Forages and grazing in horse nutrition : [6th European Workshop on Equine Nutrition, Lisbon, 20.-22.06.2012

Forages should be the basis of all diets in horse feeding. Therefore it is of major importance to determine which parameters will influence their quality. Changes on chemical composition along the vegetative cycle, nutrient losses during harvesting, preservation and storage are factors that could have an effect on nutritive value, as well on digestibility and palatability. A specific grazing and ingesting behaviour, linked to plant preferences and the selection of feeding sites will have an impact on biodiversity. This will determine the options on plant species and varieties and further management of pastures for horses. This book highlights the role of forages and grazing in horse nutrition and also gathers information about related topics, such as the contribution of local breeds for the sustainability and development of rural areas, their impact on landscape and relationships with environmental preservation. This book is the 6th volume in a scientific series conceived through the European Workshop on Equine Nutrition (EWEN) which falls under the umbrella of the Horse Commission of the European Federation of Animal Science (EAAP). All these materials provide an interesting basis for further discussion, not only in specialized forums, but also for those involved in horse production. Front Matter....Pages 1-14 Front Matter....Pages 14-14 Grass physiology and its relation to nutritive value in feeding horses....Pages 17-43 Changes in chemical composition of different grass species and -mixtures in equine pasture during grazing season....Pages 45-48 Phytoestrogen coumestrol and its metabolite in mares’ plasma after clover mixed pasture and alfalfa pellets ingestion....Pages 49-53 Fermentation parameters and total gas production of equine caecal and faecal inocula....Pages 55-58 White clover ( Trifolium repens L.): do non-structural carbohydrates account?....Pages 59-62 Front Matter....Pages 63-63 Nutritional assessment of forage quality....Pages 65-82 Prediction of organic matter digestibility of forages in horses using different chemical, biological and physical methods....Pages 83-95 Repeatability and reproducibility of digestibility measurements in horses fed forage based diets....Pages 97-100 The effect of three different treatments on the respirable particle content, total viable count and mould concentrations in hay for horses....Pages 101-106 Degradation of grass and grass fructan by equine gastrointestinal digesta in vitro ....Pages 107-108 Nitrogen digestion of a large range of hays by mobile nylon bag technique (MNBT) in horses....Pages 109-120 Evaluation of ADL, AIA and TiO 2 as markers to determine apparent digestibility in ponies fed increasing proportions of concentrate....Pages 121-123 The effect of steaming and soaking treatments on respirable dust content of hay and the potential environmental polluting impact of the waste water produced....Pages 125-128 The use of frozen equine faeces to assess the nutritional quality of forages using an in vitro gas production technique....Pages 129-134 Front Matter....Pages 135-135 Grazing systems and the role of horses in heathland areas....Pages 137-146 How do horses graze pastures and affect the diversity of grassland ecosystems?....Pages 147-161 The effect of pasture restriction on dry matter intake of foraging donkeys in the United Kingdom....Pages 163-176 Variations in voluntary feed intake in 2 year old Standardbred geldings in training fed a forage only diet ad libitum....Pages 177-179 Effect of forage presentation on feed intake behaviour in stabled horses....Pages 181-183 The effect of wearing a grazing muzzle vs. not wearing a grazing muzzle on intakes of spring, summer and autumn pastures by ponies....Pages 185-186 Front Matter....Pages 135-135 Inhibition of lamellar separation caused by endotoxins by Polymyxin B in an ex vivo/ in vitro model of equine laminitis....Pages 187-190 Acclimatisation of horses to a novel feeding system....Pages 191-194 Front Matter....Pages 195-195 Grazing and pasture management considerations from around the world....Pages 197-208 Farm grazing management with horsesin two French grassland regions: Normandy and Auvergne....Pages 209-212 Grassland management practice on Irish Thoroughbred stud farms....Pages 213-218 Heavy grazing by horses on heathlands of different botanical composition....Pages 219-226 Foraging behaviour of equines grazing on partially improved heathlands....Pages 227-230 Effect of cultivated or semi-natural pasture on changes in live weight, body condition score, body measurements and fat thickness in grazing Finnhorse mares....Pages 231-234 Front Matter....Pages 235-235 Impact of harvest, preservation and storage conditions on forage quality....Pages 237-253 Horse feed hygiene evaluation with microbial and sensory examination....Pages 255-262 Effect of Vivaflor 03 on the colonic ecosystem of horses fed a high forage diet....Pages 263-266 Effects of a deoxynivalenol contaminated diet on feed intake and health status in horses....Pages 267-270 Aerobic stability of sugar cane in natura hydrolysed with calcium oxide to be used in equine diets....Pages 271-274 Nutritional composition of white oat ( Avena sativa L. ) with different levels of dry matter for use in the diet of horses....Pages 275-277 Effect of storage period on the chemical composition and beta-carotene concentration in estilosantes hay varieties for feeding equine....Pages 279-286 Front Matter....Pages 287-287 Forage feeding systems....Pages 289-303 Forage analyses as a base of feeding of horses....Pages 305-314 Effects of foaling season on growth and development of Lusitano suckling foals raised on extensive grazing systems....Pages 315-318 Effects of traditional versus novel feeding management on 24 hour time budget of stabled horses....Pages 319-321 Effect of inoculation of laminitic-prone, equine faecal inocula with varying forage sources with or without live yeast ( Saccharomyces cerevisiae ) on in vitro gas production parameters....Pages 323-326 Front Matter....Pages 287-287 Feeding forage before or after oats affects caecum pH profiles of the horse....Pages 327-330 The usage of forage analyses in optimizing horse nutrition in Finland....Pages 331-334 Blood glucose, lactate, urea, β-hydroxybutyrate, NEFA and insulin in Norwegian trotter horses fed different diets....Pages 335-339 Lusitano horses in Portugal without access to pasture are at risk of having low serum levels of vitamin E: a pilot study....Pages 341-342 Effect of yucca ( Yucca schidigera ) on ammonia levels from equine excreta in the stable....Pages 343-346 Influence of fat supplementation on mare’s milk composition....Pages 347-350 Effect of omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids supplementation on development of equine and mule nursing foals....Pages 351-353 Front Matter....Pages 355-355 The fermentation of hay and starch when incubated in vitro with faecal inoccula from either normal healthy horses or horses with a history of laminitis....Pages 357-361 In vitro gas production from colon contents in electrolyte supplemented horses....Pages 363-365 Effects of electrolyte supplementation on colonic contents and faeces in horses....Pages 367-369 Effect of the inclusion of ricinoleic acid from castor oil ( Ricinus communis L.) in equine diet based on Bermuda grass hay: glycemic and insulinemic response....Pages 371-372 Effect of the use of Saccharomyces cerevisiae on apparent digestibility in horses diet....Pages 373-375 Effect of ricinoleic acid from castor oil ( Ricinus communis L.) inclusion in equine diet on total apparent digestibility....Pages 377-378 Front Matter....Pages 379-379 Relationship between body condition and neck crest score systems and subcutaneous fat, tissue and muscle ultrasonic measurements in horses....Pages 381-386 Evaluation of body condition score in horses by ultrasonography....Pages 387-390 Relationship between ultrasound subcutaneous fat depth, body condition score and body subcutaneous fat distribution in Miranda breed jennets....Pages 391-398 Front Matter....Pages 399-399 Ethnoveterinary applied to Equidae in the Alentejo, south Portugal....Pages 401-411 A combined trial of chemotherapy and biological control measures against parasites in grazing horses....Pages 413-417 Effect of Duddingtonia flagrans chlamydospores on the control of parasite infection in grazing horses....Pages 419-423 Parasite control in Miranda Donkeys as a way of keeping animal welfare....Pages 425-431 Front Matter....Pages 399-399 Addition of Duddingtonia flagrans chlamydospores to the concentrate feed can improve the successful of control measures against strongyle infection in horses....Pages 433-436 Front Matter....Pages 437-437 Equids contribution to sustainable development in rural areas: a new challenge for the third millennium....Pages 439-452 Socio-economic impact of horse production on rural areas: a comparison between Ireland and France....Pages 453-465 Territories and grassland exploitation by horses in France....Pages 467-480 The Portuguese Garrano breed: an efficient and sustainable production system....Pages 481-484 Quantitative assessment of enteric methane emission and nitrogen excretion by equines....Pages 485-492 Inorganic, soluble faecal phosphorus excretion in growing horses fed forage-only diets....Pages 493-496 Front Matter....Pages 497-497 Effects of body weight restriction on blood and adipose tissue adipokines and macrophage activation in obese and insulin-resistant ponies....Pages 499-502 Study of the lymphocyte proliferation of neonate foals from mares supplemented with linseed oil and soybean oil....Pages 503-505 Back Matter....Pages 507-509