The digestibility and mineral availability of Matua, Bermuda grass, and alfalfa hay in mature horses

Sturgeon, L.S.; Baker, L.A.; Pipkin, J.L.; Haliburton, J.C.; Chirase, Norbert K.

doi:10.1016/s0737-0806(00)80320-2

Cited by 23 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 4 publications

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“…Therefore, teff hay appears to have a digestibility similar to popular cool-season hay species fed to horses. The DM and nutrient digestibility values of teff hay fed in this study were similar to that measured for bermudagrass, another warm-season grass fed to horses (Sturgeon et al, 2000).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 75%

Voluntary intake and digestibility of teff hay fed to horses1

Staniar

Bussard

Repard

et al. 2010

Journal of Animal Science

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The objective of this study was to evaluate nutrient composition, voluntary DMI, and apparent DM digestibility of teff hay cut at 3 different stages of maturity to evaluate its potential as a preserved forage for horses. Six mature Quarter Horse mares (12 +/- 3 yr; 553 +/- 39 kg of BW) were used in a replicated balanced Latin square design with 3 periods and 3 maturities of teff hay. Eragrostis tef ('Tiffany' teff) was planted in May and harvested at the boot, early-heading, or late-heading stage of maturity through the summer. Horses were acclimated to a mixture of maturities of teff hay for 8 d before the beginning of the study. After this acclimation period, each period consisted of a 9-d voluntary DMI phase, followed by a 3-d DM digestibility phase. The percentages of nonstructural carbohydrates (NSC) increased from 5.4% in the boot stage to 8.4% in the late-heading stage, whereas concentrations of CP, K, Fe, and Mn decreased. The Ca:P ratio was 2.0 ± 0.3 for all maturities. Horses had less DMI of late-heading teff hay (1.5% BW) than teff hay of other maturities (1.8% BW; P < 0.05), indicating a preference for the earlier maturities. The intake and nutrient composition of the boot and early-heading maturities was sufficient to meet 90 to 97% of the average DE of the horses and most other nutrient requirements. Digestibility decreased from boot to late-heading teff hay for DM, CP, ADF, and NDF (P < 0.05). Digestibility increased from boot to early-heading to late-heading hay for nonfiber carbohydrates and water-soluble carbohydrates (P < 0.05). For all maturities of teff hay, the NSC intake was below 10% of the total intake. In conclusion, the low NSC and DE of teff hay grown in central Pennsylvania under the conditions in this study make it an appropriate forage source for obese horses and those at risk for laminitis or other metabolic disorders.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 75%

Voluntary intake and digestibility of teff hay fed to horses1

Staniar

Bussard

Repard

et al. 2010

Journal of Animal Science

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“…The low balances resulted in an average Mg AD of 0.8% that was lower than 50 to 53% reported by Hintz et al (1984) when mature ponies were fed alfalfa hay and oats. It is also less than that reported by Sturgeon et al (2000) when mature horses were fed alfalfa hay, which resulted in a Mg AD of 58% at greater intake levels of 72 mg·kg BW -1 ·d -1 compared with the 43 to 45 mg·kg BW -1 ·d -1 horses received in this study. It has been shown that high P diets decreased Mg AD in ponies from 50 to 36% (Hintz and Schryver, 1972b).…”

Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 69%

Effects of phytase supplementation in mature horses fed alfalfa hay and pelleted concentrate diets

Lavin

Nielsen

Zingsheim

et al. 2013

Journal of Animal Science

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An experiment was conducted to study P digestibility in mature horses because of the growing environmental concerns regarding P runoff and previous equine research focused mostly on young and growing animals or used ponies as a model. Phytase supplementation of swine and poultry diets can result in greater phytate-P digestibility, leading to a decreased need for inorganic P supplementation and a decrease in P excreted to the environment; this, however, has not been demonstrated in the horse. Six mature Arabian geldings were fed 6 diets consisting of pelleted concentrate and alfalfa hay. The concentrates consisted mainly of soybean hulls, ground corn, wheat midds, broken rice, and beet pulp, and phytase was added to the concentrates accordingly before pelleting. There were 3 diet types: control (concentrate and hay), high P (greater P concentrate and hay), and forage only, and each diet type included 1 phytase-supplemented diet and 1 non-phytase-supplemented diet, resulting in 6 total diets. Phytase supplementation for the forage only diet was accomplished by feeding a nominal amount of concentrate formulated solely as a vehicle for the phytase. Horses had unrestricted access to water throughout the experiment. Using a Latin square design, all horses received all diets over a period of 12 wk. In each week, the new diet was fed for 11 d of diet acclimation, which was followed by a 3-d total collection of feces and urine for each horse. There was no effect (P < 0.05) of phytase supplementation on P output in the urine or feces, resulting in no differences in P apparent digestibility. Analysis of the feed and feces for phytate revealed a 93% average disappearance rate of phytate, indicating that horses are highly capable of degrading phytate and that phytase supplementation was not beneficial. Thus, the results indicate that mature horses are able to maintain a near 0 P balance, with adequate P provided in the diet even as phytate, and increased P intakes above requirement may result in increased potentially detrimental outputs to the environment.

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“…Forage type affected DMD, with the greatest digestibility observed when horses were fed alfalfa. Several other studies have reported greater digestibility of legume hays than cool-season or warm-season grass hays [34][35][36][37][38][39][40]. The DMD of alfalfa hay in this study falls within the 54-66% range of alfalfa hay DMD reported in the literature [34][35][36][37][38][39][40].…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 69%

“…Akin et al [47] reported that even typically highly digestible plant mesophyll cells were only partially degraded with increasing plant maturity in bermudagrass samples. The reported digestibility of Coastal bermudagrass hay ranges from 41-53% [34,35,[48][49][50]. Although the DMD of CB 4 fell within the reported range, the CB 6 and CB 8 had reduced digestibility compared with reported values.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 95%

Digestibility and Retention Time of Coastal Bermudagrass (Cynodon dactylon) Hay by Horses

Hansen

Chizek

Zugay

et al. 2019

Animals

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Bermudagrass (Cynodon dactylon) and other warm-season grasses are known for their increased fiber concentrations and reduced digestibility relative to cool-season grasses and legumes. This study investigated the digestive characteristics and passage kinetics of three maturities of Coastal bermudagrass hay. A 5 × 5 Latin square design experiment was used to compare the digestion of five hays: alfalfa (Medicago sativa, ALF), orchardgrass (Dactylis glomerata, ORCH), and Coastal bermudagrass harvested at 4 (CB 4), 6 (CB 6), and 8 weeks of regrowth (CB 8). Horses were fed cobalt-ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (Co-EDTA) and ytterbium (Yb) labeled neutral detergent fiber (NDF) before an 84-h total fecal collection to determine digesta retention time. Dry matter digestibility was greatest for ALF (62.1%) and least for CB 6 (36.0%) and CB 8 diets (36.8%, SEM = 2.1; p < 0.05). Mean retention time was longer (p < 0.05) for Coastal bermudagrass (particulate 31.3 h, liquid 25.3 h) compared with ORCH and ALF (28.0 h, SEM = 0.88 h; 20.7 h, SEM = 0.70 h). Further evaluation of digesta passage kinetics through mathematical modeling indicated ALF had distinct parameters compared to the other diets. Differences in digestive variables between forage types are likely a consequence of fiber physiochemical properties, warranting further investigation on forage fiber and digestive health.

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The digestibility and mineral availability of Matua, Bermuda grass, and alfalfa hay in mature horses

Cited by 23 publications

References 4 publications

Voluntary intake and digestibility of teff hay fed to horses1

Voluntary intake and digestibility of teff hay fed to horses1

Effects of phytase supplementation in mature horses fed alfalfa hay and pelleted concentrate diets

Digestibility and Retention Time of Coastal Bermudagrass (Cynodon dactylon) Hay by Horses

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