In the fortified feed group Much saw increases in subcutaneous fat thickness over the 17th and 18th ribs and longissimus dorsi (back muscle) area. This illustration shows a horse both before (top) and after (bottom) the 56-day study period. | Photo: Courtesy Mattea Much

Owners who struggle to provide their horses with consistently good-quality forage might be able to improve feed digestibility and topline development by offering these horses a fortified feed.

Texas A&M University graduate student Mattea Much recently tested this theory and presented her findings at the 2019 Equine Science Society Symposium, held June 3-6 in Asheville, North Carolina.

Much fed 23 stock-type mares either a control diet, consisting of a custom pelleted concentrate (13 mares), or a treatment diet (10 mares), consisting of a pelleted feed fortified with amino acids and trace minerals (SafeChoice senior). The mares received two concentrate meals per day and free-choice Bermuda grass hay