Dietary Transitions Toward Sustainable Horse Feeding.
Authors: Karasu Gulsah Kaya, Rogers Chris W, Gee Erica K
Journal: Journal of equine veterinary science
Summary
# Editorial Summary: Dietary Transitions Toward Sustainable Horse Feeding The equine industry faces growing pressure to reduce its environmental footprint, particularly regarding greenhouse gas emissions, nitrogen pollution, and nutrient leaching—yet systematic documentation of where improvements can be made has been limited. Kaya, Rogers, and Gee conducted a comprehensive review of current feeding and management practices to identify practical modifications that could meaningfully lower the sector's environmental impact without compromising horse health or performance. Whilst horses produce substantially lower emissions per kilogramme of bodyweight than ruminant livestock, the authors identified several targeted opportunities for reduction: optimising feed conversion efficiency, substituting conventional ingredients with more sustainable alternatives, and improving manure management systems associated with intensive operations. The findings suggest that meaningful progress does not require wholesale overhaul of equine nutrition, but rather strategic refinement of existing practices—shifts that farriers, veterinarians, and nutritionists can facilitate through evidence-based adjustments to individual feeding programmes and yard management. For equine professionals seeking to align their practice with emerging environmental legislation and client expectations around sustainability, this review provides a practical framework for where intervention is most likely to yield both ecological and potentially economic benefits.
Read the full abstract on PubMed
Practical Takeaways
- •Optimize feed conversion efficiency through improved feeding management to directly reduce the environmental footprint of your operation
- •Consider alternative feed ingredients as viable options to reduce greenhouse gas and nitrogen emissions while maintaining horse health
- •Implement better fecal material management practices in intensive husbandry systems to minimize environmental pollution from your facility
Key Findings
- •Horses as monogastric hindgut fermenters produce relatively lower greenhouse gas emissions per kg bodyweight compared to ruminants
- •Multiple opportunities exist to reduce equine industry environmental impact through feed conversion improvements, alternative ingredients, and fecal management
- •Current equine feeding and management practices require documentation and critique to enable industry compliance with social and legislative sustainability obligations