Effects of fallen snow on the voluntary intake and grazing behavior of Hokkaido native horses in winter woodland with underlying Sasa senanensis

The intake, digestibility, and grazing behavior of Hokkaido native horses were investigated in winter woodland with under-lying Sasa senanensis. Twenty Hokkaido native horses were grazed in a woodland (8.52 ha) for 14 days in December (snowy; 20 cm of snowfall) and in November (non-snowy) of the nex...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Animal science journal 2004-10, Vol.75 (5), p.435-440
Main Authors: Kawai, M. (Obihiro Univ. of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine, Hokkaido (Japan)), Hisano, H, Yabu, Y, Yabu, N, Matsuoka, S
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animal behavior
BEHAVIOUR
BODY WEIGHT
DIGESTIBILITY
Feed science
FOREST GRAZING
grazing behavior
Hokkaido native horses
HORSES
JAPAN
NUTRIENT INTAKE
Sasa senanensis
SNOW
voluntary intake
woodland pasture
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Summary:The intake, digestibility, and grazing behavior of Hokkaido native horses were investigated in winter woodland with under-lying Sasa senanensis. Twenty Hokkaido native horses were grazed in a woodland (8.52 ha) for 14 days in December (snowy; 20 cm of snowfall) and in November (non-snowy) of the next year. Three mares (360 kg of average bodyweight) were used in each experiment. The fecal collection, used to investigate the intake and digestibility by the double-indicator method, and behavioral observations were carried out for 24 h on the 6th day in each experiment. During the snowy and non-snowy periods, the dry matter intakes of sasa foliage were 7.3 and 9.6 kg/d, respectively, which is 2.1 and 2.7% when expressed as a percentage of bodyweight. The apparent digestibility of nutrients and energy released during the snowy and non-snowy periods were similar. The proportions of digestible energy intakes to maintenance requirement in the mares were 119 and 164% during the snowy and non-snowy periods, respectively. Their bodyweight remained constant during the non-snowy period; however, a slight loss in their bodyweight was observed during the snowy period. The duration of grazing on sasa foliage was 416 and 544 mind during the snowy and non-snowy periods, respectively, the daily grazing area of the mares during these periods was 2.0 and 5.1 ha, respectively. In other words, the area during the snowy period was smaller than that during the non-snowy period (P < 0.05). Fallen snow, even with a depth of approximately 20 cm, inhibited the grazing behavior and intake of sasa foliage by Hokkaido native horses grazing in winter woodland pasture.
ISSN:1344-3941
1740-0929
DOI:10.1111/j.1740-0929.2004.00210.x