22/ OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2018 THE RIDER People are hungry for more information on Guts
Story: Nicole Weidner Pop quiz!
1) Does a horse drool at the sight of a carrot? 2) How many times does a horse chew per day when eating hay? 3) What about a pelleted diet? 4) Most importantly, do you know how the answers to these questions can help you keep your horse healthy? Don’t know the answers to
these questions? Equine Guelph recently held an “Interactive Journey through the Horse’s Di- gestive Tract” with Gayle Ecker, Equine Guelph’s director at the Erin Fall Fair. Ecker covered these questions and more, help- ing participants understand how
proper nutrition and management can keep a horse’s digestive sys- tem healthy and happy. The “Journey” was popular
with horse lovers of all ages and allowed participants the chance to see and feel the different parts of a horse’s digestive system. These parts have been cleverly designed to mimic the actual size found in the horse, but those with weak stomachs need not worry as the guts aren’t real. Ecker’s interactive journey
has been a much requested talk all year including an appearance at the 2018 Equestrian Canada conference. On the September 11 outing, Ecker and her trusty bag of guts traveled to Elora’s Grand River Raceway to speak to atten- dees at the Eldale Veterinary
Clinic’s Equine Seminar night. Participants were thoroughly en- tertained with props like poop balls and squishy bugs, and still gained a deeper appreciation for how the feeding choices we make can affect a horse’s health and wellbeing. For those interested, the an-
swers to the above questions are:
1) No, because a horse can nor- mally only produce saliva when chewing. 2) A horse chews around 43 000 times/day when eating hay.* 3) A horse chews around 10 000 times/day when eating a pelleted diet.* 4) Saliva production (more chew- ing means more saliva produc- tion) is important to help move food through the digestive tract and for healthy digestion. Chew
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time is also important for your horse’s welfare. For those interested in more
in-depth knowledge sign up for Equine Guelph’s Colic Risk
EquiMania! horse gut display
Rater Healthcare Tool. being of- fered this November.
* Elia, J. B., Erb, H. N., & Houpt, K. A. (2010). Motivation for hay:
effects of a pelleted diet on be- havior and physiology of horses. Physiology & behavior, 101(5), 623-627.
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