Body Condition & Physical Assessment
The Henneke Body Condition Scoring system evaluates total body fat in horses using a visual and palpable scale ranging between these two numbers
What is 1 to 9?
The baseline Crude Protein (CP) requirement for a mature, non-reproductive horse at maintenance falls within this percentage range
What is 10% to 12% CP?
Provided via white or trace mineral blocks, this essential mineral requirement must be accessible to all horses to promote adequate water consumption
What is salt (sodium chloride)?
To eliminate variability caused by water content across different feedstuffs, all diet formulations and nutrient calculations are conducted on this basis
What is Dry Matter (DM) basis?
Evaluated routinely during a physical exam, the normal rate of primary mixing contractions in adult cattle is this many per 2 minutes
What is 2 to 3 contractions per 2 minutes?
Ranging from 0 to 5, this specific scoring system evaluates horses for regional adiposity along the topline
What is the Cresty Neck Score (CNS)?
During ruminal protein digestion, extracellular bacterial proteases deaminate amino acids into carbon skeletons and this specific inorganic nitrogen compound
What is ammonia NH3?
Horses diagnosed with Polysaccharide Storage Myopathy (PSSM) require a specialized diet that is strictly low in this macronutrient
What are carbohydrates (or starch/sugars)?
High in fiber and digestible carbohydrates, this feed byproduct must always be soaked prior to feeding to prevent esophageal obstruction or choke in horses
What is beet pulp?
While primary ruminal contractions mix ingesta across the reticulorumen, secondary contractions function specifically to accomplish this physiological process
What is eructation (releasing gas)?
When a scale is unavailable, an adult horse's weight in pounds can be calculated by multiplying the square of the heart-girth by body length and dividing by this constant
What is 330?
Absorbed excess ammonia in ruminants is carried to the liver and detoxified into urea, which is then recycled back to the rumen through these two secretions
What are saliva and blood/esophageal recycling?
Dietary management for horses with equine asthma involves removing dry hay from the diet and switching to low-dust alternatives, steamed hay, or this preserved forage
What is haylage?
Soaking hay in water for 1 hour before feeding is recommended for obese or laminitic horses because it significantly reduces this carbohydrate fraction
What are Non-Structural Carbohydrates (NSC / starch and sugars)?
Subclinical Ruminal Acidosis (SARA) causes biomechanical changes in cow hooves that lead to lameness and these three specific claw lesions
What are sole ulcers, toe ulcers, and white line disease?
In beef cattle, a 1-point change on the 1-to-9 body condition score scale represents approximately this range of body weight change
What is 80 to 150 pounds?
Unlike in monogastric animals, Blood Urea Nitrogen (BUN) is a poor marker for evaluating renal failure in ruminants due to this physiological mechanism
What is efficient ammonia/urea recycling?
In severe starvation, after glycogen and fat stores are depleted, body tissue breakdown turns toward skeletal, cardiac, and smooth muscle through this process
What is catabolism?
As forage maturity increases and forage quality drops below 52% TDN, cattle consume less feed because lower-quality forage takes longer to break down, increasing this digestive factor
What is transit time (or gut fill)?
When energy is limiting relative to protein in the rumen, microbial growth decreases because energy is used for maintenance, causing excess dietary protein to be converted into these energy molecules
What are Volatile Fatty Acids (VFAs)?
Localized fat deposits, a high Cresty Neck Score, and insulin dysregulation strongly signal this metabolic condition, which predisposes horses to laminitis
What is Equine Metabolic Syndrome (EMS)?
Total protein absorbed and utilized by a ruminant host is the sum of Rumen Undegradable Protein (RUP) and this major microbial source
What is microbial protein?
Rapid fat mobilization triggered by severe negative energy balance or sudden feed restrictions in horses can lead to cloudy, opaque blood plasma and this life-threatening liver condition
What is hepatic lipidosis (or hyperlipemia)?
Total protein absorbed and utilized by a ruminant host is the sum of Rumen Undegradable Protein (RUP) and this major microbial source
What is microbial protein?
Feeding a Dietary Cation-Anion Difference (DCAD) diet before calving acidifies the cow's blood, triggering the release of this hormone to mobilize calcium from bone
What is Parathyroid Hormone (PTH)?