Nutrient Value and Digestibility of Diets with Different Roughages for Jumping Horses in Italy

Abstract

In the last twenty years, the increased interest in breeding jumping horse has not been paralleled by research into their energy requirements. A crucial factor in breeding race horses is the quality of the ration, which must sustain and promote high performances. In addition to the energy required for maintenance, energy needs depend on muscular, skeletal, respiratory and cardiovascular system activity. The energy expenditure related to work performed depends on effort duration and intensity, but it may be affected by the effect of the lack of oxygen at the end of the work, increased energy requirement as a reaction to "stress", and a general increase in metabolic rate. Formulation of a diet that meets the nutrient requirements of athlete horses must also consider the effects of the combination of different dietary components. The present research was carried out in jumping horses to evaluate the nutritional value and t h e d ig e s t i bi l i t y o f t h r ee types of roughages administered with two different feedstuffs.

Sunflower cake in the diet ofQuarter Horses in activity

“…The organic matter DUC a of the diet containing 300g/d of sunflower cake was significantly higher (P<0.01) than those of the Control and Sunflower B diets (90.3 vs 88.6 and 86.9% respectively). In all three diets, the organic matter DUC a was greater than the values obtained in a previous digestibility study (Trombetta et al, 2006).…”

“…The apparent DUC a of protein and fat were significantly greater in the Sunflower A diet; they were also higher than those obtained in a previous study (Trombetta et al, 2006) performed on horses receiving the same roughage (haylage) plus pellet or crushed seeds. In addition the DUC a of protein obtained in this experiment were higher than those reported by Palmgreen Karlsson et al (2000) in subjects fed 40/60 hay/feedstuff ratio, and by Takagi et al (2002) in horses fed diets with 30/70 and 70/30 fodder/concentrate ratio.…”

“…The DUC a of NDF was significantly greater than that of the Control diet for both Sunflower diets, and was also greater than the one we obtained in horses receiving rations containing haylage plus pellet or crushed seeds (Trombetta et al, 2006). The DUC a of ADF and ADL were significantly greater for the Sunflower A diet, followed by those of the Control diet.…”

“…Sunflower A and Control diets than in the Sunflower B diet. The energy DUC a were also significantly greater for the Sunflower A diet, followed by the Control diet, and were better than those obtained in our previous study (Trombetta et al, 2006). Again, the DUC a calculated with the equation of Martin-Rossett and the AIA method were very similar.…”