Published in Scientific Papers. Series D. Animal Science, Vol. LXIV, Issue 2
Written by Yohannis Refly TULUNG, Abraham PENDONG, Catrien RAHASIA, Ronny TUTUROONG
The purpose of this study was to determine the standard needs of Indonesian racehorses for feed dry matter and protein, and also to determine the energy and protein digestibility of both local and imported feeds. 34 horses, body weight between 180-205 kg, 12-24 months of age were used in this study. The horses were fed daily, while feed intake and feces defecation were measured daily. The feed intake (DMI and PI) and metabolic body weight (W0.75) (MW) data obtained were fitted to equation Y = a + bX, where Y = DMI and PI as the dependent variable (Y), and X = MW. The result shows that intake averages of DMI and PI were 5.75 kg and 494.66 gr, respectively, while MW was 51.42 kg. There was a positive correlation between DMI and MW of the horses, where r = 0,98 and R2 = 95,86% (p<0.01). Likewise, between the PI and MW, where r = 0.96, and R2 = 0.92. It is concluded that the standard requirements of dry matter and protein of Indonesian yearling racehorse can be predicted based on feed intake and metabolic body weights. Although the local feed digestibility is lower than imported feed, it is able to meet the energy and protein requirements of young racehorses.
[Read full article] [Citation]
