Digestibilidad del grano de avena entero en equinos medida por sustitución parcial en la dieta

Abstract

Digestibility of whole oat was determined in 12 adult horses using the increasing substitution method. Dry matter, gross energy, crude protein, nitrogen-free extract, crude fiber and cell wall digestibility were quantified. Starting from a basal diet of alfalfa hay (control), increasing substitutions were prepared to reach a final mix of 15, 30 and 45% of whole oat. Digestibility of dry matter, nitrogen-free extract and energy, increased with the increment of whole oat in the diet. By contrast, crude fiber, cell wall and crude protein digestibility did not showed significant variations (p > 0,05) in all diets analyzed. To estimate theoretical digestibility of a diet 100% whole oat, regression analysis were performed resulting in digestibility of 88,2% for dry matter, 86,2% for crude protein, 94,7% for nitrogen-free extract, 89,5% for energy, 74,1% for crude fiber and 69,8% for cell walls.