Voluntary intake and dry matter digestibility of turfgrasses

grazed by ponies

By Camille Lee College Park Scholars – Science & Global Change Program

Animal Science

clee1221@umd.edu

College Park Scholars Academic Showcase, May 5, 2016

Introduction

The purpose of this experiment was to test the

dry matter voluntary intake (DMI) and

digestibility (DMD) of various turfgrasses in

order to consider their suitability as a source of

forage for overweight ponies.

Acknowledgments:

This research study was by Kristina Davis, Aubrey Lowrey, Thomas Turner, Patricia Harris, and Amy Burk. I would like to acknowledge Kristina

Davis for letting me participate in this study and for explaining all of the logistics of the study. I would also like to acknowledge the site supervisor,

Dr. Amy Burk, and graduate student, Aubrey Jaqueth for their guidance throughout the whole study. Finally, I would like to acknowledge Dr. Holtz

and Dr. Merck for their guidance on this poster and for making SGC such a valuable learning experience.

Discussion:

This study is a great example of how complex equine research is.

A research study such as this one is extremely difficult to

complete because there are so many external factors at play. For

example, finding 12 ponies that fit all of the criteria was not

accomplished and we had to make exceptions in order to be able

to move forward. If this study can be completed some day, it

could provide horse owners with a management option that they

could put in place to manage their overweight ponies. Installing

turfgrass as opposed to supplementing hay to a pony living in a

dirt paddock is much better for the environment as it decreases

runoff also it would reinforce grazing habits that horses don’t

utilize when they have hay freely available.

Site Information:

Equine Research Unit

4241 Folly Quarter Road, Clarksville, MD

Dr. Amy Burk

http://agresearch.umd.edu/cmrec/clarksville-facility

The Central Maryland Research and Education Center located in

Clarksville is the largest research facility owned by the Maryland

Agriculture Experiment Station.

Materials

•12 geldings between age 5 and 15 were used,

with a body condition score of 5-6, and a cresty

neck score of 2-3. The ponies could not have a

prior history of laminitis, Pars Pituitary

Intermediate Syndrome, or Equine Metabolic

Syndrome.

•The 4 grass types used were Tall Fescue

control (K-31), Creeping Bentgrass (info),

Kentucky Bluegrass (Midnight), and Tall

Fescue (Fescue arundinacea).

•12, 12ft² stalls, matted, and included hay

boxes, water bucket holders and salt block

holders

•Harvester to mow and collect the 4 types of

turfgrasses

•Buckets… lots of buckets.

•Platform scale to weigh the pasture and the

ponies, and a small scale to dry the grasses for

calculations of DM

Methods

•Before any ponies got to the unit, I helped clean all of the stalls and

buckets in the barn. Then we prepped all of the stalls with shavings, hay,

and 2 full water buckets in each stall, barn cleaning took 2 full days.

•As the ponies started arriving for the study, we had to examine each one

and make sure they still fit the criteria, we also experimented with turning

out the ponies which was really interesting and difficult at times.

•Listening to the descriptions of the ponies from the owners and watching

the interactions between the ponies was really cool!

•During the AM shifts, I worked with one other person. We would get to

the barn at 7:00 AM and let some of the ponies out while we cleaned their

stalls. When the study started, I had to pick every blade of grass out of the

stall and weigh it.

•I also helped with the noon shift many times, which involved using the

harvester to mow and collect grass. Usually Kristina or Tim would drive

the harvester and I would follow behind with the farm truck and about 14

buckets, filling them up with the bags of grass to take back to the barn.

Results

During the course of this study, there were a few times that we had to delay the start or even restart due to extenuating

circumstances such as an unqualified pony or at one point a sick pony. Due to the delayed start of the study and also the lack of

sufficient grass growth, we eventually ran out of the Creeping Bentgrass pasture to harvest and could only collect 7 days of data

before the study had to be stopped. No conclusions could be determined from the 7 days worth of data.

Space to

place QR

Code Background Image Source: https://www.freepik.com/free-photo/green-grass-field-background_991901.htm

Figure 2. Two of the research ponies, Welker (left) and Razor (right), getting some exercise

during the acclimation period before the study. Image source: UMD Equine Studies

https://www.facebook.com/pg/Equine-Studies-at-the-University-of-Maryland-

105729806176354/photos/?ref=page_internal

Figure 1. The inside of the barn at the Equine Research Unit.

This is where all of the ponies were housed during the study, I

had to sweep the aisle after every shift. Image source: Camille

Lee

Figure 3. One of the paddocks I turned the ponies out in, this one is located directly

behind the barn that the ponies were stalled in. Multiple ponies could be turned out

together to stretch their legs and exhibit normal horse behaviors. Image Source: Camille

Lee

Figure 4. Alumni Daphne O’ Grady using the harvester to collect some of the control

pasture for the ponies. Image source: UMD Equine Studies

https://www.facebook.com/pg/Equine-Studies-at-the-University-of-Maryland-

105729806176354/photos/?ref=page_internal