Can Distillers Dried Grains Be Fed to Horses?

A series of preference tests and digestion trials were conducted to evaluate the suitability of distillers dried grains with solubles (DDG/S) as a feed ingredient for horses. First, six horses were used in a 6 x 6 Latin square design two-choice preference trial to determine the effect that DDG/S have on the palatability of horse feed.

Four pelleted diets were formulated to contain similar nutrient concentrations and either 0, 5, 10, or 20% DDG/S. During each period, two-choice preference tests were conducted for six consecutive days. The horses showed no preference between the pellets containing 0, 5, or 10% DDG/S. The 20% DDG/S pellet was preferred over each of the other pellets.

Following the preference trial, four horses were used in a 4 x 4 Latin square design digestion trial to evaluate the digestibility of the four diets. There was a trend toward decreased protein digestibility as the level of DDG/S was increased in the diet, but the difference was only statistically significant between the control and 20% DDG/S diet. Dry matter digestibility was slightly depressed in the 5% and 10% DDG/S diets, but fat digestibility and total digestible nutrient percent were not different between treatments.

DDG/S appears to be a suitable ingredient for horse feeds at a level of inclusion of 20%.

This report of KER’s 1991 research was published in Proceedings of the 12th Equine Nutrition and Physiology Society Symposium.

Read the entire research paper, titled Distillers Dried Grains as a Feed Ingredient for Horse Rations: A Palatability and Digestibility Study.