. pregnancy 5. Milk production 6. Age 7. Growth rate

What are the 4 factors affecting maintenance? BADE

1. Body weight. 2. Activity level / temperament 3. Digestive efficiency → depending on the diet 4. Environment (thermoregulation takes energy, etc.)

Nutrient requirements must be met within a dietary intake of ___% - ___% BW.

1.5-3

How much of high quality growth formula should you feed a foal?

1lb per month of age

Mares milk will typically meet nutritional requirements for the first ___ months. Feed the foal small amounts of food by 2 weeks.

2

What is the dietary requirement (% of BW) for a broodmare?

2.5-3% BW

What is the ideal BCS for a maintenance horse?

5-6

What is the ideal BCS for performance horses?

5-6

What is the ideal BCS for a growing horse?

5-6 (because they are growing it is hard to make them fat)

What is the ideal BCS for a broodmare?

6-7

____________ ___________ ___________ (DOD) is a problem with normal bone development and it its linked to genetics, nutrition (dietary imbalance), trauma, poor hood trimming, and irregular exercise.

Developmental Orthopedic Disease

How would you feed a performance horse?

Diet varies with level of exercise. Feed good quality forage and concentrate (no more than 50% of the diet).

Why do we want broodmares to have a higher BCS?

During lactation the mare is in negative energy balance. We want them to have a BCS of 6-7 because they will lose weight. Dietary increase (2.5-3% BW).

Growing horses are sensible to nutrient imbalances. A change in diet should occur _________.

Gradually

Which type of horse has the highest nutrient requirements?

Growing horses

Why should we feed dense feeds to growing horses?

Growing horses have a low gastrointestinal track capacity (small space). Therefore, they need nutrient dense feeds because they do not have much space in the GI track.

What would you feed a growing horse (birth - 3yr old)?

High nutrient value hay (50-80% diet), fortified commercial concentrate (30-50%) and a high quality protein (lysine and threonine).

What can you tell me about the National Research Council?

It is part of the National Academy of Sciences dedicated to expanding science and technology. It's a committee of scientists and experts. They reviewed scientific studies, other animal nutrient requirements, and general practices to determine the nutrient requirements of horses.

What should the diet of a maintenance consist of?

Mainly forage diet (90-100% of diet, 1.5-2% BW). May need supplemental vitamins/minerals. Feed small amount of concentrate if forage nutrient value is low. Allow free access to salt and water.

How should you feed young horses (yearlings - 3 yr old)?

Requirements change with age. You still want to increase forage in diet (60-80%) and decrease growth formula (20-40%). It should be a growth formula!

How do we know if a horse's nutrient needs are being met?

Subjective to evaluation → overall appearance, body weight, body condition score, and quantitative evaluation of the diet.

What is body conditioning scoring (BCS) used for?

Used to evaluate the overall effect of a fat deposition along the neck, withers and ribs, and behind shoulders, crease down loin, and tailhead.

Maintenance requirements → nutrients required to maintain normal body functions. What are some of these body functions?

breathing, heart beating, ion transport, digestion/absorption/metabolism.

In broodmares, energy, protein, vitamin, and mineral requirements _____ ______ increase proportionally to the level of exercise.

do not

What includes "nutrient requirements"?

energy, crude protein and lysine, minerals (macro and micro), and vitamins.

Nutrients required by performance horses are affected by ________ → ex. water, energy, vitamin E, electrolytes (Na, Cl, K). Requirements for other nutrients increase ________ to energy.

exercise, proportionally

What are the 2 factors that affect broodmares' nutrient requirements?

fetal growth and lactation

What should a weanling (6 mo - 1 yr old) be fed?

high quality forage (at least 50% of diet) and growth formula concentrate (40-50%).

Which 2 proteins are good to feed a growing horse?

lysine and threonine

All horses have a maintenance requirement, but not all horses are _____ ________ (horses that don't do much, just graze → pasture ornaments)

maintenance horses

Non-breeding stallions have similar diets to _______ horses. For breeding stallions, there is a small increase in _____ requirement.

maintenance, energy

When feeding a growing horse you must feed for ________ and __________

maintenance, growth

Feeding weanlings (6 mo - 1 yr old) → _______ _______: reduced intake and growth.

weaning slump