Effect of Feeding Practice on Glucose, Insulin, and Cortisol Responses in Quarter Horse Mares

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Introduction

Today's horse management practices often include restricted access to forage and feeding large quantities of concentrates in a limited number of meals throughout the day. These practices may create stress in the horse, leading to increases in stereotypic behaviors and cortisol production [1]. Increased cortisol concentrations, which also occur in Cushing's disease, inhibit the action of insulin, resulting in increased blood glucose concentrations [2]. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of feeding an identical diet, with different meal frequencies and order of delivery, on glucose, insulin and cortisol concentrations in horses.

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Materials and Methods

Six Quarter Horse mares (mean ± SD; 7 ± 5 yr; 524 ± 87 kg) were used in a 6 x 6 Latin square design. Each horse received a similar quantity of feed per day (2.0% of BW of a mixed-grass hay and 0.5% BW of a 12% CP pelleted concentrate) and was randomly assigned to one of six feeding protocols during each 7 d period: 1 meal/d (08:00) with grain fed first followed by hay 15 min later (1GH) or hay fed first followed by grain 15 min later (1HG), 2 meals/d (08:00, 18:00) with grain fed first followed

Results and Discussion

Basal plasma glucose concentrations before feeding the morning meal ranged from 80.1 ± 18.9 to 89.3 ± 9.4 mg/dL. Plasma glucose levels peaked with all feeding protocols 1 to 2 h after feeding the morning meal and returned to baseline levels 6 h later for horses fed 1 meal/d. Meal frequency had a significant effect on plasma glucose concentrations (P < .05). Horses fed 1 meal/d had higher plasma glucose levels from 1.5 h to 5 h following the morning meal compared to horses fed 2 or 3 meals/d,

Conclusion

Overall, this study suggests that meal frequency influences blood glucose and insulin concentrations in the horse and that smaller more frequent meals are beneficial, especially for horses with metabolic disorders that need to maintain low blood glucose levels.

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