Ridecamp: Re: [RC] Digestible Energy (DE) vs Protein

>Susan : Most horses at maintenance can't won't eat more than about 2.5% dry
matter of their body weight daily total.  Growing horses, lactating mares
and hard working horses can eat more, tops is usually around 3-3-5% dry
matter.

>Me : I showed this to my horses and they laughed a lot!  I made them
promise to try and stick to those percentages, but I'll see if they can keep
that promise ;-)))

Just my own personal experience with my own endurance horses and
broodmares--in hard work or lactation, they will readily go up to about 4%.
I do think there is some degree of familial tendency there, though--the only
horses I've seen do this are the older-style Arabs, and the numbers that
Susan quotes are more what I've seen out in practice in the horse population
at large.  Just one more of those parameters where the little horses adapted
to tough conditions, developing the capacity to eat when it was available,
mayhaps...

Heidi


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