At the 2004 Kentucky Equine Nutrition Conference for Feed Manufacturers, held Oct. 18-19 in Lexington, Ky., there was a strong focus on the upcoming revision of the National Research Council’s (NRC) publication Nutrient Requirements of Horses, used by many as the Bible of equine nutrition. Last published in 1989, this text is currently slated for re-publication in late 2005 or early 2006.

Several presentations discussed the revision process, led off by the University of Kentucky’s Laurie Lawrence, PhD, professor of animal science and the new chairman of the NRC’s subcommittee on horse nutrition. She began by describing the origins and mission of the National Academy of Sciences (of which the NRC is a part), and its relationship to the Board on Agriculture and Natural Resources (BANR).

After listing the committee members and detailing their work to date on this project, Lawrence described the project’s mission as follows: “To perform comprehensive analysis of recent research on feeding horses, horse nutrition, nutrient requirements, and physiological/environmental factors affecting requirements.”

She added that the committee is inviting comments on the target audience of the NRC publication (i.e., horse owners vs. nutritionists), the book’s format, length, and any other suggestions. The committee is also considering excerpting the book to create short pamphlets or booklets of specific information (such as body condition scoring or forage evaluation). “We’re really interested in your input on this,” she said to the nutritionists at the conference