The effect of a hay grid feeder on feed consumption and measurement of the gastric pH using an intragastric electrode device in horses: a preliminary report.
Authors: Aristizabal F, Nieto J, Yamout S, Snyder J
Journal: Equine veterinary journal
Summary
# Editorial Summary Obesity and gastric ulceration present conflicting management challenges in horses: whilst frequent feeding and pasture access protect against squamous ulceration, they simultaneously increase obesity risk. Aristizabal and colleagues used an intragastric pH electrode to measure gastric acid exposure over 48 hours in nine horses, comparing hay consumption and behaviour when animals were fed 1% bodyweight in grass hay twice daily from either ground level or a commercial hay grid feeder in a crossover design. Ground feeding resulted in significantly higher hay intake than grid feeding (P<0.001), yet this difference had no measurable effect on intragastric pH values, time spent below pH 4.0, or overall eating duration—findings that held across all nine horses studied and six horses with pH data respectively. Practically, hay grid feeders offer practitioners a genuine tool for weight management in horses predisposed to obesity, with the reassuring evidence that reducing consumption through slower feeding apparatus does not compromise gastric health or alter natural diurnal eating patterns. This preliminary report suggests grid feeders merit consideration as part of integrated obesity protocols, though the small sample size warrants confirmation in larger populations before drawing definitive conclusions about long-term gastric health outcomes.
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Practical Takeaways
- •Hay grid feeders effectively reduce hay consumption without requiring horses to change their eating duration, making them useful for managing obesity while maintaining natural feeding behavior
- •Using a hay grid feeder does not compromise gastric pH control compared to ground feeding, so it can be safely used in horses at risk for ulceration without additional protective measures
- •Since hay grid feeders maintain eating time while reducing intake, they may help balance the competing goals of preventing both obesity and gastric ulceration in stabled horses
Key Findings
- •Horses consumed significantly more hay when fed from the ground compared to a hay grid feeder (P<0.001)
- •No significant differences in mean intragastric pH values between ground feeding and hay grid feeder (P=0.97)
- •No significant differences in time spent eating or drinking, walking/standing, or lying down between feeding methods (P≥0.3)
- •Horses spent significantly more time eating during the day compared to night in both feeding conditions (P≤0.007)