Effects of a Gastroscopic Procedure on Salivary Cortisol Release and Fecal Cortisol Metabolites in Young Racehorses.

In this study, gastroscopy was performed twice in 31 two-year-old Thoroughbred racehorses in training. Salivary cortisol (SC) and fecal cortisol metabolite (FCM) concentrations were determined to measure the stress impact. One gastroscopy was performed at the beginning and one six months later at the end of the horses' first training season.

Review: Nutritional Needs of Honeybees and Legislation on Apiculture By-Products in Animal Nutrition.

Honeybees are some of the smallest farmed animals, and apiculture by-products, e.g., honey, beeswax, propolis, royal jelly, and pollen contribute to animal nutrition.

Nutrient Composition and Feed Hygiene of Alfalfa, Comparison of Feed Intake and Selected Metabolic Parameters in Horses Fed Alfalfa Haylage, Alfalfa Hay or Meadow Hay.

The aim of this study was to examine the nutrient composition and feed hygiene of alfalfa as well as investigate the feed intake, blood, urine and faecal parameters of horses fed alfalfa haylage (AS) compared with alfalfa hay (AH) and meadow hay (MH). A total of 11 geldings were fed ad libitum (2.1% dry matter (DM) of body weight (BW)) with alfalfa haylage, alfalfa hay and meadow hay (MH) in a Latin square design.

The effects of feeding sodium chloride pellets on the gastric mucosa, acid-base, and mineral status in exercising horses.

Background: Electrolyte supplementation may be a risk factor for gastric mucosal lesions, but relevant evidence is limited in horses.

Hypothesis: Investigate the effects of PO sodium chloride (NaCl) supplementation on the gastric mucosa of exercising horses. We hypothesized that NaCl supplementation would neither cause nor exacerbate existing gastric mucosal damage.

Protein Evaluation of Feedstuffs for Horses.

The German Society of Nutrition Physiology has proposed a new protein evaluation system for horse feeds to estimate pre-cecally digestible crude protein (pcdCP) and amino acids (pcdAA) from chemical properties. A total of 71 feeds for horses were chemically tested and evaluated according to the new protein evaluation system. A feeding trial with eight horses tested whether differences in estimated pcdAA and neutral detergent soluble CP (NDSCP) in the diet were reflected by post-prandial (ppr) kinetics of plasma lysine (Lys) by feeding a complementary feed (control = CTRL) with 1.