Mycotoxins and Metabolic Stress in Equine Athletes

Thanks to climate change and increasing amounts of grain blends, the prevalence of feed-borne mycotoxins (dangerous toxins exuded from molds) is on the rise, according to Trevor Smith, PhD, of the University of Guelph, Canada. Smith, a professor with a research interest in feed and food toxicology, discussed the effects of one of the most common families of mycotoxins–Fusarium–on
Share
Favorite
Close

No account yet? Register

ADVERTISEMENT

Thanks to climate change and increasing amounts of grain blends, the prevalence of feed-borne mycotoxins (dangerous toxins exuded from molds) is on the rise, according to Trevor Smith, PhD, of the University of Guelph, Canada. Smith, a professor with a research interest in feed and food toxicology, discussed the effects of one of the most common families of mycotoxins–Fusarium–on horses at the Veterinary Sport Horse Symposium, held Sept. 22-24 in Lexington, Ky.

Smith described two studies performed at Guelph by Susan Raymond, a PhD student in his lab: The first involved feeding a group of 12 mature, nonexercising mares grains contaminated with Fusarium mycotoxins, along with feeding a control group of 12 similar mares grain without contamination. The researchers measured the horses' grain concentrate intake every seven days for three weeks and they noted decreased consumption among the mycotoxin-fed horses at each time point, compared to the control animals. In the second study researchers evaluated the same diet in 12 mares, but they added exercise to the horses' routine. Researchers still witnessed a decline in concentrate consumption, but it was not as severe because the exercise increased the horses' energy requirements and forced them to eat. Weight loss was recorded in this study, whereas it was not in the study of nonexercising mares.

"Feeding grains contaminated with Fusarium mycotoxins can alter the metabolism and reduce performance," Smith concluded. "This can lead to financial losses for producers

Create a free account with TheHorse.com to view this content.

TheHorse.com is home to thousands of free articles about horse health care. In order to access some of our exclusive free content, you must be signed into TheHorse.com.

Start your free account today!

Already have an account?
and continue reading.

Share

Written by:

Alexandra Beckstett, a native of Houston, Texas, is a lifelong horse owner who has shown successfully on the national hunter/jumper circuit and dabbled in hunter breeding. After graduating from Duke University, she joined Blood-Horse Publications as assistant editor of its book division, Eclipse Press, before joining The Horse. She was the managing editor of The Horse for nearly 14 years and is now editorial director of EquiManagement and My New Horse, sister publications of The Horse.

Related Articles

Stay on top of the most recent Horse Health news with

FREE weekly newsletters from TheHorse.com

Sponsored Content

Weekly Poll

sponsored by:

Where do you primarily feed your horse?
338 votes · 338 answers

Readers’ Most Popular

Sign In

Don’t have an account? Register for a FREE account here.

Need to update your account?

You need to be logged in to fill out this form

Create a free account with TheHorse.com!