Effect of dental correction on voluntary hay intake, apparent digestibility of feed and faecal particle size in horse

Abstract

In nine adult Warmblood horses with mild to moderate dental findings (no signs of discomfort during chewing), voluntary hay intake before and after dental correction was examined. In a second experiment, digestibility of feed and faecal particle size were determined (3 days of total faecal collection) before and after dental correction. During both digestion trials including a 3-day adaptation period, the amount of hay and concentrate (mixture of oats, barley and maize) was kept constant in each individual horse before and after dental correction. Voluntary hay intake in individual horses ranged from 11 to 22 g DM/kg BW/day and did not differ before and after dental treatment. Apparent digestibility of DM, energy, crude fibre and Nfe increased significantly after dental correction (energy digestibility before dental correction 46.8 ± 7.4%, after dental correction 51.5 ± 8.5%). Apparent digestibility of feed was higher in horses eating more concentrates than in those eating less concentrates. Improvement of digestibility was more marked in horses eating larger amounts of grain. There was no relationship between severity or type of dental alterations and improvement of apparent feed digestibility. Dental correction had no effect on faecal particle size.