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How Much Time Should A Horse Have Between Hay Meals?

Question: How long is it safe for horses to go without forage, especially when being fed a mostly hay diet?

Answer: While horses do not need 24-7-365 access to forage (hay or pasture), they do need enough forage to ensure their nutritional requirements are met and that they have enough forage to maintain stomach and gastrointestinal tract health. Ideally, horses should go no longer than 4 hours between forage meals and be fed on a consistent schedule. However, it's hard to predict when, or if, an extended time period without forage will cause health issues like colic and ulcers.

Horses evolved to eat small, frequent meals and most wild horses spend 12 to 18 hours each day grazing lower quality forages. Domesticated horses tend to be meal fed two to three times a day, unless they have continuous access to a round bale or pasture. Meal fed horses tend go longer periods of time without forage. While meal fed horses' nutritional requirements are being met, this schedule may not be ideal for their stomach and gastrointestinal tract health. On the other hand, horses with continuous access to forage tend to gain excessive amounts of weight, especially in the absence of exercise, and many owners do not have the means to provide continuous access to forage.

There are always time, labor, management, and other constraints that impact how and when horses are fed. To balance meeting nutritional requirements and optimizing stomach and gastrointestinal tract health with not overfeeding or exhausting labor resources, many owners have started feeding hay from slow-feed hay nets. University of Minnesota research found that slow-feed hay nets slow the rate of forage intake, which increases the amount of time it takes a horse to consume a hay meal. Feeding a portion of the diet that includes more mature forages that are higher in fiber will also help slow forage consumption.

Additionally, having horses on a regular schedule is key for reducing the incidences of digestive problems. In addition to slowing the rate of forage intake and maintaining a consistent schedule, feeding small amounts of alfalfa can help reduce the incidence of ulcers. Feeding some hay before grain can help decrease the chance of colic. Finally, before making any dietary changes, talk to an equine nutritionist and/or your veterinarian and make changes slowly over a two-week period.

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Pennsylvania Horse Breeders Donate $150,000 To Penn Vet New Bolton Center For Biomarker, Blood Doping Research

The Pennsylvania Horse Breeders Association (PHBA) announced today a $150,000 donation to the Equine Pharmacology Laboratory at the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine's (Penn Vet) New Bolton Center that will support continued revolutionary research in equine biomarkers.

The new round of PHBA funding – which will expand on the cutting-edge research that the PHBA helped to fund in 2018 – will bolster three key research initiatives focused on improving the health and safety of equine athletes and enhancing integrity in racing. One area of research seeks to identify novel mRNA biomarkers that can help proactively predict if a horse is at risk for injury, even for injuries that are difficult or impossible to detect using conventional methods. Ultimately, researchers hope to develop a rapid stall-side blood test that could be administered prior to a race, helping racing officials accurately detect horses that may be at an elevated risk.

The funding will also support Penn Vet's sample collection for continued development of an Equine Biological Passport through the expansion of the Equine Pharmacology Laboratory's BioBank. Samples from the BioBank are analyzed to determine baseline levels of blood-based biomarkers found in racehorses. Once established, these baseline levels can be used to determine if blood samples taken from a horse pre- or post-race show any variations from baseline indicative of illness, injury or prohibited substances.

“The PHBA is very proud to continue its partnership with Penn Vet by providing an additional grant of $150,000 to fund this incredibly important and timely research program,” said Deanna Manfredi, PhD, a member of the Pennsylvania Horse Breeders Association's Board of Directors. “This research program has the potential to have a very positive impact on the sport we all love and ensure its continued success through advances in preventing breakdowns, promoting equine health, and enhancing racing integrity.”

“Studies are ongoing to develop an Equine Biological Passport using a variety of biomarkers,” said Dr. Mary Robinson, director of the Equine Pharmacology Laboratory at New Bolton Center. “For example, we now have potential protein and mRNA biomarkers of extracorporeal shockwave therapy that are being investigated using our Equine Biobank samples. This work would not have been possible without the support of the Pennsylvania Horse Breeders Association, who have provided the funding to expand and maintain the Equine Biobank, and the support of the Pennsylvania State Horse Racing Commission for my laboratory.”

“I'm proud to see the continued collaboration between the Pennsylvania Horse Breeders Association and New Bolton Center. This partnership promotes integrity and safety in the horse racing industry,” said State Representative Christina Sappey, who represents the 158th State House District. “The highly advanced research developed by Penn Vet's New Bolton Center is critically important to protect equine athletes, and PHBA's generous support makes this possible. We're fortunate to have both of these organizations that benefit all Pennsylvanians here in the 158th.”

In addition to the Pennsylvania Horse Breeders Association's support, Penn Vet's New Bolton Center is also seeking additional funding to further expand and accelerate this research program. Individuals or organizations who would like to support the program through a financial donation are encouraged to contact Margaret Leardi, Director of Development for New Bolton Center, at mleardi@vet.upenn.edu.

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Study: Osteochondral Necrosis Of Femoral Condyles May Be Secondary To Bacterial Colonization

Jannah Pye, BVSc, led a study that sought to identify any commonalities in the development of osteochondral necrosis (bone death) of the femoral condyles (the two rounded prominences at the end of the femur, the “knee joint”) in Thoroughbred foals.

The study team looked at eight foals that had been euthanized with presumptive necrosis of the femoral condyles. Seven of the foals were between nine and 23 days old; one foal was 85 days old.

A postmortem CT was performed on all distal femoral samples and the articular cartilage of affected femurs was examined for abnormal tissue and cell structure.

The researchers found concurrent illness in seven of the foals; illnesses included infections of the small intestine and the umbilical stump, neonatal maladjustment syndrome, and neonatal isoerythrolysis (when the mare has antibodies against the blood type of the newborn).

The common finding before the foals were euthanized was a crescent-shaped osteochondral flap displaced from the affected medial femoral condyle. Synovial fluid samples from the affected joint showed nothing of note or mild inflammation. All lesions showed osteochondral necrosis and detachment of the articular epiphyseal cartilage complex (AECC).

Six of the foals were found to have septic cartilage canals.

The scientists concluded that osteochondral necrosis was secondary to bacterial colonization of the AECC. They recommend further studies into the pathology of osteochondral necrosis to formulate successful treatment and preventative strategies.

California Show Circuit Cancels Remainder Of Season Due To EHV-1 Outbreak

The Desert International Horse Park in Thermal, Calif., has canceled Weeks V through VIII of the 2022 Desert Circuit and Desert Dressage IV because of the state's equine herpesvirus (EHV) outbreak.

EHV is relatively common; it often causes fever, mild respiratory disease and nasal discharge in affected horses. However, some horses with EHV develop potentially life-threatening neurologic signs; these horses are affected by Equine Herpesvirus Myeloencephalopathy (EHM).

The California Horse Park has been struggling to contain an EHV outbreak since Feb. 9, during week four of the Desert Circuit. Despite diligent isolation and quarantine efforts, new cases continue to be detected at the Horse Park.

Because of this, the remainder of the winter show series has been canceled. The horses on Park grounds in quarantine and isolation will remain there until active infection is no longer detected.

Testing of suspected and active EHV cases is ongoing.

Up to date information on the EHV outbreak can be found at the California Department of Food and Agriculture website.