Nutrition

Nutrition


Fats



Basic Information image



Overview and Goal(s)




• A high-fat diet is a disaster if you are planning your own diet, but potentially beneficial for many types of horses.


• Research has established many benefits of feeding fat.


• Benefits of a high-fat diet include:


image Increasing energy content of the diet

image Enhanced body condition in thin horses

image Diminished excitability, and increased oxidative capacity in performance horses

image As a carrier for the fat-soluble vitamins

• What is fat?


image Fats (lipids) fed to horses are triglycerides.

image Triglycerides consist of three fatty acids and a glycerol molecule.

image Chemical structure of the fatty acids determines if the fat is saturated or unsaturated.

image Saturated fats (tallow/lard) are solids at room temperature.

image Unsaturated fats (vegetable oil) are liquids at room temperature.

image Examples: corn oil, soybean oil, canola oil

image The location of double bonds within the fatty acid is used to identify omega-6 and omega-3 fatty acids.

image Omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids have different fates within the body.

image Research is ongoing to determine the proper amount and ratio of omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids need to be in the diet.

• Sources of fat


image Saturated animal fat is not typically fed to horses.

image Unsaturated fat (vegetable oil) is primarily supplemented in horse diets.

image Common vegetable oil sources include:

image Corn oil, soybean oil, rice oil, and canola oil

image Vegetable oil is 100% fat.

image Other common fat sources fed to horses include:

image Spray dried vegetable fat (99% fat)

image Stabilized rice bran (20% fat)

image Horse feed supplemented with fat (6%–12% fat)

image Each fat source is palatable given the horse has been slowly adapted to the fat source.

image Fish oil is high in omega-3 fatty acids but is less palatable.

image Fish oils can be more palatable with a slow adaptation period.

• Is fat digestible?


image Unsaturated vegetable oil is highly digestible, in excess of 95% digestible by horses.

image Vegetable oil is digested in the small intestine.

image Horses can digest large amounts of vegetable oil, up to 20% of the diet.
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Jul 24, 2016 | Posted by in SMALL ANIMAL | Comments Off on Nutrition

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