What’s
in your bag?
The
truth behind those mysterious feed tag ingredients.
By Edgar A. Ott, PhD, Equine Nutrition
Consultant
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Horse
feed tags usually have a long list of ingredients that often
causes more confusion than clarity. Feed tags list the usual
feed grains, like oats, corn and barley, and by-product ingredients
such as wheat bran, beet pulp, soybean hulls, molasses, protein
supplements and minerals. But in addition to the usual, are
less familiar ingredients. Why are they included and is your
horse benefiting from them? Let’s look at the supplemental
ingredients you may find on your feed tag and see why they
are included. |
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NUTRIENTS
Vitamins
Vitamin A is included in
most horse feeds because the horse needs a daily dose and
mostly relies on ß-carotene to provide for this need.
Green grass and fresh hays have plenty of ß-carotene,
but hay that has been stored for some time starts to lose
this valuable nutrient. Therefore, vitamin A is included in
concentrates to ensure that the animal receives adequate amounts
daily.
Vitamin D is included in most
horse feeds because the horse has a daily need for it as well.
Horses that are out of doors make their own vitamin D from exposure
to sunlight, but stalled horses may not get enough sun to meet
their needs. For this reason, Vitamin D is supplemented to the
concentrate to ensure adequate doses.
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A
shiny coat is a sign of good health; Feeds containing ingredients
such as soybean oil, stabilized rice bran and flax seed will
improve overall coat condition and health. |
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Vitamin E is an important
anti-oxidant. Not only is it included to control the oxidative
by-products of metabolism, but it also helps to stabilize
the fats in the diets. Vitamin E is particularly important
in working horses.
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Biotin is a B-complex
vitamin. Most horses need about 3 mg of biotin daily to meet
their requirements; however, a few need more biotin for good
hoof development. Horses with shelly hoofs may have a biotin
deficiency or a higher biotin demand than normal horses. These
horses should be provided at least 30 mg of biotin daily for
180 days to determine whether the hoof problem is due to inadequate
biotin or another cause. The long supplementation period is
necessary because the horse must grow a new hoof before you
can determine whether or not it is responding to the supplementation.
Most horses requiring extra biotin can be reduced to 15 to
20 mg/day after the initial 180-day period.
Chelated minerals
Salts of minerals such as ferrous sulfate, copper sulfate, zinc
oxide and cobalt carbonate have been used to provide the trace
mineral needs of the horse and other animals for many years.
You will find that most horse feeds include some of these inorganic
mineral salts. Chelated
minerals are mineral salts that have been reacted with organic
compounds such as amino acids, peptides and proteins. They
are beneficial to the animal because they are more efficiently
absorbed than inorganic minerals. Ott and Johnson, 2001, demonstrated
that chelated minerals improve hoof growth.
Amino
acids
Amino acids are the building blocks of proteins. Our horses’
primary source of amino acids is from protein. High-quality
protein sources provide a mixture of amino acids. If you are
feeding low levels of protein or feeding low-quality protein,
you may need to supplement amino acids to provide adequate
amounts for growth and proper body function. |
Horses
need sunlight to synthesize vitamin D. Show horses that are
commonly kept in stalls, or those horses that are only turned
out at night, may not be receiving adequate vitamin D. A horse
feed with a guaranteed level of vitamin D will safeguard against
a deficiency. |
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Lysine and Threonine
are limiting amino acids, meaning they are needed for efficient
digestion of dietary protein. Lysine and Threonine supplementation
is especially important in growing horses. Methionine
is an amino acid that is known to be essential for hoof and
hair coat quality. These amino acids are typically included
in feeds to ensure that the horse can effectively utilize
its dietary proteins.
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NUTRICEUTICALS
Nutriceuticals are organic compounds that
are not nutrients but do provide some metabolic or digestive
advantage to the animal. These products are generally not
well-researched, and they are usually recommended based on
testimonies from someone that has used them successfully.
Are the benefits real? Should they be added to horse feeding
programs? Let’s examine some of the most popular nutriceuticals
and see where they might be used.
Mannan oligosaccharide
Mannan oligosaccharide (MOS) is a chain of mannose molecules
derived from the cell wall of yeast, and it appears to have
two effects in animals. First, it increases the animal’s
immune response. For example, broodmares fed MOS during late
gestation had higher colostrum IgG concentrations (Ott, et
al., 2002), which resulted in reduced diarrhea in the mares’
foals. Second, MOS appears to act as a binder for pathogenic
organisms in the digestive tract, helping to shield the animal
from harm.
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Although
mycotoxins are commonly associated with moldy grains, forages
can also be infected and are more difficult to monitor.
Feeds that include a mycotoxin binder can help to protect
horses from these invisible and dangerous toxins.
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Mycotoxin binders
Mycotoxin binders are products that tie up mycotoxins in the
digestive system and keep them from being absorbed by the
animal. Mycotoxins are products produced by molds and fungi
during times of high heat and humidity and can have adverse
effects on animals. Over 3,000 mycotoxins have been identified:
aflatoxin, ochratoxin, zeralinone, T2, and vomitoxin are a
few examples of mycotoxins that can exist on horse feeds.
These molds and fungi will grow on feed ingredients, mixed
feeds and forages, both pasture and hay, and the mycotoxins
they produce can cause liver damage, digestive upset, neurological
problems, poor feed intake and poor performance.
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To
prevent such problems, quality ingredients that are devoid of
mycotoxin content should be used in the manufacturing of horse
feeds. Proper care of the feed after mixing and the inclusion
of mold inhibitors also help keep the presence of mycotoxins
low. However, molds and fungi are everywhere – even on
forages, so protection may still be needed. Horse feeds containing
mycotoxin binders will aid in protecting horses from these dangerous
molds and fungi.
Live
Yeast and Yeast Culture
Yeast culture is produced by fermenting yeast (Saccharomyces
cerevisiae) in a controlled environment and then drying the
entire culture media, including the yeast cells and the nutritional
metabolites produced in the fermentation process. Yeast culture
is a rich food for the digestive bacteria population in the
horse’s hindgut, which encourages the beneficial bacteria
to multiply. Higher numbers of these bacteria improve the horse’s
ability to digest fibrous material, boosting digestive efficiency
and increasing the phosphorus absorption (Glade and Biesik,
1986). It is thought that this benefit is due to the nutrients
that the culture provides and not due to any live cells that
may be included.
The value
of live yeast cells is less clear. Although they have been
demonstrated to benefit dairy cattle, it is not clear that
they would benefit horses because they would likely be digested
prior to reaching the hindgut in the horse.
Yucca
Schidigera
Yucca schidigera grows in the southwestern United States and
in Mexico. The plant is marketed in two forms: powdered and
yucca extract. Both products have high concentrations of saponins,
which are reported to have anti-inflammatory properties and
to increase hindgut fermentation and fiber digestion. They
also tie up nitrogen in the hindgut, reducing urinary nitrogen
excretion. This can be beneficial to animals on high protein
diets such as those consuming large amounts of alfalfa hay. |
Saponins,
a natural steroid derived from the yucca plant trunk, physically
binds ammonia, reducing the level of free ammonia both inside
and outside of the horse. Additionally, it is thought that the
saponins in the yucca have anti-inflammatory and anti-spasmodic
properties which can reduce pain associated with arthritis.
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FEED INGREDIENTS
Soybean hulls
Soybean hulls are an excellent source of highly digestible
fiber and thus a good source of non-starch energy. The hulls
are digested primarily in the hindgut, so they provide a slower
energy release than grains and other high-starch ingredients.
Soybean hulls are typically found as a primary ingredient
in low-starch horse feeds.
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Ground flax seed
Ground flax seed is a source of oil providing Omega 3 fatty
acids and it is an excellent source of calories. Flax seed
is known to improve hair coat appearance and will help provide
the essential fatty acids required by the animal.
Stabilized rice
bran
Stabilized Rice bran is an excellent source of fat for horses.
It is primarily added as a source of Omega 6 fatty acids and
to increase the caloric content of the feed. It is an excellent
source of energy and will also improve hair coat appearance.
Additionally, rice bran contains gamma oryzanol.
IMPLICATIONS
Sorting through the long list of feed tag
ingredients may seem a daunting task. However, it is important
to understand which ingredients are beneficial to your horse
and which are simply filler. If ever you have questions regarding
an unfamiliar ingredient, contact a qualified equine nutritionist
to untangle its mysteries. This way, you and your horse can
reap the benefits of a sound nutritional program.
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Growing
horses need much higher levels of the limiting amino acids,
Lysine and Threonine, than mature horses; without an adequate
supply, a youngster’s growth can be stunted. |
Health
Food for Horses
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Seminole
Feed includes optimal levels of vitamins and chelated
minerals in all Seminole Horse Feeds. Additionally,
beneficial nutriceuticals such as Yucca Schidigera,
Mycotoxin binders, Mannan oligosaccharide and Yeast
culture are included in SEMINOLE super premium horse
feeds.
For
more information visit www.seminolefeed.com
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Dr.
Edgar A. Ott, consulting nutritionist for Seminole
Feed, recently retired from the University of Florida,
Department of Animal Sciences.
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