Abstract
Silage is fed to horses in China and other areas in the world, however, knowledge about the impact of feeding silage on horse health is still limited. In the current study, 12 horses were assigned into two groups and fed ryegrass silage and ryegrass hay, respectively, for 8 weeks. High-throughput sequencing was applied to analyze fecal microbiota, while liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry (LC–MS/MS) based metabolomics technique was used for blood metabolite profile to investigate the influence of feeding ryegrass silage (group S) compared to feeding ryegrass hay (group H) on equine intestinal and systemic health. Horses in group S had significantly different fecal microbiota and blood metabolomes from horses in group H. The results showed that Verrucomicrobia was significantly less abundant which plays important role in maintaining the mucus layer of the hindgut. Rikenellaceae and Christensenellaceae were markedly more abundant in group S and Rikenellaceae may be associated with some gut diseases and obesity. The metabolomics analysis demonstrated that ryegrass silage feeding significantly affected lipid metabolism and insulin resistance in horses, which might be associated with metabolic dysfunction. Furthermore, Pearson’s correlation analysis revealed some correlations between bacterial taxa and blood metabolites, which added more evidence to diet-fecal microbiota-health relationship. Overall, ryegrass silage feeding impacted systemic metabolic pathways in horses, especially lipid metabolism. This study provides evidence of effects of feeding ryegrass silage on horses, which may affect fat metabolism and potentially increase risk of insulin resistance. Further investigation will be promoted to provide insight into the relationship of a silage-based diet and equine health.
Highlights
As a non-ruminant grazing herbivore, horses have undergone domestication and been adapted to eating forage-based diets with a mixed symbiotic microbiota (De Fombelle et al, 2003)
Silage is often used as horse feed in China and other countries, especially in Europe (Muhonen et al, 2008; Domingues, 2009; Guo, 2014), occasional disturbances, such as soft or loose stool, have been reported when silage has been introduced as a feed stuff (Connysson et al, 2006)
The results of fecal microbiota and blood metabolites have shown significant differences between horses fed ryegrass silage compared to being fed ryegrass hay. It will be more informative of the silage impact on horse gut and systemic health if larger number of horses and more types of silage or forages are involved in the future
Summary
As a non-ruminant grazing herbivore, horses have undergone domestication and been adapted to eating forage-based diets with a mixed symbiotic microbiota (De Fombelle et al, 2003). There is ever growing knowledge of the impact of different diets and feeding patterns on the microbial signatures of the horse gastrointestinal system (De Fombelle et al, 2001; Daly et al, 2012; Venable et al, 2017). Characterization of gut microbiota in horses fed forage, hay, high-starch diet, as well as different supplements such as cereal and oil have been reported (Dougal et al, 2014; Fernandes et al, 2014; Sorensen et al, 2021). Profound impact of the different diets on horse gut microbiota has been revealed
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
