Composition of milk and mammary gland health in Criollo breed mares during lactation

Abstract

The aim of this study was to evaluate the components of milk and mammary gland health of Criollo mares. A total of 12 mares coming from a farm in southern Brazil were used. Samples of milk were taken from each mare every two weeks up to 180 days of lactation. The characteristics analyzed were fat, protein, lactose, total solids, somatic cell count (SCC) and total bacterial count (TBC). In relation to the health of the udder and the milk of the mares, the SCC was 24.1 x 103cells / ml and TBC was 44 x 103CFU / ml, while the average of milk components was 0.57% fat, 1.95% protein, 6.71% lactose and 9.24% total solids. Stage of lactation and individual characteristics may influence the level of milk components. The low SCC and TBC found in the Criollo breed mares’ milk ensure the quality of their milk compared to other species.

Milk Products from Minor Dairy Species: A Review

“…As considered by Kaić et al [ 40 ], mares have a generally good health status of the mammary gland and good microbial quality of milk due to the low volume of udder, high resistance to pathogens, and high concentrations of antimicrobial compounds; in addition, having not been selected for milk yield, they are less sensitive to inflammation and infections. Costa et al [ 41 ] report that, in Brazil, mastitis affects 5–10% of the herd of breeding mares, usually in the period of involution of the mammary gland, and it may cause impairment in weight gain of suckling foals, especially after a clinical mastitis; nevertheless, they concluded that milk has better hygiene properties (SCC and microbial count) compared to bovine milk, and this can be used as a marketing strategy when selling milk for human consumption. The SCC values reported are highly variable: the highest one was reported in Croatian Coldblood Horse (10–47 × 1000 mL −1 ) and in Thoroughbred and Polish Half Bred (20–37 × 1000/mL), whereas the lowest value of 3.02 × 1000 mL −1 was registered in Slovenian Draft Horse [ 39 , 42 , 43 , 44 , 45 , 46 ].…”