How Does Yeast Supplementation Affect Nutrient Digestibility?

Two experiments were carried out to evaluate the effect of live yeast culture supplementation on nutrient digestibility in horses.

Four mature Thoroughbred and Quarter Horse geldings were used in the studies. In the first experiment, the horses were fed fescue hay and a commercial sweet feed in two equal feeding per day with or without the inclusion of 10 g/day of yeast culture. Hay, feed, and feces were analyzed for dry matter, fiber, minerals, and other content. Yeast culture supplementation increased digestion of dry matter, magnesium, potassium, phosphorus, and ash.

The second experiment was similar except that dicalcium phosphate or wheat middlings were added as sources of phosphorus.

Estimated true phosphorus digestibility was increased from 19.6% in the control diets to 24.1% in the yeast culture supplemented diets.

This report of KER’s 1990 research was published in Journal of Animal Science.

Read the entire research paper, titled Effect of Yeast Culture Supplementation on Nutrient Digestibility in Mature Horses.