THE Irish Equine Centre in Johnstown, Co Kildare, provides an environmental and nutritional analysis service that can identify a range of potential feed issues which can adversely impact the performance of horses.

The nutrition unit at the IEC has evolved from Professor Tom Buckley’s microbiology unit and is now headed by Alan Creighton.

The old adage “they are what they eat” is very relevant and the IEC can test samples of concentrated feed, hay, haylage, grass and water for both hygiene quality and nutritional content.

In this article, Alan and Tom discuss why it is so important for horse owners to have their forage tested.

The equine industry in Ireland is renowned globally and is estimated to be worth approximately €2 billion per annum to the Irish economy.

While Ireland excels in horse production, the quality of forages (grass, hay, haylage, et cetera) fed to Irish horses over the winter and throughout the grazing season tends to be largely unknown. Forages are an essential component of the diet of the horse and the National Research Council (NRC) guidelines recommend a minimum forage intake of 1% of body weight (BW) for a healthy equine digestive system.

Most racehorse diets will consist of 50% concentrated feed and 50% forage. Interestingly, when we examine most sport horse diets, this ratio can change to 30% concentrated feed and 70% forage. From the perspective of the owner, it is therefore critical that the nutritive quality of these forages is optimised to ensure continued health, well-being and performance.

Managing equine stock efficiently demands good quality forage, and the continued monitoring of this forage, once stored.

Forage, as stated earlier, often can be the main component of the diet of the horse. Good quality hay and haylage is nutritious, very palatable and also plays a vital role in maintaining a healthy and functional gastrointestinal tract.

A good understanding of the nutritional value of different feedstuffs and forages is important for correctly formulating diets in equines.

GUESSWORK

Concentrated feed will always be nutritionally tested by feed companies whereas the nutritional value of forages and oats, unless tested, are evaluated using guesswork.

Forage nutrition values can vary greatly depending on type of grass and the stage of maturity. Therefore, we must analyse forage accurately to correctly formulate diets.

Understanding the mineral content of grass, forage and feeds is essential to maximise the production of quality sound horses.

Harvesting forages in Ireland is complicated by our damp temperate climate.

In an effort to avoid these conditions, forage is often baled before reaching recommended levels of dry matter which often results in the development of mould and reduced nutritional quality.

These same moulds can cause severe respiratory problems and, in some cases, neither issue would be identifiable by a simple visual inspection of the forage.

The results of nutritional analysis are given in two forms and can assist in the formation of an optimum diet for individual horses.

‘As fed’ gives the results of the sample in its natural state or how it is fed to the animal. When the results are expressed as ‘dry matter basis’ (DM) this removes the moisture as a factor.

  • Dry matter represents everything in the sample except water. It includes protein, fibre, minerals, etc. Moisture is the total amount of water in the forage.
  • Protein is vital to all physiological stages in the horse. Protein is essential for maintenance and growth. Protein is made up of amino acids and is required on a daily basis for maintenance, lactation, growth and reproduction and can extremely varied in Irish forages.
  • Fibre is essential to every physiological stage in the horse. The fibre quality of the forage is determined using fibre fractions: neutral detergent fibre (NDF) and acid detergent fibre (ADF).
  • Neutral Detergent Fibre (NDF) is a measurement of the insoluble fibre. In theory, the higher the NDF fibre, the less a horse will consume.
  • Acid Detergent Fibre (ADF) is a quantitative measure of the indigestible fibre portion of the sample providing an estimate of the digestibility of the sample. The lower the ADF value, the more digestible the nutrients in the hay will be.
  • Ash is a measure of the total mineral content in a given sample following incineration.
  • Energy requirements in the horse are determined in order to account for maintenance, growth (average daily gain), lactation, reproduction and levels of activity. Failure to supply adequate energy will result in poor performance.
  • Digestible energy is a predicted value based on the protein and ADF in the sample. It is important that the digestible energy content of the diet of the horse is appropriate for the amount of work the horse is doing.

    • The nutrition laboratory measure nutritional parameters using both near-infrared (NIR) and reference wet chemistry methods.

    Our NIR analyser allows for rapid determination of multiple nutrients of feed and forage. It is a fast, cost-effective process available for evaluation of most feeds, forages and grasses.

    FORAGE SAMPLING

    The analytical result is only as good as the sample submitted for analysis. Collecting a representative sample is the first step of the analytical procedure.

    The following recommended sampling procedures will help ensure that results reflect the true nutrient composition of the sample:

  • Hay and haylage: Different types, cuttings or lots should be sampled and analysed separately. Using different sterile gloves for each sample, take a fistful of forage from at least 10 bales which have been selected at random. Combine all samples and submit for analysis. The sample should weigh at least 80-100g and also should be enough to fill an 18 inch² plastic mini-grip bag.
  • Grass: Randomly select at least 15-20 sites where the animals have been grazing and clip at grazing height. Combine in a clean plastic bucket and mix. Take at least 500g and pack tightly in a plastic bag and freeze for 12 hours prior to submitting to the lab.
  • Grains and mixed feeds: Randomly collect between 10 and 20 samples of grains or concentrated feeds and combine in a clean plastic bucket. Submit at least 500g for analysis.

    • The nutrition team at the IEC is constantly testing feed and forages for many of the biggest racing yards and stud farms throughout Europe. Our team is currently involved in digestibility studies, supplement efficacy trials and mineral studies which allow the output of the nutrients to be maximised in feeding programmes used by stud farms.

    For more info contact Alan Creighton or Caoimhe Delaney on (045) 866266 or nutrition@irishequinecentre.ie. This week the Irish Equine Centre was named veterinary, agricultural and commercial laboratory of the year at the Irish Laboratory Awards.