Thursday, January 10, 2013

Feeding, Exercise, and Blood Flow Distribution in Horses

KER.equinews.com - Full Article

By Kentucky Equine Research Staff · December 28, 2012

All horses must eat, and most horses must perform some type of work. A complex relationship exists between the type and amount of feed given, the duration and intensity of work expected of the horse, the impact of feeding on the digestive system, and the impact of exercise on gut function and nutrient digestibility.

Anyone who has fed horses realizes that these animals have a profound cardiovascular response to feeding. The noise associated with rattling buckets in a feed room can send a stable of horses into a frenzy. This phase of feeding is known in the scientific literature as the anticipation/ingestion phase. The anticipation/ingestion phase begins when the animal becomes aware of an upcoming feeding and continues during ingestion of food, gradually decreasing after the food has been eaten. In ponies, the cardiovascular response to feeding remains elevated for more than one hour following consumption of a grain meal...

Read more here:
http://ker.equinews.com/article/feeding-exercise-and-blood-flow-distribution-horses

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