Evaluating the impact of starch intake on fecal consistency scores in equines

Horses, as monogastric hindgut fermenters, primarily engage in microbial activity in the large intestine. Although starch is not inherently harmful, excessive intake can lead to digestive disturbances and health issues due to insufficient digestion in the small intestine, resulting in overflow into the large intestine. The purpose of the study was to evaluate the use of rapid fecal analysis, including fecal score, pH, and dry matter (DM) analysis, to understand the effects of high starch intake. The study was conducted in May 2023 at a private sport horse farm in İzmir, Türkiye and involved 24 sport horses aged 4 to 14 years, all in good health. Data collection included demographic information and nutritional protocols from horse owners, followed by feces collection on days 1, 3, and 7 for analysis. The mean body weight (BW) of horses was 451.3 ± 25.8 kg. Horses with high starch intake (n = 15) had a significantly higher mean starch intake (4.7 ± 1.2 g/kg BW) compared with horses with normal starch intake (n = 9, 1.7 ± 0.2 g/kg BW, p < 0.01). High-starch-intake horses exhibited a significantly higher mean fecal consistency score (1.1 ± 0.6) than those with normal starch intake (0 ± 0, p < 0.01). These findings confirm that fecal consistency scoring can predict fecal DM decline in horses on a high-starch diet, highlighting the need for further research to determine further fecal analysis parameters.