Effect of Diet on Cortisol Concentrations in Response to Feeding Stress in Horses
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Date
2010-06
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The Ohio State University
Abstract
Stress can be detrimental to animal welfare and to the people reliant upon the animal because of the ability of stress to negatively affect feed up-take, growth, and reproduction. It is important to identify and understand the sources of persistent stress for both the benefit of the animal and people who are dependent upon its wellbeing. If a change in cortisol, the major corticosterone in horses and the physiological indicator of stress, is observed around feeding, it could have an impact on the way horses are fed and lend further insight into behavioral tendencies of the horse. In addition, the nature of the diet may be a contributing factor to the physiological stress experienced during these feedings. In this study, six mature Quarter Horses were used in a 6x6 Latin square design incorporating six 7-d feeding periods. The horses received commercial diets that varied in sugar/starch and fat/fiber content. Horses also received 2% of their body weight in grass hay each day and had ad libitum access to water. Jugular catheters were placed prior to sampling on day 7 of each feeding period. Blood samples were taken at -30, 0, 30, and 60 min before and after the morning meal for the determination of serum cortisol concentrations. . There were no correlations between the diet fed and the amount of stress induced. However, there was a difference in cortisol concentrations in relation to time before or after the morning meal. The horses were showed an increase in cortisol concentrations 30 minutes prior to the morning meal in comparison to 30 minutes after the morning meal (p < 0.05).
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Keywords
horse, cortisol, nutrition