Feral Horse diet 14% protein

[LMH]

From the Australian Brumby Research Unit:

"Incidentally, we just got the first of the dietary analysis back from the lab and the area occupied by the stallion mentioned above produced 14% protein in the horses diet. The horses are of course fat and the foaling rate this year (they all seemed to foal in early November- lots of foals on the hidden video footage) appears to be close to 100%."

Also the more 'dominant' the herd, evidently the less it moves-the strongest herd was moving an average of 19.2 km per day.

Less dominant herds get 'pushed around' more-and they note there is impact on the hooves.

From the November Newsletter:

'The coastal horses are the first group we have observed with a very low parasite load.'

They also found the 'sandy environment' horses had well maintained feet so assume the move ALOT to maintain good hoof form on such soft ground.

Just thought this was interesting! I know EqT will find the parasite observations interesting. They are starting research on why coastal Gulf horses have no to low parasites-this makes *me* assume of course, they are finding high parasite loads in other horses.

[JB]

I know that tapeworms come from mites that prefer nice topsoil, so it stands to reason that coastal areas, like desert areas, have low to no tapeworm issues. But as for other parasites, I don't know if that is related or not. Very interesting. I'd love to know if what they are eating is providing some sort of natural parasite control as well :)

[Katy Watts]

I'd love to know if what they are eating is providing some sort of natural parasite control as well :)

It doesn't make any sense to me that natural control of parasites found in grazing hooved herbivores would evolve in a continent where no grazing hooved herbivores evolved. I also caution any of you who think this data set will provide the 'perfect natural diet for horses'. Horses seem to survive under a wide set of parameters, including those nature constructed to grow the perfect kangaroo.

Dry desert and manure spread out over 42 miles per day is enough to control parasites. No reason to speculate on herbal cures.

Katy

[LMH]

But Katy-if other herds, also spreading manure over 42 miles HAVE parasites then there is something to it-no?

I did not post this as evidence of some emerging diet-I did think the work they are doing provides us all with very interesting information-or at least it is to me.:)

[JB]

Katy, NatGeo or Discovery, or some channel like that, did a story on a band of mustangs (in the US ;)). They analyzed the stallion's manure, and found a parasite load so large they thought he would be dead within months. Over 6-9 months, they followed him and made notes of what they saw him eating. The noticed that at times he would make very specific beelines for certain areas of his territory, and eat very specific plants (do not recall what they were, if the researchers even identified them), and mineral licks. At the end of their study, they sampled his manure again, and he was nearly clean.

How does a parasite load go from "that's really going to kill him" to "he looks like he was just chemically dewormed" if not the diet?

Not everything has to have evolved for a reason specific to a certain species. Sometimes they are just there, and it happens that a non-native species has a great use for it.

Areas of the country that don't have tapeworms (ie the desert) still have other parasites that people have to worry about.

[Ghazzu]

Katy, NatGeo or Discovery, or some channel like that, did a story on a band of mustangs (in the US ;)). They analyzed the stallion's manure, and found a parasite load so large they thought he would be dead within months. Over 6-9 months, they followed him and made notes of what they saw him eating. The noticed that at times he would make very specific beelines for certain areas of his territory, and eat very specific plants (do not recall what they were, if the researchers even identified them), and mineral licks. At the end of their study, they sampled his manure again, and he was nearly clean.

How does a parasite load go from "that's really going to kill him" to "he looks like he was just chemically dewormed" if not the diet?




Well, negative fecals aren't necessarily evidence of freedom from parasites, but I would hope that was taken into account. Shedding of eggs is intermittent.

[gabz]

Dry desert and manure spread out over 42 miles per day is enough to control parasites. No reason to speculate on herbal cures.

Katy

Exactly.

[LMH]

Exactly.

Did you read my response to this? Other horses in different locations evidently had high parasite load and still moved.

So what would be the difference? It is obviously not movement alone.

[JB]

Well, negative fecals aren't necessarily evidence of freedom from parasites, but I would hope that was taken into account. Shedding of eggs is intermittent.

Yes, I understand :) I do believe they took all that into account, and didn't just grab a single manure ball at the beginning and end and think that was the whole story :)

[Melyni]

Did you read my response to this? Other horses in different locations evidently had high parasite load and still moved.

So what would be the difference? It is obviously not movement alone.

I'd say it had more to do with how many horses per sq mile, than with presence of some kind of herb or plant. Also the climate, soil and vegetation type would have an effect.
Hot dry climates usually have fewer invertebrates. Larva are less likely to survive long enough to infect the next animal in a hot dry climate esp with exposure to salt.

Longer periods of time the larvae have to survive between hosts, means fewer larvae surviving. Fewer horses per acre means fewer animals picking up the larvae and fewer eggs shed.

MW

[George Myers]

The horse is not native to this part of the world - but neither are a lot of the plants they eat.

Personally I think it is unwise to reject the possibility of a naturally occurring anthelmintic in a plant that some horses have access to - OR - something in the environment which helps boost their immune system so they cope better with parasites. Maybe the answer is in the range of plants available to the herd or the absence of something that acts as an immuno-suppressant in other populations - such as stress.

Often in a domestic herd all eating on the same paddock and exposed to the same concentration of worm larvae, some will carry higher worm burdens and be more adversely affected by that than others.

If all the horses were carrying a high burden, wouldn't it be logical to look at factors which may have reduced their immune systems - stress, reduced soil fertility leading to poor quality forage and protein or mineral deficiency etc?

And if all horses in the area carried low burdens - couldn't the reverse be inferred?

My horses will often appear to self-medicate - search out certain plants - dock, nettle, dandelion, milk thistle, cleavers, willow, chicory, gorse etc (none of them native to this country) - other times they'll ignore them.

Maybe they just fancy something different - or maybe they have a sense for beneficial things in plants that we, with our jaded, polluted palates, could not possibly discern.

[gabz]

As Katy said - desert is what makes the difference; infering hot temps, low organic material for larval formation. Spacing between piles of feces. Hot temps dry out the feces. If there is no moisture no egg laying or hatching takes place.

Which is why, deworming protocols depend on the climate of the area. Hot climates kill off a greater number of parasite eggs than cold climates. Cold doesn't kill, it causes the egg / larva to go dormant.

So far as a stallion having a high parasite load at one point and not so high at another time, parasites go through various life cycles and stages and shed eggs in concert with daylight and temperature variants. The health of the horse and its ability to shed parasites is also a factor, I'm sure. And I agree that there probably is some science to different forage types - which is why variety should be encouraged.

So far as the 14% protein in the diet - perhaps because the forage is sparse it needs to be stronger to survive in extreme environments? Deeper root system?

Without reading the entire article, it's hard to say.

[Ghazzu]

What Melyni said.

[LMH]

really, it was just interesting-not intended to replace the Truth-just interesting.

[Katy Watts]

really, it was just interesting-not intended to replace the Truth-just interesting.

OK, on that basis, I will contribute more interesting trivia, which is all they have in that study so far. After all, what is Truth? Let's just not start a rumor that a more Natural horse diet is 14 % protein.

I read up on native forages in Australia when I was there writing a book on laminitis prevention. There is considerable interest in native Atriplex species (aka saltbush) in Australia for drought tolerant, high protein alternative forage for cattle and sheep production. Some taste sort of strange, but animals will learn to like it when that's all there is to eat. Various Atriplex species also occur in the western parts of the US and do contribute to the diet of wild horses, deer and antelope. Many of the native shrubs in the intermountain west run that high in CP, but they are eaten with mostly around 5% CP grasses, so it averages out way lower. Many of the Atriplex species in the US are capable of accumulating toxic amounts of selenium. That is NOT a problem in Australia, because the ancient soils there (all that is left of Gwondonaland, for those of you who believe the earth is older than 6,000 years) are all deficient in Se.
Katy

[LMH]

I was not trying to start a rumor and I doubt that was the intention of the author.

It was an article sharing information that is one tiny piece of the puzzle, that added with other tiny pieces will start to provide useful information.

[BornToRide]

Thanks for posting :)