Effect of fast vs. moderate growth rate related to nutrient intake on developmental orthopaedic disease in the horse

Abstract

-Osteochondrosis and other developmental orthopaedic diseases (DOD) constitute major problems in the horse industry. High food allowances and fast growth might be contributory factors. The aim of this experiment was to test the effect of high balanced nutrient allowances and associated fast growth, on the prevalence of several DOD. This study was carried out from birth to one year of age. Foals of a high feeding group (HL, n = 20) were fed 130% (0 to 2 months) and 150% (2 to 12 months) of the moderate level group (ML, n = 19, 100% of INRA recommendations). All foals were radiographed at 5.5 and 11 months, and 8 foals from each group were necropsied at 12 months of age for gross inspection of joints. Body weight, height at withers and cannon width were higher at 12 months in the HL group (+88.4 kg, +4.6 cm, and +2.1 mm respectively). The gains in body weight were 1254 and 873 g per day in the HL and ML respectively during the 0-6 month period, and 668 and 528 g per day in the HL and ML respectively during the 7-12 months period. The occurrence and severity of limb DOD were not statistically different in the HL and ML groups. Fast growth was positively correlated to the occurrence of some DOD lesions, but the body weight was more weakly correlated to the prevalence of DOD than cannon width or height at withers. The power of correlation varied for different types or localisations of lesion. In conclusion, high balanced feeding level was not a sufficient factor in our study, but fast development was a factor of risk for DOD. The lower correlations obtained with body weight do not support the theory that biomechanical limb loading due to increased bodyweight alone increases risk for osteochondrosis. High endomembranous or endochondral ossification rate would be more critical in causing DOD. La présence et la gravité des AOAJ des membres n'ont pas été statistiquement différentes dans les deux groupes. Une croissance rapide a été associée à la présence de certaines AOAJ, mais le poids vif a été moins fortement corrélé à la prévalence des AOAJ que la largeur du canon ou la hauteur au garrot. La puissance des corrélations dépendait de la localisation des lésions. En conclusion, des apports nutritionnels élevés et équilibrés n'ont pas suffi à induire des AOAJ, alors que le format et/ou la croissance ont été des facteurs de risque. L'hypothèse du seul effet mécanique lié à la surcharge pondérale pour justifier l'apparition des AOAJ n'est pas vérifiée par cette étude. En revanche, une intense ossification intramembraneuse ou endochondrale induite pourrait constituer un facteur déterminant de l'apparition des AOAJ.cheval / nutrition / croissance / développement / ostéochondrose

How does the suppression of energy supplementation affect herbage intake, performance and parasitism in lactating saddle mares?

“…Their size and bone growth at 11 months of age were also satisfying (Donabédian et al, 2006), and similar between treatments. Mares maintained a high BCS (>3) and slightly increased their liveweight from June to early September.…”

Energy intake and growth of weanling horses in a cold loose housing system

“…on the basis of predicted energy requirements of growing horses determined by SLU (2004) and MTT (2006), and on the basis of BCS. Therefore, energy intake was not adjusted according to actual BW and predicted BW of the following study period, as was done, for example, in the study of Donabédian et al (2006). The French nutritional models used in the study of Donabédian et al (2006) have been established by INRA (1990).…”

“…in Sweden and Finland, the nutrient requirements commonly used are SLU (2004) and MTT (2006) requirements, of which the SLU requirements include guidelines for feeding horses in a cold environment. Feeding of growing horses according to the requirements is important, since imbalanced nutrition may cause weight loss or weight gain, retard or increase growth rate, weaken the bones and increase the risk of developmental orthopaedic diseases (Thompson et al 1988, Donabédian et al 2006, NRC 2007. In practice, balancing nutrient intake is difficult for horse breeders because they do not often know the nutrient concentrations of the feeds they use and do not take into account differences in nutrient requirements for growing horses of various ages in the feeding strategies (Gibbs and Cohen 2001).…”

Developmental orthopaedic disease in limbs of foals: between-breed variations in the prevalence, location and severity at weaning

“…Genetic predisposition (Hoppe and Philipsson, 1985;Schougaard et al, 1990), body size , growth rate (Donabedian et al, 2006;van Weeren et al, 1999), nutritional excesses or imbalances (Jeffcott, 1991) and exercise modalities (van Weeren and Barneveld, 1999) are considered to influence the prevalence of DOD. Thus, we hypothesised that usual differences in management practices, as well as genetic selection for many decades, may have led to between-breed variations in the prevalence and severity of DOD.…”