Effects of concentrate levels on intestinal fermentation and the microbial profile in Japanese draft horses

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  • YANO Rintaro
    Graduate School of Animal Husbandry, Obihiro University of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine, Hokkaido 080-8555, Japan
  • MORIYAMA Tomoe
    Veterinary Medical Center, Obihiro University of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine, Hokkaido 080-8555, Japan
  • FUJIMORI Miho
    Graduate School of Animal Husbandry, Obihiro University of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine, Hokkaido 080-8555, Japan
  • NISHIDA Takehiro
    Department of Life and Food Sciences, Obihiro University of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine, Hokkaido 080-8555, Japan
  • HANADA Masaaki
    Department of Life and Food Sciences, Obihiro University of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine, Hokkaido 080-8555, Japan
  • FUKUMA Naoki
    Department of Life and Food Sciences, Obihiro University of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine, Hokkaido 080-8555, Japan Research Center for Global Agromedicine, Obihiro University of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine, Hokkaido 080-8555, Japan

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<p>In racehorses, feeding a high-concentrate diet could cause abnormal fermentation in the hindgut. This feeding management regime is not suitable for the nutritional physiology of horses. However, studies on the hindgut environment have yet to be reported in Japanese draft horses, so feeding management needs to be investigated in these horses. Therefore, the objective of this study was to investigate the effects of a high-concentrate diet on hindgut fermentation in Japanese draft horses. Feces were collected from 20 male Japanese draft horses managed by two stables with different feeding designs (65% weight ratio of concentrate feed, HC; 50% weight ratio of concentrate, MC), and fecal metabolic characteristics and the microbiome were analyzed. Higher lactate concentrations and lower fecal pH levels were observed in the HC group (P=0.0011, P=0.0192, respectively). Fecal microbiome analysis revealed a decrease in microbial diversity (P=0.0360) and an increase in the relative abundance of Streptococcus lutetiensis/equinus/infantarius (P=0.0011) in the HC group. On the other hand, fibrolytic bacteria in the MC group had similarities with Clostridium sacchalolyticum and Ruminococcus albus. This study revealed that overfeeding of concentrates induced abnormal fermentation in the hindgut of Japanese draft horses. This suggests that the establishment of a feeding design based on not only the chemical compositions of feeds but also microbial dynamics is needed.</p>

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