Nutrient Digestibility in Horses

Many equine nutrient requirements are based on certain assumptions about how well horses digest and absorb nutrients. Unfortunately, a great many questions remain unanswered about nutrient digestibility in horses. How well do horses utilize different sources of nutrients? What nutrients interact with one another to affect digestibility?

Kentucky Equine Research has conducted dozens of digestibility trials to evaluate how well various nutrients are absorbed from different types of feeds and feed ingredients. For each trial, a standardized experimental design was used to measure digestibility. Horses were fed different diets for three weeks followed by a five-day complete fecal collection period. Samples of feed and feces were analyzed for nutrient content. By comparing the analyses, digestibility of each nutrient was calculated.

Using this pattern, 30 different diets have been evaluated. They have ranged from alfalfa hay to a combination of sweet feed and fescue hay to pelleted concentrates fed with timothy hay. The results have yielded information on nutrient requirements and interactions as well as energy, protein, fiber, carbohydrate, fat, and mineral content of a number of horse feed types.

Pagan, J.D. 1998. Nutrient digestibility in horses. In: J.D. Pagan (Ed.) Advances in Equine Nutrition. pp. 77-87. Nottingham University Press. Nottingham, United Kingdom.

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