Files
Abstract
The aim of this research is to evaluate the use of Russell bermudagrass as hay for horses, provide applied hay selection guidelines for horse owners, and evaluate the effects of harvest practices of horse hay producers, on bermudagrass nutritive value. Three experiments were conducted where experiment 1 analyzed how harvest practices across two consecutive growing seasons affected the nutritive value of bermudagrass. Experiment 2 evaluated how varying nutritive value within bermudagrass hay affects degradability and utilization within horses through volatile fatty acid (VFA) production from an in vitro fecal microorganism fermentation model. Experiment 3 characterized the fecal microbiome of horses degrading bermudagrass of varying nutritive value. Within experiments 2 and 3, nutritive value measurements were evaluated separately (correlations and linear regression models) as well as collectively in multivariate regression models with the Akaike Information criterion (AICc) applied, to create prediction equations for VFA production and microbial composition.