Life Sciences Commons^™

Effects Of Exercise When Transitioning From Free Choice Tall Fescue (Lolium Arundinaceum) Grass Diet In Late Summer To Free Choice Tall Fescue Hay Diet In Late Fall On Plasma Fructosamine Concentrations, Insulin Levels, Body Weight, And Body Condition Scores Of Stock Horse Mares And Gelding, Riley Brown

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Equine exercise may influence a horse’s metabolic and physiological functions. Studies can help to prove this linkage, and to better understand the nutritional requirements of the horse. The parameters that are being evaluated are plasma-fructosamine concentrations, insulin levels, body weight (lbs.), and body condition score (BCS) as a measurement of obesity. Eight horses used in this study were split into two groups; Worked horses were exercised three times a week while the unworked horses were not exercised. All eight horses were fed an ad libitum diet of tall fescue grass and hay for 127 days.

Forage samples were collected to …

The Relationship Of Dominance, Reproductive State And Stress In A Non-Cooperative Breeder, The Domestic Horse (Equus Caballus), Carly Anne Sinderbrand

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Animals that live in a social group are often organized in a hierarchy with rank determining access to resources. Maintaining a dominant position requires a high rate of energetically expensive aggressive displays and physical exertion. Lab based winnerloser studies, often conducted with individuals from non-social species, have shown that subordinates have higher stress hormone levels than dominant individuals (subordinatestress hypothesis). However, in carnivorous animals that are cooperative breeders, displays of aggression are associated with elevated stress hormone levels (dominancestress hypothesis). The effect of reproductive state on dominance and stress is not addressed within either of these hypotheses. The purpose of …