Details

Autor(en) / Beteiligte

• Karasu, Gulsah Kaya
• Rogers, Chris W

Titel

Analysis of current equine feeding practices in the Netherlands and identification of potential nutrient leaching and environmental contamination factors

Ist Teil von

• Journal of equine veterinary science, 2024-06, Vol.137, p.105071-105071, Article 105071

Ort / Verlag

United States: Elsevier Inc

Erscheinungsjahr

2024

Quelle

Alma/SFX Local Collection

Beschreibungen/Notizen

• •Horse dietary preferences, nutrient intake, and potential environmental impacts are connected.•In the Netherlands, most horse diets contain high levels of minerals such as Cu, Zn, Mn, and Co.•Nitrogen from excessive protein consumption has the greatest potential environmental impact. The aim of this study was to estimate the potential for nutrient leaching based on current feeding practices of horses in the Netherlands. An online survey of horse owners collected data on the demographics of the horses (n = 274) and feeding practices. The median age was 8 years, the majority being warmblood and geldings with a mean bodyweight of 542.4 ± 101.9 kg. Most horses (85 %) had access to a limited area of pasture (<200m2 per horse), with a median grazing time of 10 hours. Grass hay was the predominant conserved forage offered (77 %) within diets. Concentrate feeds were provided to most horses (93.8 %) as well as the dietary supplements (80 %). The majority of the horses were offered high levels of metabolizable energy (ME) (90 %), starch (mean 2.4 ± 0.8 g/kg bw) and sugar intake (mean 1.4 ± 1.2 g/kg bw) compared to NRC recommendations. The estimated potential nitrogen excretion per horse per day was 228 ± 134 g, or 8.47 kg of nitrogen per ton of manure. Consequently, the estimated daily fecal excretion rates of microminerals for each horse were as follows: Copper (Cu) at 141.0 ± 151.3 mg, Zinc (Zn) at 593.1 ± 504.4 mg, Manganese (Mn) at 957 ± 541.2 mg, and Cobalt (Co) at 2.3 ± 3.5 mg. The analysis indicated that many equine diets in the Netherlands offered excess ME, CP and the minerals Cu, Zn, Mn and Co. To mitigate these concerns, it is crucial to promote sustainable feeding practices and better educate horse owners.