Abstract
Two groups of jumping horses in activity were studied to evaluate the nutritional value and digestibility of the combinations of two feeds and three roughages each administered for 20 days. Group P (4 horses) was fed a pellet feed associated with traditional hay in Trial 1, haylage in Trial 2 and dehydrated alfalfa in Trial 3. Group C (4 horses) received a crushed feed and the same three roughages in the same order. After an adaptation period of 15 days, the faeces of each subject were collected twice a day for 5 days and the digestible utilisation coefficient (DUC) was determined using the AIA method. The three different roughages had similar digestibility coefficients of crude protein in combination with both feeds; in particular, dehydrated alfalfa yielded identical results in association with both the pellet and the crushed feed. Haylage showed a lower coefficient of digestibility of crude protein and ether extract with both feeds. The combination of the pellet and the traditional hay gave the best result of DUC. The energy coefficient of digestibility was higher with all three roughages combined with the P feed, even though the greater absolute amount of feed ingested by group P, by increasing the rate of transit, would have been expected to reduce the coefficient of utilisation. These results suggest the importance of analysing the quality of diets and of evaluating feed processing and the effect of combining different feeds.
