Resilience of Faecal Microbiota in Stabled Thoroughbred Horses Following Abrupt Dietary Transition between Freshly Cut Pasture and Three Forage-Based Diets.

ABSTRACT: The management of competition horses in New Zealand often involves rotations of short periods of stall confinement and concentrate feeding, with periods of time at pasture. Under these systems, horses may undergo abrupt dietary changes, with the incorporation of grains or concentrate feeds to the diet to meet performance needs, or sudden changes in the type of forage fed in response to a lack of fresh or conserved forage. Abrupt changes in dietary management are a risk factor for gastrointestinal (GI) disturbances, potentially due to the negative effects observed on the population of GI microbiota. In the present study, the faecal microbiota of horses was investigated to determine how quickly the bacterial communities; (1) responded to dietary change, and (2) stabilised following abrupt di

SUBMITTER: Fernandes KA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8471312 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature