title: Assessment of the minimum protein requirement of adult ponies.
abstract: The aim of the present study was to determine the minimum protein requirement in adult ponies. Literature data from nitrogen-balance trials in adult ponies were used. In addition, nitrogen balance was measured in three mature ponies that were fed a low- and a high-protein diet according to a cross-over design. On the low-protein ration, which provided 1.1 g digestible crude protein (DCP)/kg(0.75) day, plasma albumin and total protein concentrations were non-significantly decreased by about 6% and group-mean nitrogen balance was negative. Using data from the present experiment and from six other studies, the sum of endogenous faecal and urinary nitrogen losses was calculated to be 166 +/- 37 mg/kg(0.75) day (mean +/- SE, n = 13). Subsequently, a minimum protein requirement of 1.7 g DCP/kg(0.75) day was calculated. The value for minimum protein requirement has low precision, which should be taken into account when setting the protein allowance of adult ponies.
authors.affiliation: Department of Nutrition, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands. a.f.s.oslman@students.uu.nl
authors.forename: A F S
authors.initials: AF
authors.lastname: Olsman
authors.forename: W L
authors.initials: WL
authors.lastname: Jansen
authors.forename: M M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Sloet van Oldruitenborgh-Oosterbaan
authors.forename: A C
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Beynen
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D018592:Cross-Over Studies; D004044:Dietary Proteins / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D004063:Digestion; D005243:Feces / Q000737:chemistry; D006736:Horses / Q000378:metabolism*; D008297:Male; D009584:Nitrogen / Q000378:metabolism; D015596:Nutrition Assessment; D009751:Nutritional Requirements; D016482:Urinalysis
chemical_list: D004044:Dietary Proteins; D009584:Nitrogen