Lysine is one of the 20 amino acids essential to horses, but it often is the most deficient in their diets due to its inadequate levels in commonly-fed cereal grains. Amino acids are the building blocks of protein, which form muscle, enzymes, and hormones throughout the body. Horses can only use them if all essential amino acids are present at sufficient levels. If one amino acid, such as lysine, is deficient, the horse’s body will use it up and convert the excess of the remaining amino acids into carbon dioxide, which is exhaled, and to urea, which is excreted in the urine.

Kristine Urschel, PhD, an assistant professor in animal and food Sciences for the University of Kentucky (UK) College of Agriculture, was awarded a $150,000 grant from the USDA’s Agricultural and Food Research Initiative, and the National Institute of Food and Agriculture to study lysine requirements in horses.

"Receiving funds for research through USDA- AFRI is a great achievement for two reasons," said Nancy Cox, associate dean for research in UK’s College of Agriculture, Kentucky Agricultural Experiment Station director and administrative leader for UK’s Equine Initiative. "One, this program is so competitive that few researchers land funding on the first try. Also, it is much harder to secure funding for equine research, since more than 90% of USDA animal research is on food animals."

"Dr. Urschel is to be congratulated for this phenomenal success," Cox said