Mobile bag technique for estimation of nutrient digestibility when hay is supplemented with alternative fibrous feedstuffs in horses

Thorringer, N.W.; Weisbjerg, M.R.; Jensen, Rasmus Bovbjerg

doi:10.1016/j.anifeedsci.2021.115168

Cited by 2 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 38 publications

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“…As this is of interest particularly for fructans, other techniques are required. The mobile bag technique (MBT) in caecum-cannulated horses can be used to quantify the precaecal digestibility of feedstuffs and its components, even if most research using this technique has focused on starch digestion of grains ( Philippeau et al, 2014 ; Thorringer et al, 2020 ) or fiber digestion ( Moore-Colyer et al, 2002 ; Thorringer et al, 2022 ). It is possible to use the MBT also for digestibility studies of WSC, but as of today it is not known what the optimal pore size of mobile bags should be and how it affects the results.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The effect of harvest time of forage on carbohydrate digestion in horses quantified by in vitro and mobile bag techniques

Stang

Bjerregaard

Müller

et al. 2022

Journal of Animal Science

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Carbohydrates in forages constitute an important part of the feed ration for all horses. The aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of harvest time on carbohydrate composition and digestion of various grass species. The experiment was divided into three parts 1) characterization of the chemical composition of experimental feeds (6 grass species: meadow fescue (MF), cocksfoot (CF), perennial ryegrass (PR), smooth bromegrass (SB), tall fescue (TF) and timothy (TI), and 3 harvest times: early, medium and late first cut), 2) measurements of the in vitro digestion of selected experimental feeds (the 6 grass species, and 2 harvest times (early and late)) measured by in vitro gas production, and 3) in vivo digestion of selected experimental feeds (2 grass species: CF and PR, 2 harvest times (early and late)) measured by the mobile bag technique using caecum cannulated horses. An experimental field was established with plots containing each of the grass species in three replicate blocks. Grass samples were cut between 1200 and 1400 h at 4 th of June (early first cut), 17 th of June (medium first cut) and 1 st of July (late first cut) and analysed for crude protein (CP), neutral detergent fibre with heat stable amylase and free of residual ash (aNDFom) and water-soluble carbohydrates (WSC). The in vitro fermentation was investigated using the ANKOM RF gas production technique, where feeds were incubated for 48 h using horse caecal fluid as an inoculum. Gas production was modelled, and maximum gas production (MGP) was used to evaluate the potential digestibility of the feeds. Based on the chemical analyses and the in vitro experiment, early and late harvested CF and PR were selected for the in vivo experiment, which was conducted as a randomized 4x4 Latin square design including four periods, four horses and four feeds. In general, the CP content decreased whereas the aNDFom content increased as the grasses matured. The content of WSC increased in SB and TI, but decreased in CF, and fructans increased in SB, TI, PR, and TF as they matured. The in vitro MGP showed a clearer difference between harvest times than between grass species. Harvest time had larger effect on digestibility than grass species, and a high pre-caecal disappearance of the WSC fraction was measured by the mobile bag technique. Cocksfoot was identified as a grass species with potentially low digestibility and low WSC content and could potentially be used more for horses.

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