51 Digestibility of a diet with or without reed sedge peat in exercised horses

Abstract

An experiment was conducted to determine the effect of a concentrate diet containing Reed Sedge Peat (RSP) on nutrient digestibility, and serum glucose and insulin concentrations in mature exercised horses. The addition of RSP to the diet in horses may be beneficial to increasing nutrient digestibility and performance factors of the horse. Six stock-type geldings, ranging from 8 to 19 yr of age, in a duplicated 3 × 3 Latin-square design were fed a diet consisting of Coastal Bermudagrass hay and a concentrate with or without RSP. Three diet treatments consisted of: control, no RSP added (C); 4.5 kg/ton RSP added (RSP10; Kent Nutrition Group, Muscatine, IA); and 9.0 kg/ton RSP added (RSP20). The 12-wk study consisted of 3 21-d adjustment periods followed by 3-d fecal collections. Blood collections were taken pre- and post-prandial, before, and immediately following a Standard Exercise Test (SET) on d 21 of each period. Horses were fed hay at 2% body weight per day and 2.2 kg/d of a concentrate diet with or without added RSP. Representative samples of feed and feces were analyzed for dry matter, crude protein (CP), crude fiber, ether extract, acid detergent fiber (ADF), neutral detergent fiber, and ash content. Serum was analyzed for glucose and insulin concentrations by Michigan State University Veterinary Diagnostic Endocrinology Department. Data for nutrient digestibilities, and serum glucose and insulin concentrations were analyzed using the Proc Mixed Procedure of SAS v. 9.4. Significant differences between means were declared at P