Dietary value of cubes in equine nutrition

The revised NRC's Nutrient Requirements of Horses is changing the outlook on equine nutrition, dominated for so long by the traditional belief in oats. This has lead to the need for properly balanced diets, in the compounding of which dietary cubes offer the distinct advantage of providing a standardized diet of constant quality in keeping with modern knowledge. Additional factors are: longer storage, freedom from dust, palatability, refractoriness to mould infection, and facilitation of routine feeding. Cube size and hardness are important considerations for the manufacturer. Horses appear to favour smaller-sized cubes, but on the whole preferences for size and hardness appear to be equivocal. The nutritional status of four commercial brands of horse feed marketed in South Africa has been analyzed and compared to commonly used raw feedstuffs. The results of feeding cubes have been assessed by means of a questionnaire. There appears to be a need for more knowledge concerning equine nutrition on the part of trainers, as well as for more specialized advisory services. The establishment of training centres has been suggested.