Equine Feed Tags

Pet food labels

• Exact same requirements for labeling

• "Feed/food grade" vs. "human edible"

• Small animal feed more likely to contain raw milk or raw diet - must have "NOT FOR HUMAN CONSUMPTION" label warning

• Food vs. feed may be more of a historic reference … but if you want to talk the talk …

Lebel requirements are regulated by:

• - FDA has regulatory authority over pet-food products

• - AAFCO sets standards for labeling

  • Is not a regulatory agency

• - Regulated at state level

  • Office of Indiana State Chemist (OISC)

Requirements for product and brand names

• Must accurately reflect intended use

• May not be misleading

Requirement for Purpose Statement

• Specific species and animals class(es)

• Equine

  • - Growing

  • - Broodmare

  • - Maintenance

  • - Performance (including stallions)

Terms

Pet food Label vs. Livestock (horse) feed tag

Requirements for Guaranteed analysis - Equine requirements

• - Min % guarantee for crude, crude fat

• - Max % guarantee for crude, ADF, NDF

• - Min and max % for calcium

• - Min % guarantee for Ph (%)

• - Min ppm guarantee for Cu, Se, Zn, Vit A

• - Sugar/starch max only required if carbohydrate claims are made on packaging/marketing

Requirements for ingredient statement

• - Lists the name of each ingredient or its "collective term

• - DO NOT have to be listed in order of % by weight from most to least

  • First few ingredients generally make up bulk of ration

Requirements for Use directions on feed tags

• Feeding directions

  • You need to know

    • - Weight of horse

    • - Activity of the horse

    • - Recommended feeding rate listed on bag

    • - How much hay the horse is eating

    • - What the bag says about how much hay the horse is eating

    • - What happens if you feed that much feed to the horse

  • Find the right rate and/or do the math

• Must fit declared intent of purpose statement

• Simple and concise

Requirements for Precautionary statement

• - Caution and Warning statements

• - Must be same as FDA precautions if contains a drug or food additive

Example of brand names

• Purina

  • Ultium

  • Strategy

• Nutrena

  • SafeChoice

  • ProForce

• Triple Crown

• Triumph

Example of Purpose statements

• For Maintenance of horses

• For performance horses

• For breeding and growing

• Performance, Senior, Special needs

Label requirements for feed tags

• - Product and Brand Names

• - Guaranteed Analysis

• - Ingredient statement

• - Use directions

• - Precautionary statement

• - Manufacture name and address

• - Quantity statement

Feed concentrate by weight not volume

• Need to know total dry matter intake of forage

  • - Maintenance 1.5-2.5% body weight/day

• Feed no greater than 0.5% body weight at a time of concentrate

  • - 500kg horse = 2.5 kg

  • - 1000lb horse - 5lbs

  • - Divide over two feedings

    • Minimize GI disturbance

  • - Colic, grain overload

    • Minimize behavioral issues

What is not on a label

• - Don’t know quality or bioavailability of feedstuffs

  • Not all proteins (amino acids) are created equal

• - Non-required nutrients listed on the bag may not be guaranteed

  • If it's not required, the regulatory agency may not test it, and company may not be consistent (or truthful)

• - Ingredient recipe

  • How much is actually in it?

• - Is quantity/level of an included nutrient actually appropriate for the animal

  • More may not be better

• - Quality control

• - Research

• - Amount of digestible Energy (DE)/ i.e. calorie content

  • No approved method to determine calorie content of horse feed --> AAFCO doesn't want it listed

    • Multiple equations

    • Inaccuracies of higher fat and soluble fiber ingredients

The 4 classes of horses

1. 1. Maintenance

2. 2. Performance (including stallion)

3. 3. Broodmare

4. 4. Growing

5. 5. Special needs

Feeding a Maintenance horse

• - No or low level of activity

• - Feed for maintenance body weight

  • 1.5-2.5% BW in dry matter/day

• - Easy/hard keeper?

  • Must adjust

• - Average horse can maintain on good quality forage

  • +/- trace mineral salt

  • +/- ration balancer

  • +/- fat supplementation

Feeding a Performance horse

• Energy

  • - Exercise and recovery

  • - Carb and fats most efficient

    • Carbs - high intensity, short duration

    • Fats - low intensity, long duration

  • - Protein requirement 10-12%

    • Amino acids

  • - Must still feed forage (at least 50% total ration)

5-6 categories of broodmare

• 1. Maiden

• 2. Barren and early pregnant

• 3. Non-lactating (0-4 month gestation)

• 4. Mid-pregnancy (5-8 months gestation)

• 5. Late-pregnancy (9-11 month gestation)

• 6. Lactating mare

Feeding a lactating mare

• Need energy for maintenance, milk production +/- pregnancy

  • - 3-4% BW in milk first 2-3 month

    • Milk is 20-25% protein

  • - Highest nutrient requirements (next to racehorse in heavy training)

    • Energy and protein requirements 2x early pregnancy

Feeding a non-pregnant mare

Feed as a mature, maintenance horse

Feeding Early pregnancy mare

• Feed as a mature, maintenance horse

  • - Fetal growth slow in early gestation

    • 7 month <2% mare's BW

When does the most fetal growth occur

• In final months of gestation

  • - Dam and fetal nutrient requirements greater

  • - Ca:P should be about 2:1

    • Ok if higher but Ca should always be higher than P, never "flip-flopped"

  • - Trace mineral supplementation of mare important for foal

    • Fetus stores iron, zinc, copper and manganese in liver for use during first few mos

Feeding foals

• Horses are about 10% mature weight at birth

  • - Quadruple weight in first 5 months

    • 61% BW by 1 year

    • 96% BW by 2 years

Mares milk feeding a growing foal

• Mares milk, pasture, supplemental concentrate, mineral stores supply growing foal

  • - If mare well-managed late gestation and milk adequate, no concentrate needed for foal until 90 days

  • - "creep feeding" - max 1lb/month of age

    • Assure foal is accustomed to eating feed prior to weaning (4-8 month)

Feeding weanlings

• - Proper nutrient intake vital

• - Skeleton most vulnerable to disease (<12 months age)

  • DOD

Feeding Yearlings

• - Growth and feeding management depend on career (going to yearling sale?)

• - DOD less of a concern

  • Don't usually develop new lesions post 12 months (but may not have manifested yet)

DOD

Developmental orthopedic disease

Disease of DOD

• - Physitis

• - Osteochondrosis Dissecans (OCD)

• - Angular limb deformity

• - Flexural deformity

• - Wobbler Syndrome

Risk factors for DOD

• Genetics, environement, bod size, growth rate, mechanical stress, trauma, hormones

• TO MANY CALORIES

  • - Strach

  • - Poorly balanced diets

    • Inc. phosphorus, zinc

    • Dec. copper

  • - Protein is NOT the problem

    • Weanlings have increased protein requirement for growth

Horses with special feeding needs

• - Senior

• - Metabolic concerns

• - Obesity

Senior special feeding needs

• - Also dental problem

• - Increased digestibility

Metabolic concerns special feeding needs

• Insulin dysregulation (ID)

  • - Equine Metabolic syndrome (EMS), Insulin Resistance (IR)

  • - Low levels of starch/sugar

Obesity special feeding needs

• - Low calorie

• - Low starch/sugar

Calorie requirements

• Maintenance: 16.65 mcal/day

• Light work: 19.98 mcal/day

• Moderate work: 23.31 mcal/day

• Heavy work: 26.64 mcal/day

• Growing: 11-20 mcal/day

• Pregnant: 16-21 mcal/day

• Lactating: 31.73 mcal/day

Light workload

•  1-3hours/week low impact

  • - Recreational riding

Moderate workload

• 3-5 hrs/week medium impact

  • - Training, showing, polo, ranch

Heavy workload

• 4-5 hours/week high impact

  • - Ranch, polo, showing, med TDE

Intense workload

• 6-12 hours/week very high

  • - Racehorses, endurance, elite TDE

Feed options for equine

• - Forages

• - Commercial feeds

Commercial feed classes

• - Textured concentrates (sweet feed)

• - Processed concentrates (pelleted, extruded)

• - Complete feeds

• - Ration/ diet balancers

• - Supplements

Textured concentrates

• - High sugar/starch content

• - Straight sweet feed usually low fat

• - Variable protein

• - NOT for "special needs"

Processed concentrates

• (pelleted, extruded)

  • - Variable sugar/starch, fat, and protein levels

  • - Specific options for "special needs"

Complete feeds

• - Combination of roughage and concentrate

• - "Special needs"

• - Can be fed w/o hay

Ration/diet balancers

this feed “fills in the gaps”

Supplements

• protein, fat, mineral, and/or vitamins

  • - Additional nutrition for "special needs"

How much concentrate should be feed at a time

no more than 0.5% body weight at a time

• - try to split into 2 feedings

Body condition Scoring

Scale of 1-9 - Henneke scoring chart

• - 4.5 to 6 is idea

• - 1 to 3 is too skinny

• - 7 to 9 is too fat

Underconditioned horse

• Assess diet, management, and animal health

• Increase plane of nutrition

  • - Add energy

  • - Add fat

• Be mindful of other disease processes

Over-conditioned horse

• Assess diet, management, and animal health

• Decrease plane of nutrition

  • - Change/remove concentrate

• Exercise

BCS of 1-3

• Too skinny

  • - Not enough energy or muscle mass for forced activity

  • - Less col tolerant

BCS 7 to 9

• Too fat

  • - Will easily overhear in hot weather

  • - Excess stress on joints and feet

  • - Increased tsk for insulin dysregulation and laminitis

Which of the following class of horses has the highest daily digestible energy requirement?

Lactating Mare

Low starch diets are appropriate for which of the following diseases?

PSSM, RER, EMS, Young horses with DOD

Which of the following provides the highest amount of energy for a horse?

Carbs and fats