Horses' Response to a Novel Diet: Different Herbs Added to Dry, Wet or Wet-Sweetened Oats.
Authors: Stachurska Anna, Tkaczyk Ewelina, Różańska-Boczula Monika, Janicka Wiktoria, Janczarek Iwona
Journal: Animals : an open access journal from MDPI
Summary
# Editorial Summary Novelty in equine feeds can suppress intake even when nutritionally sound, yet little is known about how horses accept herbal additives across different feed presentations. Researchers at the University of Life Sciences in Poland offered 20 adult horses five common herbs (mint, yarrow, chamomile, sage and nettle) mixed into dry oats, wet oats, or wet oats with molasses added, measuring consumption latency, eating patterns, drinking behaviour and feed refusal to quantify acceptance. Only dry sage notably delayed initial intake; all other herb–presentation combinations were consumed readily, with wetting or sweetening significantly accelerating the time horses began eating. The findings suggest that small herbal inclusions pose minimal palatability risk and that adjusting moisture content—particularly via wetting with or without molasses—can overcome the initial caution horses display towards novel feed components. For practitioners formulating therapeutic or supplementary herbal feeds, this supports using moisture-based modifications to improve acceptance rather than relying solely on traditional palatants, though individual variation and the specific properties of particular herbs merit further investigation.
Read the full abstract on PubMed
Practical Takeaways
- •Adding small amounts of common herbs to horse feed is practical and does not reduce intake; consider as flavour variety or enrichment without palatant concerns
- •If introducing novel herbs or feeds, wet or wet-sweeten the diet to improve acceptance and speed of consumption, particularly for horses hesitant with new tastes
- •Dry sage has stronger odour impact—if using, consider dampening the feed to mask undesirable odour and encourage faster intake
Key Findings
- •Herbs in small amounts (field mint, yarrow, chamomile, sage, nettle) did not significantly hinder feed consumption in 20 adult horses
- •Dry common sage odour alone delayed feed intake, but this was overcome by wetting the diet
- •Wetting oats accelerated feed intake compared to dry presentation; wet-sweetened oats showed similar or improved acceptance
- •Diet presentation (dry, wet, or wet-sweetened) had greater impact on palatability than herb type