AQHA Magazine September / October 2019 AQHA Sept-Oct 2019 WEB | Page 25

PG.23
found that replacing high starch/sugar/grain feeds, concentrates and
supplements (Table 1) with low starch/sugar-high fat/fibre supplements
reduces the incidence of laminitis and other gut and metabolic disorders
in pregnant mares.
SYMPOSIUM Volume 2 2008
Certainly after 9 months gestation, feeds and supplements containing
grains or grain by-products (bran, pollard, mill-run, hominy meal) should
be avoided. Also to be used with caution are feeds manufactured or
processed by extrusion and micronisation – both of which increase the
speed and extent of digestion in the small intestine and hence the blood
glucose and insulin release. Originally developed to increase raw grain
digestion in the small intestine (and avoid flow of undigested starch to
the hindgut or caecum) and hence feeding safety for horses on high grain
intakes, heat processed grains are 446% more enzymatically digestible in
the small intestine than unprocessed grains. When they reach the hindgut
or caecum, they are fermented faster and produce 221% more lactic
acid than unprocessed grains. The researchers concluded that feeding
SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER ISSUE 2019