| True or false:
Horses were generally used as work animals in the 1900'-1940's and there were very low numbers of them in the US compared to the amount of horses we have in the US today which are used for pleasure/performance mostly. | False, there were many more horses around in the 1900's than there are today in the US. |
| The total population of horses in the US today is around 10.2 million. What percentage of these are used for pleasure? | 42.7% and these are the largest population of horses we will deal with in practice. |
| Today, we have an aging population of horses because of two things... | 1. better nutrition and medicine
2. decreased breeding in the 2000's |
| A horse in considered a geriatric horse at >___ years old. | 20 |
| At what age is a horse physically mature? | 5 years old |
| What is the average lifespan of a horse? | 25 plus or minus 5 years |
| Who are owners asking for advice on how to feed their horses? | Mostly veterinarians (80%), then nutritional specialists and extension specialists |
| What are owners feeding their horses? | 1. pasture and hay
2.commercial feeds- 87% use bag grain mixes
3. supplements, herbal usually |
| True or false:
Dairy cows often have a move individualized diet when compared with horses. | False |
| True or false:
Horses are grazing, nonruminant, herbivores. | True |
| Horses are naturally meant to eat grass __ to __ hours a day. | 14-18 |
| True or false:
Horses teeth are designed the way that they are primarily because they are designed to only chew once. | True, no regurgitation like ruminants. |
| Equine dentition is designed to effectively use higher fiber feeds like ___and___ which are the largest part of their diet in ideal circumstances. They also efficiently use high quality feeds like grains and seed meals. | grasses and hay |
| What are the three phases of chewing action in horses? | opening, closing, powerstroke |
| What two movements does a horse make with their teeth/mouth when chewing? | Lateral excursion - chewing in an oval shape
Rostro-caudal movement- forward and back |
| True or false:
Horses grass food with only their lips and tongue. | False; lips tongue and teeth |
| In horses, the ____, submaxillary, and sublingual salivary glands produce the saliva. (5-80 L per day depending on the source for info.) | parotid; produced the most saliva also! |
| The horses saliva contains bicarbonate which buffers and protects ___. | AA |
| How does the modified triad system work for numbering a horses teeth. | Like a clock starting at top right back.
Starting with the back right upper tooth, following the top teeth all the way to the top left furthest back then down to the bottom left furthest back and all the way to the right bottom furthest back. |
| What three teeth in the horse do not have baby tooth precursors? | 1st, 2nd and 3rd molars |
| Only males/females have canines. | Males |
| True or false:
To age a horse by its teeth is generally accurate up until age 15 or so. | false, up to 5 years it is very accurate and then on is less and less accurate |
| A horses ___ is a simple smooth muscular tube leading from the mouth to the stomach. | esophagus |
| True or false:
Horses have very little reflux capacity. | true; they do not vomit or regurgitate! |
| What may become a problem since horses to not have the capability to vomit, burp, or regurgitate? | -"choke"
-bacterial fermentation producing gas, they cannot burp, causes colic |
| True or false:
The horses stomach is extremely small compared to their size. | True |
| The horses stomach makes up only ___% of the GI tract and can hold only ___to___ L of content. | 10%
9-15L |
| True or false:
The majority of digestion occurs in the stomach. | False |
| 50% of small meals are emptied into the gut by ___ minutes. | 90 minutes |
| WAlthough digestion in the horses stomach is minimal, ___ and ___ do some of the digestion in the stomach. | Pepsin and HCl |
| What are the main functions of pepsin and HCl in the stomach of the horse? (3) | 1. breaks down solid particles
2. decreases bacterial fermentation which is EXTREMELY IMPT!
3. keeps pH at 2.6-5.4 |
| HCl in the stomach of the horse prevents ___ which can become a huge problem since horses cannot burp the byproducts out of them and this leads to colic. | fermentation |
| What are the two components of the horses stomach? | 1. squamous portion
2. glandular portion |
| The small intestine of the equine GI tract makes up 28% of the digestive tract and includes the ____, jejunum, and ileum. | duodenum |
| How long does it take for food to travel through the SI of the horse? | 3-4 hours because it is 15-22 meters long!! |
| Protein digestion occurs in the ___ of the horses GI tract. | small intestine |
| True or false:
High quality protein is more digested pre-cecal because horses are foregut fermenters. | False, HINDGUT |
| True or false:
When horses are fed commercial feeds up to 55% is digested in the SI alone. | True |
| True or false:
Most fermentative digestion occurs in the SI. | False, none does only enzymatic digestion |
| Enzymatic digestion that occurs in the SI of the horse digests proteins, fats, starches, and sugars. What digests these things and what do they digest them to? (3) | 1. proteases= protein= AA
2. Lipase= fat= triglycerides
3. amylase= sugars and starches= glucose |
| In horses, bile flow is discontinuous/continuous, and why? | continuous because they do not have a gal bladder! |
| What percent of carb digestion and absorption is in the SI of horses? | 30-60% |
| True or false:
ADEK vitamins are ___ soluble and absorbed in the ___ of the horses GI tract. | fat soluble; small intestine |
| What three main minerals are absorbed in the SI of the horses GI tract? | Ca, Mg, and P |
| Oils inc/dec time in the SI? What does this lead to? | Increased time in the SI leads to increased enzymatic digestion and increased absorption. |
| What part of the horses GI tract is most important for microbial digestion? | cecum |
| Why is it important to gradually change a horses feed? | It takes them 2-3 weeks to adjust to new feeds. |
| The cecum of the horses GI holds __to__ liters. | 28-36 liters |
| True or false:
Horses are hindgut fermenters. | True |
| In the cecum bacteria produce 3 things that are absorbed and one thing that is not. | absorbed- vit. K, B complex vitamins, fatty acids
not absorbed- proteins |
| What is the microbial inoculation vat in horses that is similar to the rumen in cows? | cecum |
| What is generally the best feed for horses/ what are they "meant" to eat. | pature and hay |
| True of false:
The large colon of the equine GI tract holds a large volume of up to 85 L. | True |
| Where is the primary site of water absorption in the equine GI tract? | Large colon |
| Microbial digestion continues in the large colon and any alteration of the bacterial species can cause ___. | colic |
| True or false:
Colic is a stomach ache! | False, NOT JUST STOMACH! Defined as abdominal pain. |
| True or false:
In the large colon, VFA are produced by microbial digestion. | True |
| True or false:
The small colon is not that much smaller than the large. | False- 3.5 meters compared to 10 cm |
| What are the 3 main functions of the small colon? | 1. reclaim excess moisture
2. fecal ball formation
3. expels fecal balls (rectum then anus) |
| True or false:
Horses are designed to eat high quality pasture or hay to fulfill the daily nutrient requirements and this is true for most athletic horses also. | True |
| Instead of using the weight of a horse we use ___. | Body condition scoring on a scale of 1-9 |
| Horses will only eat ___% of body weight daily. | 2-2.5%.. EXAM Q FOR SURE!! |
| Regarding the Henneke body condition scoring system:
What is extremely low/ thin?
What is best?
What is very overweight? | 1
4-6
9 |
| True or false:
When assessing body condition, you should be able to feel and see a horses ribs. | False- feel but NOT see. |
| What are the 6 places on a horse that are assessed for body condition scoring? | 1. along the neck
2. along the withers
3. case down back
4. tail head
5. ribs
6. behind the shoulder |
| True or false:
Water soluble carbs are structural carbs not non-structural carbs. | False |
| Structural or non-structural carbs:
1. simple sugars- monosaccharides
2. starches- polysaccharides
3. Fructans- oligosaccharides | NCS (non-structural carbs) |
| What ate the 3 main structural carbs? | cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin |
| Where are hydrolyzable carbs digested?
What are examples of these? | SI
simple sugars, non resistant starched |
| Where are tepidly fermentable carbs digested?
What are some examples of these? | microbial digestion in LI
resistant starches, oligosaccharides (frutans) |
| Where are slowly fermentable carbs digested and how? | microbial digestion in LI |
| Pasture depends on two things, what are they? | Location and soil drainage |
| What is the ideal grass for pasture? | kentucky bluegrass |
| True or false:
When talking about pasture maintenance, overgrazing must be avoided but under grazing is good for the growth of the grass. | False, avoid over and under grazing!!! |
| True or false:
Regarding pasture maintenance, mow 2-4 inches and avoid letting it go to seed. | True |
| For every 1000# horse, how much pasture do they require? | 1.75-2 acres per horse. |
| What is the best example of legume hay? | alfalfa |
| What type of hay is best for pregnant and lactating mares, high performance, growing, and gastric ulcers? | legume grass |
| True or false: Grass hay has lower protein and high fiber | True |
| True or false:
Legume hay is energy dense and nutrient dense. It's high in protein and calcium | True |
| What type of hay is best for easy keepers, light work/ retired horses, and stall bound horses? | Grass hay |
| True or false:
Good quality hay has more stems and less leaves. | False, more leaves and less stems |
| ___ is yellow and is a by-product of grain harvest used for animals to sleep on. | Straw |
| ___ is green and has a higher moisture content and is used for feed. | Hay |
| True or false:
Carbs, proteins, fats, vitamins, and minerals are mostly obtained from pasture and hay. | True |
| There is a max rate of protein synthesis that can be supported because of ___ which is the first limiting amino acid. | lysine (EXAM QUESTION) |
| As foals grow from suckling to weaning to yearling does their protein percentage required go up or down? | Suckling- 16%
Weaning- 3%
Yearling- 12% |
| Regarding protein requirements:
Protein in excess is better than is normal requirements. | FALSE!!! EXAM Q.
Excess protein causes growth depression, increased H2O req which increases urine output, and it makes TB racehorses slower. |
| Regarding fat:
Fat like vegetable and seed oils have __ times the digestible energy of corn. | 2 times |
| What is a benefit of adding fat to the diet of horses? | Decreases the chance of CHO overload. This is a good source of concentrated calories so they don't exceed their 2-2.25% body weight in food daily. |
| What is the ratio of calcium to phosphorus that is ideal for horses? | Calcium 2: 1 phorphorus EXAM Q!!! |
| When calcium is in excess, absorption decreases for these 4 things. | 1. oxalates
2. CU
3. Zn
4. fat soluble vitamins (ADEK) |
| This is typically the only vitamin that is inadequate in routine rations | Vit. A |
| The liver is able to store this important vitamin for 3-6 months. | Vit. A |
| This important vitamin supports vision, reproductive functions, immune system, and is synthesized from beta carotene. | Vit. A |
| This vitamin works with selenium to some extent and deficiency results in musculoskeletal disorders and neurological disorders. | Vit. E (tocopherol) |
| This vitamin is very high in green pasture grasses and is important to be supplemented in horses who don't have access to pastures. | Vit. E (tocophérol) |
| True or false:
Grains like corn and oats, grain by-products like rice bran, molasses, beet pulp, and oils are used in combination to produce commercial feeds. | True |
| Cereal grains have high/low energy, high/low fiber, high/low calcium, and high/low vitamins. | high energy
low fiber
low calcium
low vitamins |
| Comparing and contrasting corn and oats:
___ has 2x the energy
___ is high in vit A
___ is more expensive
___is low in lysine and tryptophan
___is safer due to higher fiber content
___ has better protein content
___requires more careful management | corn
corn
oats
corn
oats
oats
corn |
