does anyone fancy helping me with a fun question i've been set

[PinkFairy]

what do horses AND dogs, require in terms of nutrition?
I know there's hard feed, grains, roughage, hay and haylage etc but can anyone shed a little more light?
My dog eats pretty much everything but for her dinner she will eat dog biscuits either pedigree complete or My Dog.. i think its called lol. can anyone help?

by the way, its not a huge assignment that has to be in tomorrow, im trying to research but as i've no idea about what the terms mean etc i don't know what im reading about!

 

[TGM]

Do they perhaps mean a more scientific approach - ie protein, carbohydrate, fibre, vitamins, minerals etc?

 

[PinkFairy]

yep they do. I mean, i know what those food types are, I mean the links i have found are really scienc-y and have huge tables or essay like pages of barns etc it's not really what i'm looking for.

 

[TGM]

Well this horse nutrition factsheet has a bit under the heading Nutrients which I would have thought to be suitable for your purposes:

http://www.esc.rutgers.edu/publications/factsheets_nutrition/FS038.htm

And a general one on feeding pets, including dogs:

http://www.provet.co.uk/petfacts/healthtips/petfeeding.htm

 

[PinkFairy]

oh right! tut tut i hang my head in shame - i don't mind researching but i like to ask the forums first anyway. thanks very much! am feeling rather blonde :O

 

[Oaksflight]

Horses:

As it used to be in the wild, a horses diet should mainly, if not almost completely, consist of fibre, which is found in forage mainly, however the demands of competition horses etc can cause demands in other area of the horses diet, such as carbohydrates. Generally a horse will eat 2.5% of their bodyweight in a day. One of the major rules of feeding is to feed little and often, this is because the horse is a trickle feeder. If a horse is starved for hours, and then given food, the food can pass through the digestive system in as little as 15 minutes, when it usually takes around 10 hours. A quicker rate of passage can higher the risks of colic etc. Also, feeding forace before hard feed slows the ROP, so is generally a better idea! When horses are left for long times without any forage (such as racehorses) they can be prone to problems such as gastric ulcers in the stomach etc.
Horses also require other nutrients as part of their diet, all of the nutrients fall into 6 categories; carbohydrates, protein, fat, minerals, vitamins and water. Erm, carbohydrates work in same way as they do for us humans, they provide energy for cell processes and simple bodily functions i.e. breathing. Event/performance horses need a lot of carbs in their diet to provide energy, however unused energy turns into fat. Some examples of carbs are cellulose, starch and sugars.
Protein ('chains' of amino acids) are required for healthy tissues, milk production, and pregnancy, among a lot of others! If theres too much protein in the diet, then the amino acids break down in the liver and are stored as fat. LAck of protein results in lack of growth in youngstock and lack of coat condition , and general condition in normal horses. Fat, not much to say about this other than they only need a max of roughly 4%, and it's usually provided in oil.
Vits and minerals - essential for all parts of the horse, general wellbeing I suppose, from hoof growth to simply energy production. And I presume you know about water -not much to say on it!

Sorry for the essay, currently revising all this. Hope it helps.

 

[PinkFairy]

O thanks very much it does indeed help! Im supposed to create a poster about nutrition for horses and ... dogs.. but hey. Im currently looking over info as i was away on the monday, i am seeing my tutor next monday to go through it but i'd like to have at least collected some info to go on with

thanks ever so much