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VETERINARY VIEWS
Excess gas from over-fermentation of grains can lead to intestinal motility issues and colic.
the amount fed. If your horse needs extra calories to maintain body condition, offer small quantities 3-4 times per day, with at least 5-hour intervals between grain feedings. This limits intestinal exposure beneath a “threshold level” of damaging VFAs. Better yet, offer an alternative hi-calorie food source (see below), like fats, complete feed pellets, or beet pulp.
GRAIN-RELATED HEALTH HAZARDS
Not every horse needs grain or supplements. And a horse fed high-calorie concentrates tends to consume less forage, which in turn creates conditions for development of gastric and colonic ulcers. Other health hazards directly relate to grain consumption: Colic, laminitis, insulin resistance, polysaccharide storage myopathy, HYPP, mycotoxin ingestion, and bad behavior.
• The risk of colic increases by 3 to 6-fold
when grain is fed – increased risk is associated with feeding 5 - 10 pounds of grain per day.
• It is recognized that the high starch (and fructans) content of grain (or pasture) increases a horse’s susceptibility to developing laminitis.
• Horses afflicted with PSSM (polysaccharide storage myopathy) do not do well on grain- inclusive diets as this adds to the problems of abnormal accumulation of glycogen and glycogen-related polysaccharide (sugars) in skeletal muscle. Low-NSC and high-fat food should be substituted for grain.
• Sweet feed contains molasses, which is 6% potassium, a dietary component that is dangerous to feed to HYPP (hyperkalemic periodic paralysis) horses and those with endocrine problems. Many concentrate supplements are fortified with electrolytes, or salts, and/or molasses that contain potassium, so read the labels.
Sweet feed contains molasses, which is 6% potassium, a dietary component that is dangerous to feed to HYPP (hyperkalemic periodic paralysis) horses and those with endocrine problems.
high-fiber meal, blood glucose circulates at steady, even levels. In contrast, consumption
of concentrates, i.e. grains, elicits large surges in blood glucose by stimulating a glycemic response – insulin hormone surges to move glucose into its glycogen storage form in the muscles and liver. However, horses evolved to rely on a steady state of insulin production that keeps blood glucose at a consistent level. This is achieved through a high-fiber diet.
Fermentation products of soluble carbohydrates in grain damage the stomach lining. The extent of injury depends on
the amount of grain ingested. To further complicate matters, excess sugar or starch (grain) that can’t be handled by small intestinal enzymes spills into the horse’s hindgut in an undigested form. Large amounts of NSCs in the hindgut create a feeding frenzy by lactic-acid bacteria, leading to a population explosion and production
of additional lactic acid that kills favorable fiber-fermenting bacteria and damages the intestinal lining. Then, the intestinal lining experiences increased permeability, referred to as a “leaky gut.” Such permeability allows passage of large molecules that ordinarily don’t enter the bloodstream. These substances may trigger events that cause laminitis
or a variety of inflammatory conditions throughout the body, including brain effects resulting in changes in behavior. Excess gas from over-fermentation of grains potentially leads to intestinal motility issues and colic.
You can reduce the risk of grain entering your horse’s hindgut by limiting each meal to a maximum of 0.4 % of a horse’s body weight – or 4 pounds of grain for a 1,000 # horse. Grain should be weighed rather than fed by volume, so you know exactly how much your horse is receiving. The best protective strategy is to eliminate grain altogether or at least limit
Leaky gut causes inflammation and can trigger autoimmune responses.
104 SPEEDHORSE November 2022