1209
Administration of bioactive proteins to mature horses improves gait kinematics
Thirty mature Quarter horses (439 to 684 kg and 5 to 22 yr) were utilized in a randomized complete block design to evaluate the effect of a supplement consisting of a proprietary blend of bioactive proteins on gait kinematics. These bioactive proteins are isolated from plasma. Horses were blocked by age and BW and randomly assigned to treatment within block for the 28-d trial. Treatments consisted of a commercial pelleted concentrate administered with no supplement (CON), 240 g/d of a pelleted supplement containing 66 g of bioactive proteins (Low; Lifeline, APC, Inc.), or 240 g of a pelleted supplement containing 132 g of bioactive proteins (High; Lifeline, APC, Inc.). Concentrate was fed at 0.5% BW (as-fed) daily in addition to ad libitum coastal bermudagrass hay. Each horse was exercised by a single assigned student 5 d/wk focusing on horsemanship skills at the walk, trot, and canter approximately 60 min/d. Gait kinematic analysis was performed on d 0, 14 and 28 with video footage collected and analyzed using gait analysis software (EquineTec). Horses were trotted in hand for 3 passes over a 10 m flight path while wearing reflective markers at each joint of the right limbs. Stride length was measured as distance the right foreleg traveled during the swing phase. Additionally, range of motion (ROM) of the knee was determined using the difference between the maximum and minimum angles observed during each frame of the swing phase. All data were analyzed using PROC GLM of SAS. Mean stride length of the front limb tended to increase linearly at d 14 as increasing levels of bioactive proteins were added to the diet (P = 0.07). Similarly, at d 28 stride length of the front limb increased linearly with increasing inclusions of bioactive proteins (P = 0.05). Stride length at the trot of the hind limb tended to increase at d 14 (P = 0.10) and increased linearly at d 28 (P = 0.02) with increasing levels of bioactive proteins. When evaluated at the trot, knee range of motion increased linearly at d 14 and d 28 with increasing levels of bioactive proteins in the diet (P < 0.01). In conclusion, supplementation of bioactive proteins in mature, exercising horses resulted in improved gait kinematics.
Keywords: bioactive proteins, gait, horse, stride, supplement