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Sapulpa Veterinary Hospital Spring Newsletter 2007 |
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Spring 2007 |
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| By J. Kathleen Young, Ph.D Why should horse owners be concerned about forages for their horses? Horses need to be fed at least one percent of their body weight daily (dry matter) as forage. Most horses are fed more than that; many receive two or more percent of their body weight per day in grass or hay. This means that a 1000 pound horse may easily eat
15-20 pounds per day of hay, along with 3-6 pounds of a grain
ration. When problems occur that may relate back to nutrition,
people usually look at the grain ration. However, when the vast
majority of the horse’s diet is hay or grass, we must pay more
attention to the important nutritional role that the forage plays in
the horse’s nutritional status. The factors that affect the quality of the hay include plant species, fertilization, maturity at time of harvest, season at which hay is harvested, climate conditions, storage conditions, and age (time since cutting). The maturity of the plant at time of harvest determines the hay quality more than any other factor. Young, leafy, immature plants contain more protein, energy and minerals than older, stemmier plants. As a plant matures, it contains more indigestible fiber (lignin), therefore is less digestible for the horse, as well as containing less protein, energy and minerals. To ensure high quality hay, plants should be harvested at the proper stage of maturity, for instance, timothy should be cut in the pre-bloom or early-bloom stages for the highest nutrient content. P lant species (e.g. grass vs. legume) has an impact on the nutrient content of the hay, but not as much as most horse owners believe. The maturity of the plant when it was cut has much more influence. Alfalfa tends to have more protein, energy and calcium than grass hays, |
but research has shown that a
good quality grass hay may provide more nutrients than a medium or
low quality alfalfa because the higher quality grass hay is more
digestible (less fibrous). For example, for protein to be of value to a horse as amino acids, it must be digested and absorbed (as amino acids) in the horse’s upper gut (stomach and small intestine). Since the fiber in hay can only be digested by microbes in the horse’s hind gut, the more fiber in the hay, the more that hay is digested in the hind gut. In one study, when horses were fed medium quality alfalfa hay, only 2% of the protein was digested in the upper gut. This means that 98% of the protein was of no benefit as amino acids to the horses. Horse owners sometimes feel that alfalfa is always a better choice for horses than grass hays, but that is not necessarily true. Further, high quality alfalfa may not provide enough fiber to maintain a healthy hind gut in the horse. A certain amount of indigestible fiber (bulk) is necessary to ensure the health of the microbes in the hind gut, as well as helping to maintain proper motility in the hind gut. Fertilization primarily affects yield per acre rather than nutrition of any one bale of hay. The season at which the hay is harvested affects quality in that digestibility is highest for forages harvested in the spring, somewhat lower in mid to late summer, and then it rises slightly in autumn. Climate conditions, such as excessive moisture or drought can affect the quality of hay, especially since climate conditions can affect when the hay is cut. |
Often the plants become more mature
than optimum because climate conditions are not conducive to
harvesting at the best time. Storage conditions and age (time since cutting) primarily affect vitamin content of hays. Many vitamins are not very stable over time and lose biological activity. Environmental conditions such as heat, sunlight and rain can hasten the loss of vitamin activity in hay. Characteristics to look for in choosing high quality hay include: High leaf to stem ratio (indicates less mature plants) Small diameter stems (less mature plants) Fresh smell and appearance Cleanliness Color (faded, yellow or brown color may indicate aged hay or poor storage conditions) Few seed head or blooms (less mature plants) Hay analysis may provide more information, but the results need to be interpreted with caution. For instance, the crude protein determined by analysis does not indicate the site of digestion in the horse. A hay that tests high in crude protein and also high in acid detergent fiber (ADF) is not well digested in the horse’s upper gut, thus the amino acids from the protein are not readily available for absorption in the upper gut. A hay with lower crude protein and lower ADF may actually provide more nutrients, including protein, energy and minerals to the horse. Reprinted with permission from Purina Mills, L.L.C. |
In This Issue May 24th
Newsletters:
Factors Affecting Hay Quality · Plant Species |
| Our long-time friend and co-worker, Jan
Ellis, was married in December to Mark Gough.
Congratulations to Mark and Jan! |
Mark resides in Oklahoma City, and
shortly after they were married, Jan moved to Oklahoma City.
We wish them the very best in their new marriage and a lifetime
of happiness. |
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| Kelly Whittaker came on
board in January of this year. She is a Certified Veterinary
Technician and has been in the field for two and half years.
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Jody Mizell also joined Sapulpa
Veterinary Hospital in January. She brings a lot of practical
business experience to the table where she handles the many and
varied front office responsibilities. |
We welcome Kelly and Jody
to our staff as they are both ready to serve our clients.
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| Southern Agriculture, 71st
and Sheridan, is hosting an educational horse seminar on Thursday,
May 3, 2007 at 6:30 pm. Mark Scales from Purina Mills will be sharing about different types of horse feeds and which types of feed is best for your horse. |
Dr. White and Dr. Mecham will be discussing First Aid for horses and what to do in an emergency situation. Come join us to learn more about how to better care for your horses. |
Thursday, May 3rd |
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| Even though we had a hard
winter this year the ticks seemed to have survived, and they have
arrived. As a reminder, regularly check your horse’s ears, tail, chest and flank areas for ticks. |
To help keep ticks off your
horse use Co-Ral “Zipcide Dust”. It’s easy to use and very effective. |
Simply dust evenly over the head, neck, back and tailhead of your horse. Contact the hospital for more information or to purchase Zipcide Dust. | |
| Mark your calendar for
Thursday evening, May 24th, at the Creek County Fairgrounds, and
join us for BBQ sandwiches.
There will be plenty of BBQ with all the fix’ins. Kevin Hankins, DVM, is the Field Veterinary Consultant for Fort Dodge Animal Health. Dr. Hankins will be talking about Metabolic Syndrome and Equine Infectious Disease. Metabolic Syndrome, also known as Cushings Disease or Omental Cushings is a common problem diagnosed in many different breeds of horses. The typical horse affected by this metabolic problem are cresty-necked, overweight even in the face of a restricted diet, and may be prone to laminitic episodes. |
These horses have previously been described or diagnosed as
"hyper-thyroid" horses. The increased understanding of the disease and better diagnostic capabilities have now made this a manageable and treatable problem for the horse owner. Equine Infectious Disease: Dr. Hankins will discuss the common
infectious equine diseases such as Encephalitis, Tetanus, Rabies,
Herpes, and Influenza. |
Disease transmission,
clinical signs, and preventions are a important aspect of
understanding these diseases. New vaccination guidelines have been developed to help decrease the incidences of these diseases. Dr. Hankins received a Bachelors of Science Degree in Animal Science and Industry, and Doctor of Veterinary Medicine from Kansas State University. Thursday, May 24th Creek County Fairgrounds Time: 6:30 pm RSVP to 224-6867 By Tuesday, May 22nd |
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