But he likes
"But he likes"
By Dan Houdeshell
It's a bit sad that we have finally decided to greatly reduce sugar intake of our children, despite complaints and withdrawal symptoms, however, some continue baby, pamper, bribe and persuade their horses with tons of matter. Then be surprised when the poor horse ends with health problems such as disease " jour "insulin resistance. We will be covering Equine Metabolic Syndrome (EMS) in a later article, but for now let's see how much sugar feed our horses.
EMS has established a niche new set of "low carbohydrate" to feed the horses. Horses who undergo this kind of food are forced to metabolize fat and protein to meet energy needs. On the human side that some would call the This Atkins Diet. " Is it good or bad? The jury is still out on that. One thing is certain for fat, is a slow burn energy source and requires a lot of liver to be properly digested and used as energy. When the body is forced to convert protein into energy a large number of toxins are released into the body by putting a lot of stress on the kidneys. This actually makes its own chain of problems.
All that aside, if you want to control the amount of sugar that your horse is eating, it is best to start with the hay. So, hay contains sugar and starch levels that need to be taken into consideration for calculating daily "sugar" intake.
All hay are not equal.
One of the major misconceptions is bad is that alfalfa hay for horses. Although minerals have problems to be addressed and completed properly, the alfalfa has less sugar than most grasses and small grain hay. It is important to know the nutrient values of your hay tested in the calculation of a properly balanced ration for horse. The evidence may not be practical for some horse owners due to the fact that they buy in small quantities of hay and straw dealer receives numerous hay producers.
If this is your case, what can you do? The following information will help you see and compare different types and forms of forage so you can make an informed decision.
The market
There are producers focus on providing the largest market for their crops, the dairy industry. From January 1 to October 6, 2006 dairy farmers in California had purchased 1,700,000 tons of alfalfa between $ 178.00 and 198.00 per tonne. Dairy producers want hay with a high relative feed value (RFV). This value is shown in forage tests are carried out correctly. What does it mean?
"Relative feed value (RFV) is a term that has been used in the marketing of hay. It can be calculated for the pure grass and legume or mixed hay. For calculate this value is necessary to have a forage analysis for acid detergent fiber (ADF) and neutral detergent fiber (NDF). Ignores proteins, but RFV higher values generally associated with higher protein. The ADF analysis is used to predict the digestible dry matter = (88.9 – (779% * ADF)) and NDF predicts dry matter intake = (120 /% NDF). RFV is calculated by multiplying digestible dry matter intake of dry matter and then divide by 1.29. For an alfalfa hay with 30% ADF and 40% of the NDF RFV = (65.5 * 3) / 1.29 = 152. Herbs have higher ADF and NDF concentrations and therefore have lower VRF. For example, a grass or hay mixed with 35% ADF and 50% NDF would have an RFV = (61.6 * 2.4) / 1.29 = 115. What this calculation does not take into account is ADF and digestibility FDN. Grasses usually have fiber digestibility is greater than the legumes because legumes have more lignin associated with the fiber. Vegetables make up for this by having more cell contents that are highly digestible and thus raises levels of energy at higher levels than grasses. When using RFV is better to compare hays that are within a similar classification, such as alfalfa, grass, or mixed. Commercial laboratories generally have the ability to provide for forage crop VRF hay. If you are interested, contact your local Extension office for a list of commercial laboratories. "2
Now if all these acronyms that his head was spinning here is a crash course in terminology livestock nutrition. When looking at food analysis, you will see the following:
CP = Crude Protein, nitrogen content that can be converted into amino acids.
TDN = Total digestible nutrients, energy in food.
ADF = acid detergent fiber, fiber and lignin, which is difficult to digest.
NDF = neutral detergent fiber, fiber that easily digested.
NSC = nonstructural carbohydrates, carbohydrates from the parties do not plant fibers.
But what about sugars?
Fortunately, since most hay is sold on the basis of RFV and have to be tested, there are a lot of information Test drawn up each year in which we can exploit. Two laboratories that offer this information are dairy ™ and Equi-analytical Laboratories. We have compiled the test results of these two laboratories to produce the following graphs. In these letters is the "average" blood sugar levels, NSC (nonstructural range of carbohydrates) and low and high of each. We must be careful not to take the average and convinced that we are using the correct number. Here's an example:
If you have two bowls of water, one with ice water and the other with boiling water, and put a hand on each plate, by whatever means you should feel comfortable. In fact, it may not be comfortable and actually hurting him. It is much the same when using average forage test numbers to make your horse's ration and completed successfully.
Table 1. Sugar levels in different types of Hay3, 4
And what about the National Security Council?
"The horses vary in their reaction to the National Security Council, and so no values absolute can be considered safe for all horse laminitis or insulin resistance. According to target = "_blank"> dairy A database of grass hay averages about 13% of the NSC. It's just common sense that we focus below average for horses with impaired glucose tolerance. After consideration of follow-up tests of glucose and insulin levels in the most sensitive, I feel safer with a 10% or less of grass hay National Security Council is a good target for a horse in distress. Any horse that has acute laminitis or insulin levels high must surely be at or below these levels. Of course, the same horse can do very well 12-14% NSC hay if you exercise regularly and kept at a fairly high level of fitness. This is just one of many factors in the management of insulin resistance, laminitis animals, which includes exercise, prevention of mineral deficiency and adequate care Hull, but I feel the most important. Mine are not the only horses that have had laminitis breakthrough in the long term by minimizing National Security Council in the barn. "5
The key statement in the above quotation is "horses vary in their reaction." This is because they are individuals as well as you and I are. You have to know your horse and decide what is best for him in his situation. Understanding what is best for your horse requires that you educate yourself about the options available and required reading, study and attend some seminars on the topics you need help. Knowledge is power, is as true as it ever was. Since live in an age of information and sources as the Internet are flooded with it, help spread this information is valuable. That's where comes in. The time and cost seminars invested in your horse will be rewarded many times.
Table 2. NSC levels in different types of Hay3, 4
There Type
Samples tested
Average
Under
High
There Legumes
41,162
10.942
8.779
13.105
Alfalfa Cubes
229
9.749
7.245
12.252
Alfalfa Pellets
83
9.767
6.869
12.655
There Barley
63
19.462
12.778
26.145
There are Bermuda grass
3449
12.808
8.744
16.871
There Grass
16,185
12.924
8.068
17.779
Oat Straw
2904
22.258
15.077
29.866
There triticale
202
23.906
17.052
30.760
There are wheat
484
17.315
10.070
24.633
Use the table above we can choose between the types of hay in your area to meet adequately the needs from his horse. From the EMS horse will benefit from feeding a diet low National Security Council, we have to find the best forage to achieve this. If you do not is able to test the hay you buy, you must choose the hay with a narrow margin between high and low. We must also remember that only samples tested, the more accurate the test results is in showing the trends for this type of forage.
From the information we have considered so far, if we are to NSC target of 10% with a ceiling of 14% our options have been greatly reduced. Using the table above we can clearly see that:
- Barley, oats, triticale and wheat hay outside.
- 'Grass', bermuda hay are marginal.
- alfalfa hay cubes and pellets are well within the safe range.
My purpose in writing this is to promote feeding alfalfa as I have no interest that at all financial. My financial interest is only in the amount I have to pay for it like many of you. It is simply to show that directors still intentioned they say is necessary to "get their horses out of the alfalfa" to correct any metabolic disorder are sadly misinformed. You have the flexibility feeding the type of hay available in your area without compromising the welfare of their horse and their ability to thrive.
We have also learned from this discussion regular exercise, attention to hoof it and adequate mineral supplementation are key components to help your horse to thrive. If you have questions please please call us at:
800-580-6632 or email to srs@sierragoldhorses.com
References:
- Seed Today: There California and Seed Update – October 18, 2006
- Charles C. Stallings. Virginia State University, Virginia Cooperative Extension – October 2004
- Dairy Forage Composition One ™ Laboratories.
- Equi-analytical Laboratories profiles common sources.
- Research Rocky Mountain & Consulting, Inc – 2005
© 2007-2009 – Sierra Ranch Supply, Inc. – All rights reserved.
About the Author
roddimore stud equine feed
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