Pastures or fodder are, naturally, the first resource as a source of fiber in the horse's diet. However, are there foods that are also relevant sources of fiber and that have a higher energy density than forage, with a higher content of digestible fiber? these foods are called ?super fibres?.
The energy density of the ?super fibers? it is lower than the energy density of cereals (eg corn, barley and oats) and, given their fibrous nature, they do not present the risks associated with excessive starch intake, thus being considered a safe way to provide extra energy and promote intestinal health .
The "super fibers" are often constituents of complementary compound feeds (?feed?), providing fiber to this feed, and are particularly popular in commercial feeds claiming to be ?rich in fibre? or "cereal free". Since in the latter, in the absence of cereals, fat also plays a prominent role in energy supply.
They are also used in addition to fodder and the usual compound feed, being particularly useful:
- Complementing hays with low digestibilities.
- When we intend to provide more energy without increasing starch levels (when concentrate consumption is already significant or in horses particularly susceptible to it, as is the case with horses with Gastric Ulcers or predisposition to myopathies).
- In animals with dental problems, such as geriatric horses, given the difficulty they have in consuming adequate amounts of forage/pasture.
- In horses with difficulty maintaining an adequate body condition.
- Horses subjected to prolonged efforts (such as in endurance disciplines) benefit from this energy source, which additionally promotes water retention in the extravascular space, contributing to the intestine functioning as a water and electrolyte reservoir.
- Among other uses.
?Super fibers? most used
The "super fibers" most commonly used in equine nutrition are beet pulp and soybean hulls. Other less used types of super fiber are, for example, almond shells or citrus pulp, and despite having good digestibility fiber, they have reduced palatability when used in this species.
beet pulp
Beet pulp has a considerable digestible fiber content (about 85% of its fiber is digestible), is low in starch and is considered a food relatively low in sugar (about 10% of sugar). It has a variable protein content (varies between 8 and 12%), identical to a good grass forage, and the calcium content is relevant, although lower than what we find, for example, in lucerne.
Despite the advantages that this product presents, it is not advisable to use it as a substitute for forage, but rather as a complement, as it is rapidly fermentable, essentially contains digestible fiber and is relatively poor in other substances that forage provides (for example , vitamins and other minerals).
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soy hull
Soybean hulls are often incorporated into concentrated foods to provide fiber, with highly digestible fiber (about 75%). Its consumption as a complement to hay and concentrated feed is less common, its commercialization in granules for the final customer is less frequent and its palatability is lower.
Other foods used to provide fiber
wheat bran
Wheat bran is a common constituent of concentrate feeds. The fiber content of this raw material is not as high as is thought, with 10 to 12% of crude fiber (as opposed to around 20% in beet pulp) and its isolated use, in addition to concentrated feed and forage, has , some drawbacks that should be considered:
- It is a food rich in phosphorus and low in calcium, and this raw material has an inverted calcium/phosphorus ratio (the calcium/phosphorus ratio of a horse food should be 1.5 to 2 to 1). This ratio is corrected when the bran is incorporated into a concentrated feed, through the addition of calcium. When its use is isolated and made empirically by the owners, it can contribute to orthopedic problems in growing animals, nutritional secondary hyperparathyroidism, among other problems.
- The starch content is not negligible, varying between 15 and 20%.
- Wheat bran that is not thermally processed is often a raw material that is not very ?clean? from a microbiological point of view.
Lucerne
Lucerne is also used as a source of good quality fibre. Although lucerne's digestible fiber content is variable, like any forage, this is a good option, with a significant protein and calcium content.
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to retain:
- Highly digestible sources of fiber with a higher energy density than forage are commonly referred to as "super fibres".
- The use of ?super fibers? it allows to complement low digestibility hays, increase energy intake without increasing starch, provide fiber to horses with dental problems, among other uses.