[Blistering Winds]

Dawn, do you have articles to back the fact that protein is a "Main" source of energy?

I find it as an energy source in "metabolism" in my nutrition books, but it is not listed as a main source. Carbohydrates and its derivitives and fats are the "main" energy sources listed in my Livestock Feeds and Feeding textbook by Kellems and Church.

[Dawn]

Not sure if I do or not...let me look around.

Don't get me wrong, the majorty of calories in the horse's diet comes from carbs. Grass, hay, grains, all of the 'normal' feedstuffs for horses are primarily carbs, but they also have fat and protein as well. And since all three of these are figured into the TDN of feedstuffs, well then they're obviously providing calories.

[Dawn]

Just thought I'd add this as I think that there might be a bit of confusion

Anything that is eaten by the horse provides calories. Assuming that it is in a form that is digestible to the horse. (Iow, chicken feathers, no calories. A more practical example would be the NDF portion of a feedstuff.) The only way that a feedstuff can pass through and not provide calories is if the horse doesn't digest it. Digestion = retrieving the calories from the feedstuff. (Exemptions would be vitamins and minerals in their pure state, but they're not 'technically' metabolized, only absorbed.)

[Blistering Winds]

if you find the articles/sources....if you don't want to post them, can you PM me? I'm gathering articles for a future paper that will be related to some of the ammonia work I am doing.

[Dawn]

I'm looking but I'm honestly not finding much online atm. I used to have access to a lot more 'hard copy' stuff than I do now, which is aggrivating.

[Blistering Winds]

I'll make a note when I'm on the main server, to look more in depth at that. At work I have access to the published articles for free on most of the journals of animal nutrition, environmental, soil, etc.

[Dawn]

Everything that I'm finding focuses mainly on the need for protein from a building block/amino acid standpoint as the horse does not rely on it for calories (as the majority are presented through carbs). So having a hard time finding what I'm looking for.

[me and morgan]

Do you think the horses in th wild worry about where their protein meal is comin from..when the farrier will be coming next....whos gonna clean out my bean....should I eat this ..tree...sometimes humans make it MORE complicted than what it REALLY is..No all horses are not fed the same...but some of the prettiest horses Ive seen are wild ones....naturaly chipped feet and perfect muscled bodies.....just my O...

[Dawn]

Wild horses also have access to more varieties of plants than you can even imagine. Something that our 'domestic' horses are not afforded in their nice little paddocks (or even their big huge pastures, it does not compare to the land that wild horses can roam).

[me and morgan]

What Im saying is HUmans sometimes ARE the problem..in feeding what they think ..horses should eat...
mixing this ,adding that..weighing some of this...hay,alfalfa,supps...sugars..then bam...founder and all kinds of other problems...keep it simple....what works for others ..sometimes does not work for other horses to..