S_TEMP1462: Nutritional Factors Affecting Equine Productivity
(Multistate Research Coordinating Committee and Information Exchange Group)
Status: Inactive/Terminating
S_TEMP1462: Nutritional Factors Affecting Equine Productivity
Duration: 09/01/2007 to 09/30/2010
Administrative Advisor(s):
NIFA Reps:
Non-Technical Summary
Statement of Issues and Justification
Title: Nutritional factors affecting equine productivity
Justification:
According to a recent survey by the American Horse Council, the equine industry in the U.S. has grown substantially (> 20%) in the last decade. Horses contribute to the agricultural economy though animal sales, but also as consumers of agricultural products, and as sources of agricultural wastes. With the growth of the horse industry, demand for research-based information about equine nutrition and feeding management has increased. Colleges of Agriculture have not focused significant attention on equine research in many years and the amount and/or applicability of unbiased research-based information on equine nutrition is insufficient to meet the needs of producers.
Technical feasibility/Approach:
Many experiment stations engage in some type of equine nutrition research, but most stations lack sufficient critical mass in terms of faculty, staff or other internal resources to develop or maintain programs with high levels of continuity, productivity or impact. By organizing a coordinating committee on equine nutrition we would be able identify areas where it would be possible for researchers to pool resources in order to make more rapid progress on nutritional issues of importance to horse producers. Thus, this committee would provide an environment where researchers with common interests could create relationships that could lead to multi-state projects or multi-station proposals to outside granting agencies. This committee would meet annually or every-other year (alternating years with the Equine Science Society meeting). The format would allow exchange of information among equine nutrition researchers on a more informal basis than usually occurs at scientific meetings. It is anticipated that this meeting would be hosted by a different institution each year. This would allow the committee to invite experts from the host institution to participate in discussions related to specific topics, and facilitate cooperative relationships with these experts. For example, if the meeting was hosted in Kentucky, individuals from the USDA-ARS Forage Animal Production Research Unit could participate. Similarly, if the meeting was hosted in North Carolina, individuals from the College of Veterinary Medicine could easily participate.
Impacts:
1) Improved nutritional recommendations that will enhance the welfare for all classes of horses.
The amount of information related to the nutrient requirements of horses is extremely small compared to other livestock species. There is a critical need for information on the requirements of broodmares, growing horses and equine athletes. Research-based information on nutrient requirements will enhance the welfare of the animals and improve the economics of horse production. A multi-state approach would help to identify regional differences that affect nutrient requirements of animals maintained in typical environments (winter in Kentucky versus winter in Florida). Some of important nutrition-related research areas require numbers of animals that are not available at any single station. Limiting developmental orthopedic disease is important to horse producers. Osteochondrosis, one of the most detrimental forms of developmental orthopedic disease, usually occurs in less than 15% of all growing horses. Therefore, large populations of horses are needed to study the nutritional components of this problem and a multi-station approach would greatly increase the potential impact of studies in this area. Some experiments with horses require sophisticated instrumentation. This committee would provide an opportunity for participants to exchange information on methods, and possibly set up graduate-student or faculty training.
2) Enhance the utilization of traditional and non-traditional feed ingredients in horse diets and reduce nutrient excretion into the environment.
More precise estimates of requirements will reduce the likelihood of over-supplementation that results in excess excretion of nutrients into the environment. For horses with limited access to hay or pasture, information on the usefulness of alternative dietary fiber sources is necessary. In addition, many byproducts of human food processing could be economically incorporated into equine diets if more information was available in regard to nutrient availability and palatability. As many byproduct feeds are available on a regional basis, coordination of studies to include a standard feed for comparative purposes would be helpful.
3) Enhance pasture-based horse management systems
Many horse management systems rely on pasture as a principal nutrient source. However, there is little research-based information on optimal supplementation programs for broodmares or growing horses maintained on pasture. Pasture-related research will be impacted by climate, soil type and plant varieties. Therefore, collaboration across states in different regions will be necessary to adequately develop pasture-based nutrition programs for horses. A collaborative approach would also increase the resources available for this research area. A major shortfall of many pasture-related studies is inadequate replication of pasture plots. By utilizing several experiment stations, both the number of animals and the number of plots could be increased. It is anticipated that this impact area would over lap with the previous impact area (#2 above). The collaboration and information exchange related to pasture-based management systems could include a component on erosion and surface-water runoff.