Tempting Tastebuds: How Taste Preference Is Measured Among Horses

How do feed manufacturers know horses will readily eat the products they produce? If the manufacturer works with Kentucky Equine Research, more than 30 years of palatability research is taken into consideration.

In this video, research coordinator Michael Sandwick explains the two-choice preference test and how it relates to product development. In these tests, horses are given two feed options in matching buckets, which are rotated daily. Initially, the horse is allowed to smell but not taste the feeds. The handler then turns the horse away from the buckets before releasing it to consume its preferred choice for three minutes. A scribe notes how many times the horse returns to the bucket, lifts its head, or gets distracted by outside factors. After three minutes, the leftover portions are weighed to measure how much of each feed was consumed.

Sandwick got her start with the company as a summer intern. She is currently finishing her master’s degree at Kansas State University while working at the Kentucky Equine Research Performance Center in Ocala.

Learn more about product development at Kentucky Equine Research.