Identification of predictors of preference to Tifton hay and alfalfa for feeding horses.

• Grant number: 12/13656-9
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Master
• Start date: March 01, 2013
• End date: February 28, 2014
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Animal Husbandry - Pastures and Forage Crops
• Principal Investigator: Ciniro Costa
• Grantee: Janaina Carolina de Sá
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária e Zootecnia (FMVZ). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Botucatu. Botucatu , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Provide information to farmers on the preference of the horses, in addition to the conventional predictors (protein and energy), will assist farmers to choose the hay with the best quality possible for their animals, as well as be a source of reference for the producers time to adapt haying and marketing the same. In this sense, the purpose of this paper is (a) identify predictors of preference to alfalfa hay for horses, (b) provide fast and accurate analytical procedure, hay producers and owners, through the NIRS (reflectance infrared spectroscopy next), (c) establish the classification of alfalfa hay, based on the selected predictors of preference. Will be used twelve horses quarter mile race, which will receive thirty types of alfalfa hay (A). The rate of ingestion, and chewing activity value of hay to be preferably quantified for each test food by means of three horses and replicated three times / animal tests in a short period (10 minutes of exposure to the feed). Each experimental hay (A) is provided, in separate runs, associated with three hay patterns so that the horse can demonstrate their preference in various combinations, totaling approximately 1500 individual preference tests. Still, will be carried out chemical analyzes (DM, NDF, ADF, CP, CE, CSA and DIMS), physical (color, leaf: stem ratio and stem diameter) and microbiological (yeast and fungi) in the experimental and standard hay. The data will be statistically analyzed using simple linear regression or multiple, depending on the number of dependent variables included the model will be investigated and also estimated the potential of NIRS in predicting equations of preference.

Scientific publications

(References retrieved automatically from Web of Science and SciELO through information on FAPESP grants and their corresponding numbers as mentioned in the publications by the authors)

KÁTIA DE OLIVEIRA; JANAÍNA CAROLINA DE SÁ; CINIRO COSTA; PAULO ROBERTO DE LIMA MEIRELLES; DANIELE FLORIANO FACHIOLLI; AMANDA MANTOVANI PEREIRA. Identificação dos preditores de preferência pelo feno de alfafa por equinos. Rev. bras. saúde prod. anim., v. 19, n. 3, p. 301-314, 2018-09-00. (12/13656-9)

Academic Publications

(References retrieved automatically from State of São Paulo Research Institutions)

SÁ, Janaina Carolina de. Identificação dos preditores de preferência aos fenos de alfafa pelos equinos. 2014. Master's Dissertation - Universidade Estadual Paulista (Unesp). Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária e Zootecnia. Botucatu Botucatu.