About the project

Climate changes and an unstable security situation in the world challenges the market of inorganic fertilizers and animal feeds, and mobilisation of research and development is required to find more sustainable (preferably locally produced) feeds for all animals including horses. It is well known that feeding strategy has a major impact on the health and welfare of all types of horses.

However, fundamental knowledge on energy and especially protein digestion in horses as well as feedstuff evaluation is urgently needed to meet today’s challenges regarding sustainable feed production.

The goal of the project presented here is to generate new knowledge of high scientific quality as well high practical value for the horse industry and agricultural business in the Nordic countries on how locally produced protein and energy feeds and by-products can be used for horses to move towards increased sustainability. This project will provide knowledge beyond the current state of the art regarding feed evaluation for horses through use of in vitro measurements that are validated in vivo.

Furthermore, diets based on sustainable and local ingredients will be formulated and thoroughly evaluated in vivo in close collaboration with the feed industry. It is expected that the results from this project answer not only scientific questions, but also give solutions to the horse sector on how to use sustainable and locally produced feeds in horse feeding, as well as validated methods for evaluating the protein and energy value of feedstuffs for horses.

Participants

External participants

Cecilia Müller
Associate Professor, senior lecturer at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Department of Animal Nutrition and Management. 

Elin Furrevik Gjestvang
R&D manager for horse and supplement feeds at Felleskjøpet Fôrutvikling AS.

Annie Larsson
Product manager, Lantmännen Krafft AB, Sweden.

Kerstin Sigfridsson
Senior project manager feed, Lantmännen R&D.