It’s completely natural to assign human traits and emotions to our animals. After all, anthropomorphism is considered an innate tendency of human psychology. But what happens when this desire to humanize our four-legged friends goes too far? Take laminitis, for instance: a common cause of this highly painful, debilitating and potentially life-threatening disease is overfeeding — so could we actually be killing our horses with kindness?

Laminitis: What is it?

The literal definition of laminitis is inflammation of the laminae — the non-sensitive, outer epidermal tissue, as well as the sensitive, inner dermal tissue between the hoof wall and coffin bone — on a horse’s foot. These tissues mesh together to hold the hoof wall to the coffin bone (also known as the pedal bone). If the blood flow to these tissues is interrupted, inflammation can set in and weaken the laminae structures, thereby interfering with the connection between the hoof wall and coffin bone. This condition can affect just one foot or all four, but it most commonly affects the front feet at the same time and does not discriminate — it can impact any horse or pony.

Unless the cause of the inflammation is removed and treatment begins immediately at the first signs of laminitis, the dermal laminae will begin to die. Since they are responsible for significant support in the hoof, which bears the horse’s weight, the coffin bone may begin to sink and rotate due to the inability of the damaged laminae to support both the bone and the pull of the digital flexor tendon. The bone may even sink far enough to protrude from the sole of the foot. This is often irreversible but can occasionally be cured with a great deal of time and patience, along with a significant financial investment.

What causes it?

Several factors can play a role, but animals who are overweight or have previously suffered from laminitis are especially at risk. Common causes include:

• An excess intake of carbohydrates, either from overfeeding of grain, grain overload from a horse or pony getting into a feed room, or unrestricted access to lush pasture grasses
• The stress of a change in environment, frequent travel or foaling in broodmares
• Septicemic conditions, severe infections or retained placenta in mares post-foaling
• Obesity, particularly in ponies
• Lameness, which prevents the bearing of weight in one leg, leading to overloading of another limb
• Concussion to the hoof from working unshod on hard ground or from an overzealous hoof trim
• Metabolic disorders, such as Cushing’s disease

What are the signs?

The symptoms of acute laminitis are typically sudden and severe and include:

• Inability or reluctance to walk
• Lying down, combined with an unwillingness to stand
• Readily apparent lameness, especially when moving in a circle or walking on a hard surface
• Increased digital pulse
• Leaning back onto hind feet in an attempt to relieve the pressure on front feet
• Pain at the point of the frog and walking heel-first instead of toe-first

Chronic laminitis, also known as founder, can instead come on gradually and is often the result of either a sustained diet rich in carbohydrates or a metabolic disorder. It can also manifest in horses whose feet are severely compromised as the result of a previous, non-fatal, acute episode. Horses afflicted with chronic laminitis will typically exhibit the following symptoms:

• Lameness that ranges from mild to moderate
• A willingness to stand and walk, despite obvious foot pain
• Irregular bands of growth in the hoof wall
• Heels that grow faster than toes
• White line widening
• A noticeable crest running along the neckline
• Changed foot shape, often becoming narrow and elongated

Treatment

If you witness any of the above symptoms in your horse, contact both your veterinarian and farrier immediately. You will need to develop and administer a treatment plan as quickly as possible to prevent any lasting damage and to relieve any associated pain. When not treated quickly or correctly, permanent damage from laminitis can result in euthanasia.

• Horses who have been overfed must immediately be separated from their feed source; consult with your vet on a revised feeding regimen
• Move the horse or pony to a small pen or stall and bed deeply with shavings so they can dig their hooves into a comfortable position
• Avoid exercise, as it may initially contribute to further rotation of the coffin bone
• Have your farrier consult with your vet and trim the hoof according to the degree of rotation of the coffin bone
• Provide the horse with a companion to help minimize stress

Prevention

• Monitor your horse’s diet and weight very carefully
• Feed small amounts frequently to mimic a horse’s natural feeding patterns
• Restrict grass intake and avoid turning out on lush grasses, particularly in early spring or after heavy rains
• Maintain a consistent exercise regimen to aid in weight management
• Regularly schedule visits with a reputable farrier
• Support hoof strength and growth by offering high-quality nutrition and premium equine supplements, such as Lifeforce Hoof

This disease is very painful and incapacitating for horses. Remember that prevention is always better than a cure. As Albert Einstein said, “A clever person solves a problem. A wise person avoids it.”

I want to learn more about equine health and management recommendations.

While the northern hemisphere has been experiencing the wrath of the polar vortex and record cold temperatures, the southern hemisphere has been on the opposite end of the spectrum, dealing with sweltering heat. Fortunately, there are generally simple ways for humans to escape the uncomfortable effects of extreme weather — but the same cannot be said for horses, who must expend substantial energy in an effort to keep cool as temperatures rise.

While you can still enjoy equestrian pursuits on relatively warm days, you will want to take extra precautions to ensure that your horse stays healthy and safe in the heat. Equine heat stress is a serious concern, and although it may first manifest in seemingly minor ways, such as poor performance, it can quickly escalate to potentially fatal heat exhaustion and stroke. As such, it is highly important to develop an understanding of the stages and signs of heat stress so that you can take immediate action if you observe them in your horses.

Stage 1:

• The horse may sweat profusely and exhibit a heightened body temperature (the normal equine body temperature ranges from 99–101° Fahrenheit or 37.2–38.3° Celsius).
• The heart rate elevates significantly. A horse’s normal resting heart rate is within 30–50 beats per minute, and a pulse rate of 50 or higher is generally a cause for concern.
• You can also check for signs of dehydration by grasping a fold of skin at the point of the shoulder and releasing it. If the horse is well-hydrated, the skin should snap back quickly (in under one second). Generally, the longer the skin takes to flatten, the more dehydrated the horse. However, it’s important to already know what your horse’s normal skin elasticity is, as this can vary.
• Capillary refill time can also be used to measure hydration. To check this, press lightly on the horse’s gum just above an upper incisor and observe how long it takes for its normal pink color to return; two seconds or less is normal.

Stage 2:

• Rapid, shallow breathing may be apparent. For reference, the normal respiratory rate for a resting adult horse is between eight and 15 breaths per minute. 
• The horse’s behavior can become uncooperative; it may frequently kick or randomly shake its head. Minor gait abnormalities may also be observed.
• You may also detect an irregular, fluttery heartbeat or witness tying-up (i.e., muscle cramping as the result of the massive contraction of the muscle groups along the horse’s back and rump).
• Sweating has likely ceased, but the skin remains hot to the touch as body temperature rises. A body temperature between 104–108° Fahrenheit (or 40–42.2° Celsius) indicates a heightened risk of danger for the horse, as heat exhaustion is beginning to set in.

Stage 3:

• The horse will hang its head low and appear extremely unhappy. It may also clearly be struggling to breathe normally, taking slower and deeper breaths, which is known as second-phase panting.
• The pulse will remain heightened but also weak and potentially irregular.
• Gut sounds are reduced or absent.
• The horse may appear confused and make increasingly clumsy movements.

Stage 4:

• The consequences and effects of prolonged heightened body temperature (in excess of 106–108° Fahrenheit, or 41.1–42.2° Celsius) may lead to heat stroke.
• The central nervous system will begin to shut down, which can lead to:
  • Severe stumbling or difficulty moving
  • Volatile behavior
  • Increasingly confused mannerisms
  • Collapse
  • Convulsions
  • Unconsciousness or comatose state
  • Death

So, what can you do if your horse appears to be suffering from the ill effects of heat stress?

• Walk the horse out to encourage circulation and to bring heated blood to the surface of the skin for cooling.
• Let the horse drink its fill. A hot horse should take in as much water as it needs to replace what is being sweated out. Cold water is fine — the idea that letting a hot horse drink cold water can cause colic and muscle cramping is simply a myth.
• Splash or spray cold water directly onto the horse to aid with evaporative cooling. Despite what you may have heard, putting cold water on hot muscles does not constrict blood vessels and lead to cramping. Do make sure to frequently scrape off the water, because it will warm up quickly on the horse’s body. Repeat this process until the skin feels cool to the touch and the horse’s breathing appears to have returned to normal.

If the horse’s behavior and drinking habits have not returned to normal within one hour, or if you witness more dramatic signs of heat stress within that window of time, call your veterinarian immediately. Intravenous hydration and other medical measures may be required to prevent potentially irreversible effects or loss of life.

I want to learn more about equine health and management recommendations.

[LEXINGTON, Ky.] – The 2019 Alltech Global Feed Survey, released today, estimates that international feed tonnage has increased by a strong 3 percent to 1.103 billion metric tons of feed produced in 2018, exceeding 1 billion metric tons for the third consecutive year. The eighth edition of the annual survey includes data from 144 countries and nearly 30,000 feed mills. The feed industry has seen 14.6 percent growth over the past five years, equating to an average of 2.76 percent per annum. As the population grows, so does the middle class, which is well reflected in an increase in overall protein consumption.  

The top eight countries are China, the U.S., Brazil, Russia, India, Mexico, Spain and Turkey. Together, they produce 55 percent of the world’s feed production and contain 59 percent of the world’s feed mills, and they can be viewed as an indicator of the trends in agriculture. Predominant growth came from the layer, broiler and dairy feed sectors.  

“Alltech works together with feed mills, industry and government entities around the world to compile data and insights to provide an assessment of feed production each year,” said Dr. Mark Lyons, president and CEO of Alltech. “We are proud to present the eighth annual Alltech Global Feed Survey and share the results publicly to demonstrate the importance of the animal feed industry as we strive to provide for a planet of plenty.”  

The Alltech Global Feed Survey assesses compound feed production and prices through information collected by Alltech’s global sales team and in partnership with local feed associations in the last quarter of 2018. It is an estimate and is intended to serve as an information resource for policymakers, decision-makers and industry stakeholders. 

Regional results from the 2019 Alltech Global Feed Survey 

• North America: North America saw steady growth of 2 percent over last year due to an increase in the major species, with beef and broilers leading the growth at 3 percent each. The U.S. remained the second-largest feed-producing country globally, behind China. Feed prices in North America are the lowest globally across all species, and with the availability of land, water and other resources, the region is expected to remain a primary contributor to feed production.  

• Latin America: As a region, Latin America was relatively stagnant this year. Brazil remained the leader in feed production for the region and third overall globally. Brazil, Mexico and Argentina continue to produce the majority of feed in Latin America, with 76 percent of regional feed production. Brazil stayed flat, while Mexico and Argentina saw growth of 1 percent and 4 percent, respectively. Colombia’s feed production grew by approximately 8 percent, primarily due to an increase in pork and egg production. Several countries saw a decline in feed production, such as Venezuela (-27 percent), El Salvador (-16 percent) and Chile (-8 percent).  

• Europe: Europe saw an overall growth of about 4 percent over last year, making it the second-fastest-growing region in the survey, resulting from feed production increases in layer (7 percent), broiler (5 percent), aquaculture (5 percent), dairy (4 percent) and pig (3 percent). Beef was the only primary protein species to decline, though it was less than 1 percent.  

Much of the region’s growth can be attributed to smaller countries, such as Turkmenistan, Macedonia, Azerbaijan, Montenegro, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, which all saw increases in overall production estimates of 20 percent or more. Additionally, larger-producing countries like Russia, Spain and Turkey saw strong increases in feed production estimates, which added to the overall production growth.  

• Asia-Pacific: The Asia-Pacific region is home to several of the top 10 feed-producing countries, including China, India and Japan, and accounted for more than 36 percent of the world’s feed tonnage. China maintained status as the top feed-producing country in the world with 187.89 million metric tons, with 10 million metric tons more than the U.S. Increased production for Asia-Pacific came from India with 13 percent due to growth in dairy, layer and broiler feeds. Other countries that demonstrated higher growth variance included Pakistan, Myanmar and Laos. Southeast Asia’s feed production represented over 20 percent of the Asia-Pacific region’s feed production, with Indonesia, Vietnam, the Philippines and Thailand contributing to 93 percent of Southeast Asia’s feed production.  

• Africa: Africa continued strong growth with a 5 percent increase in overall feed production, and no country in the region saw a decline. Morocco demonstrated strong growth across dairy, beef, layers, broilers and turkeys. The areas that declined for feed production were equine (-4 percent) and pets (-14 percent). These two areas represent a very small proportion of Africa’s overall production, so the impact is very minimal. Most of the major animal production species in ruminant and poultry contributed to the overall growth of the region. 

Notable species results from the 2019 Alltech Global Feed Survey  

• In the poultry industry, major growth areas for layer feed included Europe, Latin America and Asia-Pacific. In Europe, Poland and Uzbekistan each saw growth of around 200,000 metric tons. Latin America had increases in Colombia, Peru, Brazil and Mexico. In the Asia-Pacific region, South Korea, India and Indonesia all saw growth of several hundred metric tons. North America experienced overall growth of 2 percent, in which both the U.S. and Canada saw increased production. Africa saw a small decrease in layer production due to declines in both Egypt and Seychelles. 

Globally, broiler production increased by approximately 3 percent in 2018. There was growth in all regions, except for Latin America, in which a very small decline was observed. Africa showed 9 percent growth, demonstrating an overall trend that as populations grow and become wealthier, interest in protein — particularly in palatable chicken — does as well.  

• Pig feed production saw an increase of nearly 1 percent in 2018. The primary producing region for pig feed is Asia-Pacific, but this was also the only region that saw a decline in pig feed production as Mongolia, Vietnam, China, New Zealand and Japan experienced decreases. From a tonnage standpoint, Europe saw the largest growth at approximately 2.2 million metric tons. Russia and Spain accounted for the majority, while Finland, Denmark, France and Poland also contributed. Latin America saw the greatest growth in pig feed as a percentage at 5 percent, with the largest growth seen in Mexico and Argentina. 

• Global dairy feed production saw growth in North American, Europe and Africa, while Latin America remained flat. Europe, a global leader in dairy production, grew on average by approximately 4 percent. The largest increase was in Turkey with 10 percent, while Ireland, Russia and the U.K. also contributed to the region’s growth. Africa’s growth was primarily due to a significant increase in both Morocco and Nigeria.    

• North America has always led beef feed production and continues to do so with an increase of 3 percent in 2018. Europe saw a small decline at barely 1 percent and remained in second place. Latin America saw strong growth of approximately 8 percent, with Mexico and Argentina as the primary contributors. As a result, the Latin American region has taken third place in beef feed production, moving ahead of the Asia-Pacific region.  China and Australia both saw growth in the Asia-Pacific region but could not offset the overall decline in countries such as Bangladesh, Mongolia, Indonesia, Taiwan, Vietnam and Pakistan. 

• Overall, aquaculture feeds showed growth of 4 percent over last year. This was primarily attributed to strong increases in the Asia-Pacific and European regions. The traditional Asia-Pacific leaders in aquaculture, Vietnam, India and Indonesia, combined for an additional 1.58 million metric tons of feed in the region. China, the region’s leader, also saw an increase of 1 percent over last year. The primary European leaders either experienced strong growth or remained relatively flat. Those that did grow included Norway and Turkey, both at 7 percent, and Spain at a substantial 31 percent. The other regions remained relatively flat or saw only a 1 percent increase or decrease in feed production, demonstrating the continuity of the industry as a whole.  

• The pet food sector saw growth of approximately 1 percent, primarily attributed to an increase in the Asia-Pacific region, which was offset by a decrease in the Latin American and African regions. North America and the Middle East both remained relatively flat. In previous surveys, Europe had been the top-producing region for pet food production, but after a reassessment of 2017 numbers and despite growth of 2 percent, it ranks just behind North America. Europe is estimated in 2018 to have produced 8.6 million metric tons in total, approximately 200,000 behind North America. Africa saw a small decrease in production, but the actual tonnage is quite small compared to many of the other regions. The Latin American region experienced a decrease of about 5 percent, which was spread across several countries, including Chile, Venezuela, El Salvador, Colombia, Argentina and Ecuador. 

To access more data and insights from the 2019 Alltech Global Feed Survey, including the results booklet, an interactive global map and a pre-recorded video presentation of the results by Dr. Mark Lyons, visit alltechfeedsurvey.com.

Alltech now collects data from 144 countries and nearly 30,000 feed mills to compile its annual Alltech Global Feed Survey. This data collection is a major undertaking, made possible only through Alltech’s global reach.

However, the real work (and fun!) begins when all the data is received, and we have the opportunity to dig deep for insights and trends. We seek to answer the following questions:

Which countries are growing the fastest? Which species saw declines in production? Are any major players slowing down? What are the surprises?

The data presents seemingly endless opportunities for comparison, and we’ve decided to share 18 of the facts we’ve found most interesting from our 2018 data. Perhaps this will serve as “food” for your next dinner conversation!

1. The top eight countries produce 55% of the world’s feed production.
2. Vietnam saw an increase of nearly 1 million metric tons of aquaculture feed, contributing to the estimated 6% growth of the Asia-Pacific region’s aquaculture feed production in 2018.
3. Morocco saw the largest growth of any country in Africa thanks to the addition of two new feed mills as well as an extension to an existing feed mill late last year.
4. Although not typically known for its pig production, India took a big leap in pig feed production in 2018. Why? The industry is trending toward more organized farming in areas like Kerala and Punjab, with new feed millers contributing to this growth.
5. Where’s the beef? Feed production for beef was stagnant this year. Not only that, but the third-largest producing region, Asia-Pacific, dropped enough to let Latin America step up and take the bronze.
6. Southeast Asia’s feed production represents over 20% of the Asia-Pacific region’s feed production. Indonesia, Vietnam, the Philippines and Thailand carry most of the weight and contribute to 93% of Southeast Asia’s feed production.
7. Showing 7% growth last year and 13% this year, India is clearly growing its feed production at a rapid clip, not just in one, but in all species! From aquafeed to goat grains, India’s feed production increased across all 13 categories we assess.
8. The European Union (EU) countries contribute to more than 50% of all major species feed production in Europe (with the exception of aquafeed).
9. Norway is Europe’s largest producer of aquafeed, contributing 45% of the region’s total aquafeed production.
10. Layer feed grew by 4% globally, indicating a growing need and continued interest in this efficient protein source.
11. After years battling African swine fever, Estonia is back in the game, showing a more than three-fold increase in pig feed production over last year.
12. Eighty percent of European turkey feed production occurs in the EU.
13. Higher costs of corn and soy reduced Brazil’s broiler feed production by 2%, eating away at the entire region’s total and making Latin America the only region to see a decrease in broiler feed production in 2018.
14. Dairy showed growth in all regions, indicating the ongoing affinity for this protein source.
15. Africa’s feed production grew the most of any region at 5%. Expected to have one of the fastest-growing populations, how will this region farm in the future? Will it embrace conventional farming or leapfrog other methods and embrace Agriculture 4.0?
16. Turkey feed saw a big leap in Spain with an additional 300,000 tons of feed estimated in 2018.
17. Pet feed reassessed: It turns out Europe is not the primary producer as originally thought! North America leads by about 200,000 tons of feed, making it a close race. With a renewed focus on value rather than volume in the pet food sector, who will lead in 2019 and beyond?
18. Insect protein is working its way into aquaculture feed production. It’s possible Alltech will include this new alternative feed source in future surveys!
19. The North American regions continues its steady course of 2% growth; the biggest contributors to this increase were beef and broiler each at 3%.

These quick facts are just a few of the insights we can derive from the Alltech Global Feed Survey. To discover more from the 2019 Alltech Global Feed Survey, including the results booklet, an interactive global map with information from each country and a presentation of the results, visit alltechfeedsurvey.com. 

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The start of a new year means a new generation of spindly-legged foals are making their debut. In just a few short months, these youngsters will have grown significantly, and it will be time for them to leave their mothers — and their mothers’ milk supplies — behind. Not surprisingly, this can be an incredibly stressful time for both parties, but it doesn’t have to be so bad.

Here are five suggestions for reducing weaning-related upset:

1. Introduce creep feeding:

By the time a foal is two to three months old, its mother’s milk production is often starting to decrease, no longer fulfilling the foal’s nutritional needs. Creep feeding with a fortified feed designed specifically for young, growing horses can ensure that these nutritional needs are being met. In addition, it helps prospective weanlings get used to eating grain, providing for a less stressful feeding experience once they are separated from their mothers. You should also be providing free access to good-quality forage and fresh, clean water during this time.

2. Plan ahead:

Decide which method you are going to use for weaning — abrupt or gradual — and then formulate a strategy for when and how you are going to execute this process. Some prefer abrupt weaning in order to get the experience over with quickly, but, if possible, a gradual method through group pasture weaning is considered the least stressful option. This works best when there are multiple pairs to be weaned and horses have been turned out together long enough to form a bond. Determine which foal will be weaned first and remove its mother, taking her to a distant paddock out of sight and earshot (off-property if necessary), while her foal remains in a comfortable setting with friends. Over the next few weeks, the other mares will gradually be taken to join the other newly-weaned mothers until all foals are successfully weaned. Both mares and foals get to stay with horses they know, thereby reducing any related trauma.

3. Give your foal some company:

Horses are herd animals who thrive on the company of others. Proper socialization is critical to a young horse’s development. As mentioned above, if you have more than one foal, you can turn mares and foals out together prior to removing the mares so they can grow accustomed to one another. However, owners with just one broodmare may wonder how to approach finding a suitable companion. Suggested options include a quiet gelding, a retired pony or even a donkey who can effectively serve as a nanny. Older mares who have previously had foals are often good companions for single foals because they can help teach them acceptable horse manners.

4. Provide lots of human interaction:

Weaning is a great opportunity to build trust with a young horse simply by providing companionship. It is also an ideal time to halter break and extensively handle foals. Visit weanlings often to build a rapport and introduce the halter and lead slowly. Whether or not you consider yourself a trainer, you should remember that you are effectively training your young horse to be properly handled and teaching them what is considered appropriate behavior. Do your best to make these interactions positive.

5. Practice safety first:

Despite your best efforts, mother and offspring may still panic a bit at the prospect of being separated. Prior to weaning, check fences and the general environment of the area where the mare(s) and foal(s) will be moving. Remove anything that could potentially cause injuries and, if necessary, repair fencing. Don’t combine weaning with other stressful situations, such as visits from the farrier or vet, vaccinations, extreme weather or an introduction to a new turnout group. Make sure your schedule will allow enough time for you to check mares and foals often, especially in the first couple of days. It is also recommended that, at least for a time, you monitor body temperatures daily, since stress can weaken a foal’s immunity.

I would like to learn more about equine management.

Winners Tammy Wiedenbeck from Lancaster, Wis.; Rachel Ezzell from Waxhaw, N.C.; Jacob Pierce from Waxhaw, N.C.; and Katie Edmondson from Cortez, Col. were selected by public voting on Facebook

[LEXINGTON, Kentucky] – The Alltech #iamAG online agvocacy photo contest showcased the beauty of American agriculture through the eyes of producers, who submitted and shared photos of their farms for the opportunity to win a trip to ONE: The Alltech Ideas Conference (ONE19), to be held in Lexington, Kentucky, on May 19–21, 2019. 

The winners of the Alltech #iamAG photo contest are:

• Tammy Wiedenbeck from Lancaster, Wis. (photo)
• Rachel Ezzell from Waxhaw, N.C. (photo)
• Jacob Pierce from Waxhaw, N.C. (photo)  
• Katie Edmondson from Cortez, Col. (photo)

The submitted photos were posted on Alltech’s Facebook page (Facebook.com/AlltechNaturally) for public voting. Winners and a guest each received free registration to ONE19 and $2,000 for travel expenses.

General registration is now open for ONE: The Alltech Ideas Conference, held in Lexington, Kentucky, USA, from May 19–21, 2019. The annual international conference draws 4,000 attendees from nearly 80 countries to network and discuss world-changing ideas. For more information or to register, visit one.alltech.com. Join the conversation online with #ONE19.

-Ends-

Contact: press@alltech.com

Jenn Norrie

• Communications Manager, North America
• jnorrie@alltech.com; (403) 863-8547

Photo Caption:

Tammy Wiedenbeck from Lancaster, Wis. has won a trip to ONE: The Alltech Ideas Conference in Lexington, Kentucky, USA, for their #iamAG photo.

Photo Caption: 

https://photos.alltech.com/pf.tlx?KvMKg0Kp_XeA

Photo Caption:

https://photos.alltech.com/pf.tlx/7879y7YA833

Jacob Pierce from Waxhaw, N.C has won a trip to ONE: The Alltech Ideas Conference in Lexington, Kentucky, USA, for their #iamAG photo.

Photo Caption:

https://photos.alltech.com/pf.tlx/tQyt4otU.iqpGt

About Alltech:

Founded in 1980 by Irish entrepreneur and scientist Dr. Pearse Lyons, Alltech discovers and delivers solutions for the sustainable nutrition of plants, animals and people. With expertise in yeast fermentation, solid state fermentation and the science of nutrigenomics, Alltech is a leading producer and processor of yeast additives, organic trace minerals, feed ingredients, premix and feed.

Our guiding ACE principle seeks to develop solutions that are safe for the Animal, Consumer and the Environment. Our more than 6,000 talented team members worldwide put this purpose to work every day for our customers.

Alltech is a family-owned company, which allows us to adapt quickly to emerging customer needs and to stay focused on advanced innovation. Headquartered just outside of Lexington, Kentucky, USA, Alltech has a strong presence in all regions of the world. For further information, visit www.alltech.com/news. Join us in conversation on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.

The following is an edited transcript of Nicole Erwin's interview with Dr. William Bernard. Click below to hear the full interview. 

Nicole:         Certain supplements may have a legitimate place in addressing optimal performance in breeding in elite equine athletes. As an equine nutritionist and veterinarian, Dr. William Bernard is here to help provide a bit of perspective on how to identify and utilize the proper products in a multibillion-dollar industry. Dr. Bernard, hello.

William:         Hello, how are you?

Nicole:         Doing okay. Thanks for joining us. When I think about the history of horses in Kentucky, I imagine the sheer number that have made their way onto TV screens across the globe during The Kentucky Derby and other races. How do the stakes change when you're addressing the health of an animal that can have so much invested in its success?

William:         Well, I suppose I could say the stakes change because of the potential monetary value of that performance — if it's a race or a three-day event — or in the value of the animal that is a high performer. So, nutrition and supplements do have a place, and my major interest in that area, currently, is probiotics.

Nicole:         Well, how would you say that the daily demands of an equine athlete compare to, say, a hobby horse, and how would those translate into the nutritional needs to balance the optimal performance and health of that horse?

William:         A hobby horse is going to be nutritionally satisfied by a minimal pasture grass, good hay and, potentially, a little supplementation of a concentrate, such as grains. A performance horse is going to be using a lot more energy, so it's going to need a much higher level of nutrition, although we do have to be somewhat careful in that too high a level [of] nutrition can be harmful metabolically.

                    And then, I think also it's hard for us to realize or difficult for us to see, but the performance horse is under a lot more stress than the hobby horse. The hobby horse may spend a week outside, come in on Sundays, be ridden a little bit or not ridden at all, brushed off and taken care of, but doesn't have that daily stress of, say, a racehorse going out to the racetrack daily and exercising. There may be something new in the environment, there may be a new horse in the barn, and there's also a lot of shipping involved when you get to that level of performance. A performance horse may spend three or four hours in a trailer. It may have to get into an airplane. So, there is not only a caloric nutritional need for the performing athlete, but the consideration of the stressful periods that they actually go through.

Nicole:         There is a lot more attention on the gut response to some of those stressors that you're mentioning. Most animals have their own unique bacterial environment in the gut. Can you talk a bit about challenges in balancing bacteria in horses?

William:         Yes. If you think about one of the simplest things that probably alters that flora — which we can call the microbiota or the microbiome, which is the term that's used now to describe the flora of the gastrointestinal tract — the way we feed horses is totally different than the way they developed. The horse developed as a grazing animal; it spent the majority of the day grazing on grass — and, oftentimes, not that great quality of grass. Nowadays, we feed high-quality hay because they need the energy and we feed supplements, concentrates and grain, which are also high in soluble carbohydrates. And, yes, they provide a large amount of energy. However, we feed them in meals. The horse is a grazing animal. It's not used to being fed large meals of 10-12 pounds of grain. So that's one of the things that occurs, is that we initially stress the horse with the way we feed them.

                    And then, as we were talking about a few minutes ago, the stresses of their daily activities, the stresses of the social environment or lack of social environment, the stresses of being inside most of the day, the stresses of their performance, their stresses of travel, et cetera, can really influence the gastrointestinal tract. There have been some very interesting recent studies that have showed how stress can actually change the flora within minutes or within hours of that stressor.

                    Part of the aspect of probiotics and the microbiome that has become very interesting is the testing. When a new test comes out in some field, all of a sudden, we discover new things when we're able to look differently, look further, look in different places.

                    Relatively recently, RNA sequencing has become a technique where a scientist, veterinarian or biologist can take a sample of the flora of the gastrointestinal tract and do what's called the RNA sequencing — some people call it “shotgun RNA” — and can determine all of the different species and the number of those species of bacteria in that sample.

                    The reason that's such a huge advancement is that, in the past, we took that sample and had to culture the bacteria, which is not an exact science. Each bacterium has its own growth characteristics, and you can imagine the thousands of cultures you'd have to do on one sample to try to determine what it is. The new technique has allowed us to look at the population of bacteria in the gastrointestinal tract over time.

                    Studies have shown that, if you have a group of pigs and you look at their microflora with this sequencing of RNA, and then you stress those pigs and take another sample — you stress them by moving them from one pen to another or changing something predominantly in their life — you've changed the bacteria.

                    That also reflects on how we study these bacteria. If we're going to study these bacteria, we have to remember that, if we stress the animal before our study or during our study, we better watch where we take our samples or when we take our samples.

Nicole:         It seems like that would be kind of challenging in creating a meal plan for a specific horse, if the microbiome can change so quickly and be so different than the horse that's in the stall next to him. How do you determine feeding rates, what kind of feed, what probiotics to use? What has the research revealed that is working best, I guess, across the board?

William:         I think there's a lot of research on how to feed horses. That has been studied extensively because there is a financial reason to do so, not only for the feed companies but for the owners of the athletes themselves. Nutritionally, that has been researched and that information is definitely available.

                    Now, in the last 10 to 15 years, we've increased the amount of fat we feed horses. The thing to remember is, if you do make changes in the diet, you're going to need to make them gradually. If you make a sudden change to the diet, you're going to have a major impact on the gastrointestinal flora. If you make more of a gradual change to the diet, you're going to give it more time to adapt.

                    To get away from meal-feeding if possible, to extend that period of which we feed our concentrates, the trouble is that the management of that is very difficult. So, part of the way we manage the daily activities of these horses is going to dictate how we feed them.

Nicole:         What are some of the challenges in determining what probiotics you can use?

William:         That's a really good question — and a very important question [that] has not really been addressed in the past: What kind of probiotics should you be looking for? What are the factors that tell you this is a good probiotic? There are three or four very important things. One, and probably one of the most important, is species specificity. That means that, if you're going to use a probiotic for a horse, it should be a bacterium that's from the horse. If you're going to use a probiotic for a dog, it should be from the dog. If you're going to use a probiotic for the human, it should be a bacterium that was cultured from — originated from — a human. So that's what I mean by species specificity.

                    The reason for that is that, if you take a dog bacterium and give it to a horse, most of the probiotics that are of significance lived along the surface of the gastrointestinal tract. The organisms that digest feed live internally in the gastrointestinal tract. The probiotics live along the surface. So, if you're a dog bacterium, you're probably not going to attach to and live on the surface of the gastrointestinal tract — the surface cells of the gastrointestinal tract of the horse. So that's why species specificity is important.

                    Now, that's not always 100-percent true. There is some thought that some of the dog bacteria in the gastrointestinal tract are very similar to human bacteria and may live together very well. The reason is because the dog and the human have evolved together for so long. So, maybe that case is different, but there are probiotics on the market now that are cheese culture bacteria. Why are you giving bacteria that makes cheese to a horse? You need a bacterium from that individual, that's been cultured from that individual and, then, will have the ability to live on the surface and reproduce and grow on the surface of that species.

                    The other thing is that it's very important to give live bacteria. Dead bacteria will have only some benefit.

Nicole:         How can you tell if it's alive or dead?

William:         Well, it should have a guarantee, but oftentimes those guarantees aren't very accurate. But it should have a guarantee of live bacteria at time of use. Then, you want to look at the type of product packaging. If it's a container with a lid, you're very unlikely to have live bacteria. The reason for that is, as soon as you take that lid off, there is going to be exposure to moisture in the air, and bacteria there in probiotics are generally lyophilized or freeze-dried. Those freeze-dried bacteria, when exposed to moisture, will come to life. They're not dead because they've been freeze-dried, but they'll be able to start to reproduce. If they're not in an environment where they can live, they're going to die. They're not from a container. They can't live in the container unless they're lyophilized.

                    A product needs to be an individual dosage product, like a sachel or a packet, or it needs to be in something that is hydrophobic — something that doesn't like water, like an oil base or a paste that's oil-based — or potentially a tablet. Certainly, one of the worst things would be just a container you take a scoop out of. Those bacteria are unlikely to be alive. So, live bacteria are very important.

                    The other thing, besides species specificity and live bacteria, would be numbers. If you see it has a million bacteria per dose, that's not very good. We're probably needing billions of bacteria per dose. Now, if you're giving a sick animal —because probiotics can be very useful for a sick animal with gastrointestinal disease — there are two ways to think about giving probiotics. One is your sick patient, and that's where I got my interest in probiotics — my specialty is in internal medicine. I treat a lot of horses with gastrointestinal disease, enterocolitis — which is a fancy name for diarrhea — and probiotics, to me, are very helpful for treatment and recovery, probably more so for recovery of returning to a normal stool. The other way that probiotics are given is more as a daily.

                    So, you're giving a sick animal a probiotic — you want to give a horse 20 billion to 50 billion. If you're giving a daily, you can get a lower number, but it should still be in the billions, because the idea with a daily is to continually replenish that important bacteria.

Nicole:         If a horse owner is looking at getting into probiotics, can they just get it over-the-counter, or would you recommend them going to their vet?

William:         I think you can do either/or. Honestly, when I was in veterinary school, we learned a lot about bacteria, but we learned about bad bacteria. The good bacteria were those bacteria that were in cows and horses — or ruminant and non-ruminant herbivores — that digested the feed stuffs. We learned about those bacteria, and we learned about the bad bacteria: Salmonella, E. coli, Clostridium, et cetera. But we didn't spend a lot of time learning about the good bacteria and what they actually do and how they do it, which is fascinating, and it’s a more an evolving science.

                    So, as a veterinarian, I can say that a lot of veterinarians don't really have the knowledge about probiotics. Obviously, as a veterinarian, I'm not trying to be critical of veterinarians, but I didn't understand either until I looked into it.

                    I think you can do either/or. You can have conversations with your veterinarian or you can go to where you buy your supplements and ask, but look for things with live bacteria, large numbers and species specificity.

Nicole:         What made you look in this direction? Was it the veterinary feed directive coming into play?

William:         No, and that's a good question. I'll tell you: what got me interested in this was my patients. When I had an active veterinary practice, I worked in a hospital and I had sick horses. We would have our rounds in the morning, and students and interns and residents would ask me, "Well, why are we not using probiotics?" They were coming out of school with more knowledge about probiotics than I had, so they were asking me questions about not using a probiotic. What I'd learned with time is [to] never disagree — some students may know a lot more about some things than you do, so be careful — but I didn't really know until I looked into it. It's because we didn't have good bacteria. The bacteria were dead. At that time, there was a veterinarian in Canada at the University of Guelph who cultured ten of the probiotics that were available, and they all had dead bacteria. A lot of them had bacteria that were from other species or cheese cultures, etc.

                    So that's what started me into it. I was trying to help my patients because, to treat a horse with diarrhea, we were limited. Yes, we can use antibiotics, but we had to be careful because we may even be killing more gastrointestinal bacteria. We used bismuth subsalicylate, which is basically Pepto-Bismol. We used charcoal to try to bind toxins. There's a lot of things we have, but we didn't have something really good to replace the flora of the gastrointestinal tract.

Nicole:         What kind of changes in performance have you witnessed in preventive nutritional plans versus pharmacological treatment?

William:         That's a really good question, because I love that word, “preventative.” If you think about it, as veterinarians, what preventatives do we practice in our backyard horses, in our athletes, in our breeding horses? Vaccinations? That's a preventative. Deworming, treating parasites or preventing parasites — that's a preventative. We've been doing that for years. We haven't really addressed the gastrointestinal tract as far as the flora at all. I think it's potentially an inexpensive way, particularly in young animals or young horses you're raising.

                    There's been some work done in humans that has shown how important that certain bacteria are to the development of the immune system. One of the bacteria that I'm most interested is called Lactobacillus reuteri, and this bacterium is critical to the development of an infant's immune system — not only in the horse, dog or the cow, but to humans. If you think about it, what have we done in human medicine in raising a newborn that has changed their flora the most? Where does the infant get its flora?

Nicole:         Its mother.

William:         Its mother, correct. It gets it from passage through the birth canal and from feeding. So, what have we done? We feed a lot of milk replacer — or, as it’s called for humans, infant formula. We do a lot of cesarian sections in humans, so they don't get their flora. The flora is critical. There have been studies that have shown that adding Lactobacillus reuteri back to some of these infant formulas has produced a healthier child. Studies have been done in mice and other species with Lactobacillus reuteri to show how some of these effects occur and develop the immune system.

Nicole:         What would you say is the current owner or industry perception of probiotics, and how do you see it evolving?

William:         I think it's a matter of education. I really do. I think that we see a lot of human probiotics being advertised on television, so people have the knowledge of a probiotic, but I don't think they have the knowledge of the importance of species specificity, the importance of live bacteria, et cetera. I think those are the things that people don't understand — not that they should, because they just haven't been told. They're not exposed to that information. But I think the perception and use of probiotics is going to expand when we see what it can do.

Nicole:         Dr. William Bernard is an equestrian veterinarian in Lexington, Kentucky. Thank you so much.

William:         Thank you.

I want to learn more about improving horse health and performance! 

Have you ever looked at a feed tag or bag and wondered what all the information meant — and whether it was even necessary? 

By law, commercial feeds must have certain information listed on the tag or bag. A typical feed tag will list product name, a guaranteed analysis, ingredient list, the name and address of the manufacturer or distributor, feeding directions and net weight.

The ways in which information is listed can vary either because of individual state laws or manufacturer preference.  For instance, ingredients may be listed individually or by using collective terms. While some manufacturers list ingredients by order of inclusion rate, from greatest to least, this is not a requirement. Additionally, individual state laws govern whether certain nutrients can be included in the guaranteed analysis.

A general understanding of the information contained on feed tags can help when choosing a feed.

What exactly is a guaranteed analysis?

Two feeds may have the same or similar guaranteed analyses, but the actual feeds may be very different. The guaranteed analysis simply tells the guaranteed concentration of nutrients (protein, fat, fiber, minerals, etc.) in the feed. When a sample of the feed is tested, the level of nutrients must not be less than the minimum guarantee or more than the maximum guarantee. The guaranteed analysis does NOT, however, reveal anything specific about those ingredients, either their quantity or quality. Thus, two feeds may have the same guaranteed analysis but contain different ingredients.

Buzzword nutrients

Even when a nutrient is included in the guaranteed analysis, that nutrient may not necessarily be nutritionally significant or beneficial to the horse. A common example is biotin, a B-vitamin known to help improve hoof quality. Research has shown that 20 milligrams of biotin are needed per day to benefit the hoof of an average-sized riding horse (i.e., ~1200 pounds). Some feeds list biotin in the guaranteed analysis at a concentration of or around 0.40 milligrams per pound. At this concentration, the horse would have to consume 50 pounds of this feed per day, every day, to obtain the requisite 20 milligrams of biotin. This feeding rate is unrealistic — but some feeds may contain the same or similar concentrations of biotin and not list it in the guaranteed analysis. Thus, consumer beware: make sure listed nutrients are sufficiently concentrated enough to actually benefit the horse.

Ingredients: Are you getting what you pay for?

Ingredients may be listed individually by specific name (e.g., oats, corn, barley) or by collective terms for the grouping of the ingredient (e.g., grain products). Collective terms may be used when trying to keep a formula or portion of the formula confidential due to the uniqueness of the product or ingredients. Other reasons for using collective terms include shortening the ingredient list or when least cost formulating. Least cost formulating — which occurs with both collective and individual ingredient lists — happens when the ingredients in the feed change with fluctuating ingredient costs. Oftentimes, having less interest in the quality of the ingredients goes hand-in-hand with the philosophy of least cost formulating.

Ingredient quality

Regulations do not permit information regarding the grade — that is, the quality — of the ingredients to be placed on the tag, which is important to consider when selecting feeds. For instance, two feeds may have the same ingredient list, but one may use a much higher grade of grain. A higher-quality grain means less contamination and, often, increased nutrient availability.

Besides individual grain quality, some grains are simply better for horses than others. For instance, oats are typically the grain of choice for horse feeds because they are relatively high in fiber and are not as prone to harmful molds and mycotoxins as other grains, such as corn. The fiber content of oats is helpful in reducing the risk of digestive upset and founder. Additionally, oat starch is more efficiently utilized by the horse when compared to other grains typically fed to horses.

Summary

Interpreting feed tags can be quite difficult; what is listed on the tag reveals very little about what is inside the bag, ingredient- or quality-wise. Asking questions and researching grain quality and ingredients are the best tools for finding and feeding a superior-quality feed. 

When selecting feeds for horses, some important questions to ask include:

• Does the horse need the nutrients listed?
• Are the nutrients concentrated at a level beneficial to the horse?
• Is the formula fixed, or does it fluctuate with ingredient prices?
• Are the grains utilized the best available for horses? What quality of grain is being used?
• What is my cost per head per day for feeding? Could I reduce the cost per day and also have a healthier horse by feeding a higher-quality feed?

I want to learn more about equine nutrition.

The following is an edited transcript of Tom Martin's interview with Dr. Richard Murphy and Dr. Roger Scaletti. Click below to hear the complete audio:

Tom:            Why are we still using inorganic minerals? Why do nutritionists continue to overfeed nutrients and waste money? How can a mineral management program improve the health of the herd? Here to discuss these questions, among others, about the role of minerals in animal nutrition are Dr. Richard Murphy, research director at the Alltech European Bioscience Center in Dunboyne, Ireland, and Dr. Roger Scaletti, who focuses on the technical sales and support of the Alltech® Mineral Management program. Thank you both for being with us.

                    There may be some confusion and contention around the issue of organic versus inorganic minerals and the effectiveness of one over the other. First, Dr. Murphy, a brief primer, if you would, on the difference between organic versus inorganic?

Richard:        That's a great way to start this conversation. I guess it's going to be a fun conversation over the next while! Effectively, when we talk about organic minerals, all we've done is taken the mineral source, we've reacted it with an amino acid or a peptide or some other organic bonding group, and we basically make that mineral protected. Rather than thinking about an inorganic mineral as just being straight mineral, with the organic mineral, we've protected the mineral, and that protection offers us a lot of benefits. Particularly in the intestinal tract, it offers us stability — changing the pH that we would see in the gastrointestinal tract.

                    For instance, at the start of the intestinal tract, the pH is neutral. When it gets into the gastric environment — or the stomach — it becomes very acidic. Those changes in pH can impact amino acid. With the organic mineral, what we're doing is we're bonding it to either an amino acid or a peptide or some other organic molecule, and that protects us as it moves through the GI tract and makes it much more stable.

Tom:            Dr. Scaletti, just to be clear, is the use of organic versus inorganic specific to the production method? In other words, are organic minerals only for organic farms?

Roger:          Another great question. No, organic minerals would be beneficial for any farm. In a typical presentation, I would start off by saying when I mention organic minerals — I'm not talking about not using pesticides or herbicides — I'm talking about the chemistry of carbon, just like Dr. Murphy mentioned. Remember, there is no real requirement for inorganic trace minerals.  Animals need zinc, copper, manganese, selenium, etc. every day, but the source of that trace mineral is not dictated, so organic minerals are suitable for all different production systems.

Tom:            Okay, for either of you, has research proven that an organic mineral is more bioavailable and usable by the animal?

Richard:        Absolutely. I think Roger would agree. We've got an absolute wealth of information that we've built up over the last 20 years or so showing that the organic minerals are a far superior source of mineral to use in all diets.

Roger:          Yes, like Dr. Murphy mentioned, the bioavailability part, I think, is what gets people's attention initially. But then, at the end of the day, the farmer, no matter what species, is looking for a production response. So, we also have research covering production responses that you would see as you change your mineral supplementation from inorganic to organic.

Tom:            What is it about organic minerals that makes them more beneficial?

Richard:        For me — my background is in biochemistry — it's trying to understand how minerals interact, not just in terms of how the animal responds to it, but how those minerals would interact with feed and materials, for instance. Certainly, with the organic minerals, you have benefits beyond just health and just performance in that we change the way in which we can impact or influence the nutrients in the diet.

                    With the organic minerals, we know it will have less of an impact on vitamin stability, less of an impact on antioxidant function. Even with some of the enzymes that are part of the gastrointestinal and digestion process — they won't be as impacted by organic minerals as they would by inorganics.

Roger:          Then, to follow a little bit with Dr. Murphy's comment, some of the, for example, enzyme interaction work that we've done in vitro has been done in dairy cows as well, showing that, when you're only supplementing with organic minerals — in our case, Bioplex® and Sel-Plex® — you have a more effective rumen fermentation. So, you're producing more total volatile fatty acids and more butyrate, which is kind of the business of the rumen: to produce those volatile fatty acids. Whether it's a case of the organic minerals enhancing that or leading to accelerated rumen organism replication, it's one possible pathway, but I think another possible pathway would be that you're removing rumen microorganism inhabitation when you take out the inorganic minerals.

Tom:            Which trace minerals are key to improving livestock performance? Is there a shortlist?

Roger:          The shortlist would be zinc, manganese, copper, cobalt and selenium. Depending on where you are in the world, or even within a given country, one of those may be more important than another one. In North America, our most important mineral for supplementation and consideration would be selenium, just based on the background selenium in soil, which is going to dictate the selenium in forages and grains. Those five would be the main ones. On the monogastric animal, we would add iron to that. We have six minerals we'd be talking about.

Tom:            We may have touched on this a little bit before, but what is known about the utilization of the minerals by the animal — or animals, I should say?

Richard:        Well, minerals themselves are used in many different ways. Predominantly, when you look at their role in cellular systems, they're essential co-factors for many different enzymes, for instance. You won't get cellular processes working optimally or working efficiently if you don't have the necessary mineral required for the enzyme to carry out its function, or for the enzyme that's necessary for those biological functions.

                    They're wide-ranging. If you look at copper, for instance, it's involved in many different enzymes that are involved in the antioxidant response. Selenium is a particularly important one in terms of its ability to modulate, not just in antioxidant response, but in many other enzymes that are involved in many other processes as well. So, really, they're essential and critical for the most basic of cellular functions.

Tom:            Are there differences in animal chemistry species to species, or even within species, that cause mineral forms to perform differently?

Roger:          My answer — and this would be more in Richard’s wheelhouse — but just in a ruminant, we have to deal with the rumen, the rumen environment, the rumen microorganisms. In other species, you wouldn't have the rumen part. In equine or in horses, they would have a hindgut fermentation. There’s a difference in terms of how each animal is set up, but for the most part, you're seeing the similar benefits from organic minerals across the species.

Richard:        There is one common factor across all species — we touched on this at the start — which is that change in pH along the length of the GI tract. That's one of the most critical parameters that is involved in defining how good or how poor a mineral source is. If that mineral source is enabled to withstand those constant changes in pH, you won't get it to the sites of absorption in the intestine. You really need to look at having a stable mineral molecule. Obviously, organic minerals are the most stable of those. But even within the different types of organic mineral products that are out there, you'll see distinct differences in terms of the stabilities of individual products, and that will have an impact on how individual products will function in the animal.

Tom:            Why do organic trace minerals mean less inclusion, less waste and better meat quality?

Roger:          Well, to me the starting point would be that you don't need as much mineral to get the job done. Corollary to that, you're getting a more effective job done with organic minerals. I think, over the years, in the industry side of things, it's kind of been a race to the top. One company was using however many PPM [parts per million] — or milligrams — of a mineral, and the next company would add a little more to it, operating under the old adage of more is better.

                    Well, that's really not the case. We found, and have the research to show, that you're getting a more effective response with less mineral use, probably through a lot of the pathways Dr. Murphy mentioned, but it's not always an apples-to- apples comparison. Zinc oxide, at a given parts-per-million, is not going to perform the same as a zinc proteinate, or Bioplex zinc, at a much lower concentration inclusion in the diet.

Richard:        It's actually of interest on the regulatory side — and I think Dr. Scaletti would probably agree with this as well — when you look at changes in legislation over the last number of years, in particular in the EU, there have been changes in the maximum permissible limits that are allowed in feed. I think the zinc — this is just back to Roger's mention of zinc oxide there — I think the zinc area is one in which we can demonstrate that quite nicely. There's a lot of talk in the EU about how they're going to ban zinc oxide use as a prophylactic and prevent scouring in piglets and calves, for instance.

                    One of the reasons for that that they've quoted is that the regulators are concerned about the impact that zinc oxide can have on co-selection for antimicrobial resistance. But when you look at the permissible limits that they have of zinc in feed, they make reference to the use of phytase, for instance, as being a way to perhaps enhance the effectiveness of the zinc source that's added to the diet or enhance the background level of zinc that's in the feed.

                    All in all, I think there's a move by the regulators. Now, the regulators, if they want to change those limits again, will have to come back and revisit the delineation between inorganic and organic minerals and the differences in terms of the bioavailabilities of those. I think, in the future, we may even see regulators like the EU body — which would be the EFSA (the European Food Safety Authority) — would say, “Okay, we'll need to examine this in more detail.”

                    Certainly, the Brazilian authorities have already done that. They've made a clear delineation between the availability of inorganic and organic mineral sources. The more recent documents that have been published by authorities in Brazil basically delineate clearly between what levels of inorganic you should feed in a diet and what levels of organic you should feed in the diet, and they're distinctly different.

Tom:            As you have observed improvements in performance, are there any lessons? Any takeaways from that experience that have informed what you do going forward?

Roger:          I would say: more isn't better. I think a lot of people are accustomed to looking at a tag or a ration report, and they're looking for a certain number or level of mineral supplementation. That's only so useful if you, then, don't read the ingredient list and see, is it coming from oxide, sulfate, organic proteinate — whatever the case may be. I think the source of mineral is more important than the amount. So again, it's about making sure it's an apples-to-apples comparison, and less doesn't mean less performance. I think a lot of times, at least in the United States, our industry would be looking for high levels of supplementation, and they equate high level with being good or what is essential, and that's not really the case.

Richard:        Just to add to that as well, Dr. Scaletti, I think it's important that the industry really looks at organic minerals and says they're not all the same. There is a misconception, I think, within the industry. You have all these different brand names and different types of organic mineral products. I guess the natural inclination is to say, “Well, it's an organic mineral. One product must be the same as the other.” There are very distinct differences between them.

                    Again, this is back to that concept of how that mineral source interacts or how stable it is as it moves through the GI tract. Certainly, in some of the work that we've seen from the team at our European Biocenter in Ireland, we've basically shown there are very distinct differences in terms of the stabilities of different organic trace mineral products, and that can have distinct impacts, not just on the bioavailability, but also in which [of] those different products would interact with different premix and different feed components.

Tom:            There are some misperceptions out there about minerals. What beliefs are most prominent and how do you address them?

Richard:        I think the biggest misconception is with regard to size. That's probably the biggest industry misconception that's there, and that's a historical one. Originally, when organic minerals first became available, they were simply complexes between amino acids, like methionine or lysine, with copper and with zinc. Certainly, people thought, “Well, if you have a small bonding group, then absorption of it is much better or delivery of it is much easier.” That's not the case. What we've seen is that it's the type of bonding group that's used — so, the type of amino acid. But, particularly when you get into peptide-based technologies like we see in Bioplex, it's the actual amino acid sequence in those peptides. So, it's even more fundamental than we would have thought in the past. The configuration and the type of amino acids present in the peptide would very significantly influence the stability.

                    I think the biggest misconception in the industry about organic trace minerals is that size is important. I can absolutely say with certainty size is not an issue. It's the type of bonding group that's used. And more importantly, when you look at peptides, it's the configuration and the sequence of amino acids that are in the peptide that are of more importance.

Roger:          I would just maybe follow up with that in regard to organic selenium. The battle is typically, “What is the content of selenomethionine in a selenium yeast product?” Dr. Murphy would have research showing it's not only an effect of how much selenomethionine you have present; it's how much of that can be digested and released. So, again, just coming back to that concept of “more isn't always better,” especially if what you're supplementing isn't released — or isn't available — to the animal.

Richard:        Yeah, that's actually a great point, Dr. Scaletti, just on the organic selenium side. Certainly, in the EU, we've seen newer forms of, again, so-called organic selenium sources being produced and available for sale, and these are actually chemically synthesized selenomethionine and selenomethionine derivatives that are distinctly different and have a distinctly different offering than you would see with selenium yeast products, such as Sel-Plex, for instance.

                    Again, it's back to the concept of stability. Free selenomethionine molecule is not necessarily the most stable one when you look at again the influences of those processes in the GI tract. So, certainly, even within organic selenium sources, [it’s a] much, much different proposition now with the availability of these newer chemically synthesized molecules.

Tom:            Livestock in many parts of the world have been overfed inorganic forms of trace minerals, such as copper, manganese and zinc, to offset their inefficient digestibility. The excess ends up in manure, and levels of these trace minerals have gotten so high that it's actually illegal to spread that manure out in the fields to support growth forages or grain. So, what happens to all of that excess manure? We're stuck with it?

Richard:        Well, I guess if we can't spread it, we've got to do something with it, and it looks like we could be. I know from some of the newer technologies that are coming out — some great startup companies that are basically looking at detoxifying heavy metal in soils using microbial-based solutions. So, perhaps, this is one way in which we can look at remediating those heavily contaminated lagoons, if you like.

                    Other options may be stripping-based technologies. These are basically looking at removing minerals, and this will be costly, Tom, I would have to say, removing mineral with EDTA-based chelation. But, certainly, something has to be done, and I think organic minerals are, without a doubt, one of the solutions to the problem. You can look at adding less mineral, having less runoff and then, obviously, less contamination in those lagoons. Certainly, the drive toward reducing environmental contamination will definitely be driven and solved, without a doubt, by the increased use of organic minerals over the next couple of years.

Tom:            In some places, regulation is beginning to force the issue. A number of countries around the world have already passed legislation restricting the use of trace minerals because this overfortification has led to pollution. Do you see this type of legal action as a continuing trend?

Richard:        I guess it goes back to the comment I made earlier about the regulations around zinc and zinc usage in feed, but also, then, the impending ban in the EU on zinc oxide as a prophylactic. I think the regulators will take a greater look at the issue, and I think they will certainly have to start making decisions on whether they promote organic minerals as a way in which we can reduce this or not. It's not the job of a regulator to promote a brand of products, but certainly, I think, when you look at the proposition that organic minerals give in terms of being a solution to the problem, they'll have to start promoting the use of organic minerals as a way in which you can add less, not impacting performance, and have much less of an environmental impact.

Roger:          I would just say that I think the path forward is just going to depend [on] where you are in the world. I don't know that the United States is looking at any of these zinc, manganese or copper regulations any time soon. Our only regulations in terms of trace minerals would be selenium and the mineral we haven't talked about today: iodine. If you're using iodine in the EDDI (ethylenediamine dihydroiodide) form, there are limits on how much you're allowed to feed. Other than that, selenium would be our only regulated mineral, and today, we could go out and supplement as much zinc as we want in any animal in the United States without a problem.

Tom:            Are you seeing growth in the organic minerals market?

Roger:          We're seeing tremendous growth, both globally and regionally. In North America, I think, as people realize, again, that it's not an apples-to-apples comparison or you're not just looking at a level of mineral — that you need to pay attention to the form — that people are realizing that organic minerals have an important role. I also think we're getting a little bit closer on the cost difference; inorganic minerals are still cheaper, but their price keeps going up. I don't know that cost is as prohibitive as it used to be, from a practical farm level.

                    That's probably the only reason people aren't using organic minerals as their only source. It's a cost thing. Now, when you start looking at the response and, then, the return over investment opportunity, well, it's not a cost: it's a profit-maker. So, I think it's just a slow change.

                    When you look at trace minerals, for 60-70 years, we used inorganic minerals; for the past 20, we've used organic. So, it's still pretty new in terms of what's going on in the general supplementation industry. When you look at some of the different documents out there — for example, National Research Council or NRC Guidelines — they really don't get into a discussion on form. As Dr. Murphy mentioned, the Brazilian government recognizes that there are form differences, and some other countries around the world are starting to do so as well. I still think it’s left to feed companies, nutritionists and, ultimately, the farmer or end user to make a decision of, “Do I want to make an investment? If so, how much?” That's kind of where the decision is today.

Tom:            As you continue working toward better performance in animals, are you exploring new ideas for delivering nutrition more efficiently? Is that just an ongoing process?

Richard:        Yeah, it's an ongoing evolution. I think we've moved, over the last number of years, more toward, rather than thinking about nutrition as just being an individual component, we've really focused on the benefits of multicomponent packs. Certainly, there are a lot of different synergies you can get from different products present in a pack and the many ways you can get, I guess, good synergism between those components. Certainly, with some of the Blueprint® products that we have in Alltech, we've seen tremendous increases in health or performance and, again, these are multicomponent impacts. Rather than thinking about nutrition as being individual components added together, we tend to think about the synergism that we can get from multiple components out of them. That's something that we'll focus on more and more over the next couple of years.

Tom:            This has been really enjoyable. I have one final question: what new developments in minerals or mineral feeding strategies do you think we might see within the next five years or so?

Roger:          I don't know if I see a new development as much as just people embracing organic minerals more than they currently do. I'd say, currently, most of the industry would be at some sort of a partial supplementation, where the bulk of the mineral that's being supplemented is inorganic sulfate or oxide, and then they try to come up with how much organic to put in. They want to get all the benefits of organic, but they don't want all the price.

                    I see more of the bigger advancement being, as people just progress through that decision in their head, from partial replacement to more of the full replacement or total replacement, and realizing that organic minerals are what's doing the heavy lifting – that there really isn't a big need for those inorganic minerals that, for maybe just historical purposes, they just can't seem to kick out of the ration.

Tom:            Do you see something in the near future, Dr. Murphy?

Richard:        I'd agree with Dr. Scaletti in that. We’re going to see increased awareness in the benefits of organic minerals and how you can use less of those organic minerals and not have a negative impact on health and performance. That, obviously, is going to feed into an environmental benefit. I think we'll also see changes, perhaps, in the way in which we apply these minerals. I think people are looking more and more toward technology as a driver of agriculture.

                    I think we'll see differences in the next few years in the way in which feed delivery is made, in the way in which you can actually begin to look at delivering feed on farms. I do think we'll see more and more digital-based technologies that will influence feeding strategies, and then, it will obviously influence how we formally feed.

Tom:            Dr. Richard Murphy, research director at the Alltech European Bioscience Center in Dunboyne, Ireland, and Dr. Roger Scaletti, who focuses on the technical sales and support of the Alltech Mineral Management program. Thank you both for joining us.

Richard:        Thank you very much.

Roger:          Thank you.  

Drs. Scaletti and Murphy presented their insights during ONE: The Alltech Ideas Conference (ONE18). Don't miss the chance to hear the latest in animal health and nutrition at ONE19. Click here to learn more. 

In the horse world, we often hear people refer to their “horse of a lifetime.” As the story goes, every horse person will own one at some point in their life, if they’re lucky enough. Some will be beloved trail companions or elite show champions, while others may have a successful winning edge on the racetrack. But all good things must come to an end, right? Not necessarily.

Cloning, the controversial practice that first came to our attention with the birth of Dolly, a female domestic sheep, in July of 1996, is making it possible to have a genetic replica of your favorite four-legged friend — be it a horse, dog or a whole host of other species. But it’ll cost you, and success isn’t necessarily ensured. Still, if you find yourself curious about the process, here are five things you should know:

1. Break open your piggy bank:

Producing a genetic twin of a horse can cost more than $150,000. That may sound like a lot of money to some, but horses are big business for others, and the opportunity to protect and multiply the genetics of superior animals makes cloning a valuable option for many owners and breeders.

2. The same, but also different:

While the DNA of the cloned horse will exactly match that of the donor, the genetics could be expressed differently than they were in the original animal. We often discuss gene expression as it applies to nutrigenomics research at Alltech. Despite all cells containing a complete genetic code, only a fraction of these genes are expressed — or “switched on” — depending on cell type, availability of nutrients, bioactive compounds and other stimuli.

3. No guarantees:

Just like two famous Michaels — Jordan and Phelps — weren’t born knowing how to dribble a basketball or swim, horses are also products of their environment. Sure, natural talent and ability are helpful, but nutrition, management, handling and training also play a vital role. Just because the original horse was a champion doesn’t mean the cloned horse will be, too.

4. Just because you can…:

Should you? Controversy still surrounds this process. Many don’t feel it’s right to mess with Mother Nature and risk future problems with genetic mutations or bottlenecks that may occur as a result of breeding a specific line. And some breed organizations, including the Jockey Club and the American Quarter Horse Association, oppose the process and will not accept cloned horses or their progeny into their registries.

5. The bigger picture:

Cloning has a wider value in animal reproduction, especially in the preservation of threatened species. Dr. Katrin Hinrichs, professor and Patsy Link Chair of mare reproductive studies at Texas A&M University, offers some insight: “The main justification I see for cloning is to preserve genetics, as in valuable geldings or in the case of rare or endangered species or breeds, so that you can expand the gene pool. You could use cells from animals that died decades ago (if the cells were recovered before or at death and frozen) that are under-represented in the population today.”¹

Still not convinced you’d want to take the leap and recreate your furry friend, even if money was no object? Neither am I. Nevertheless, whether you agree with the practice of cloning or find it entirely objectionable, I hope you’ve learned as much as I have from this brief glance.

¹ Evans, M. (2016). An inside look at equine cloning. Retrieved from https://www.horsejournals.com/horse-care/alternative-therapies/inside-look-equine-cloning.

I would like to keep up with advances in equine technology.