Acceptability and nutritional value of the Teff grass for grazing horses

s / Journal of Equine Veterinary Science 33 (2013) 321-399 353 observed in Type II fibers for the SP group as compared to an increase in muscle fiber size for Type II fibers in the IP group (P 1⁄4 0.009). While changes did not appear evident between groups at the “whole body” level, changes at the tissue level appear more evident. Reference [1] Bryden WL. 1991. Amino acid requirements of horses estimated from tissue composition. Proc. Nutr. Soc. Aust. p 53. Production and Management: Posters Acceptability and nutritional value of the Teff grass for grazing horses A.L. Hickman , O.A. Abaye , M.A. McCann , and J.S. McCann 2 1 Crop and Soil Environmental Science Department, 2 Animal and Poultry Department VA Tech, Blacksburg, VA 24061 The warm season annual, Teff (Eragrostis tef) grass, is native to Ethiopia and recognized for drought tolerance, low nitrogen requirement, and productivity inmarginal soils. To determine the value of Teff as a horse pasture, a single plot measuring 48.3m by 23.7mwas established withminimum preparation to a predominantly barren hill side within a larger, established pasture. Initial seeding rate was 13.34kg/habut lackof rain requireda secondbroadcastingof the seed to establish the forage. The grazing trial began 54 d after the initial planting when the forage had attained an average height of approximately 56 cm. Within a 23d time frame beginning August 23, the Teff paddock was grazed during 4 weekly periods by two groups of horses, 3 mares and 3 geldings. The groups grazed at different times within 24-h of each other. The grazing bouts were 1-h in length. During the grazing of each group, forage grab samples were randomly harvested throughout the plot and combined, clipping the Teff to an approximate 10 cm residual height. After approximately 30 minutes of each grazing bout, the horses were easily approached and samples of the long foragewere grabbed as the horses began to chew the forage bites. “Stolen” samples were collected from each horse as theygrazed for approximately 10minutes. The stolen forage from each horse was compiled for a group sample. All samples were analyzed for dry matter (DM), crude protein (CP), neutral detergent fiber (NDF), and acid detergent fiber (ADF). Data was analyzed utilizing PROC GLMMIX SAS 9.2 recognizing main effects of period, gender, and harvest method (clipped verses stolen) in addition to the interactions betweenmain effects. Although Teff was a novel grass to the horses in this study, acceptability of the forage was documented in video footage and all groups grazed the novel forage within 5 minutes of entering the paddock and tended to bite only the upper portion of the plants. Nutritional data indicated CP did not vary significantly between grazing period, averaging 9.39% CP for the clipped samples. The stolen forage CP was not affected by sex or grazing period. Yet CP was different (P<.05) between clipped and stolen forage samples, averaging 9.39 .65% for clipped forage verses 12.3 .33%CPdetermined for the forage stolen from the horses. Within periods 1 and 2, NDF averaged 63.66%but increased (P<.05) to anaverage65.29% inperiods 3 and 4. NDFwas not different (P<.07) between clipped and stolen samples, averaging65.41% verses 64.19% respectively. To the horses in this study, the novel, tall Teff grass was readily acceptable and the upper part of the plant selected by the horses was higher in CP. Further investigation is warranted to determine the value of Teff under greater grazing pressure from horses. Pilot study comparing hematologic and serum biochemical parameters in healthy horses (Equus caballus) and mules A.K. McLean , and W. Wang 2 1 Animal Science, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, Department of Biostatistics, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville, TN The current study was designed to establish reference ranges for hematological and biochemical parameters for clinically normal mules compared to horses. Values are known for horses and most donkey breeds but not mules. A mule is a cross between a mare and a jack (a male donkey, Equus asinus). Samples were collected from nine mature mules and four horses owned by the U.S. Forest Service Pack String (Shawnee, CO). Rectal temperature, body condition (1 to 9), age, and sex were recorded for each animal. All animals were on the same diet. A 10 mL blood sample was collected from venipuncture of the jugular vein with an EDTA tube. Samples were analyzed for total erythrocyte, total red blood cell (RBC), white blood cell (WBC), hemoglobin (Hb), packed cell volume (PCV), platelet, mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration (MCHC), mean corpuscular hemoglobin (MCH), mean corpuscular volume (MCV) and red cell distribution width (RDW). Complete blood counts (CBC) were done using the multi-species hematology analyzer (HemaVet 850FS, Drew Scientific, Waterbury, CT). The white blood cell differential was performed manually. Serum chemistry analysis was done using serum chemistry analysis (VetAce, Alfa, Inc, West Caldwell, NJ). Total serum protein was evaluated (VetAce, Alfa, Inc., West Caldwell, NJ). Plasma proteins and fibrinogen were performed manually using the precipitation method. An initial plasma protein reading was taken using a veterinary refractometer and a second reading was taken after heating the sample for 10 min in 56 C water bath (Latimer et al., 2003). A statistical difference using the Mann-Whitney-Wilcoxon test was found when comparing weight, WBC, lymphocytes (Ly), monoctyes