Effects of dietary energy and phosphorus content on blood chemistry and development of growing horses

Growth and clinical biochemistry were examined over 30 wk in 42 light horse weanlings fed high-forage diets (73 to 77% alfalfa) or high-concentrate diets (63 to 65% grain and grain by-products) that were either low (.24 to .35%), normal (.68%) or high (.95 to 1.06%) in P. Body weights and blood samples were taken every 2 wk. Forage and concentrate diets contained 2.65 and 3.09 Mcal digestible energy/kg DM, respectively. Calcium and P digestibilities were highest (P less than .01) in those horses fed the low P diets, but only horses fed forage-low P diets may have absorbed insufficient P. Serum alkaline phosphatase activity, serum Ca, serum Mg and plasma Cu concentrations were unaffected by diet but varied (P less than .01) among sampling periods. The concentrations of serum Ca and P of all groups fluctuated to wk 10 before being stabilized at means of 2.77 and 2.03 mmol/liter, respectively. Plasma Zn concentrations increased quadratically with age and were 3.8% greater (P less than .05) for concentrate-fed horses than for forage-fed horses. Mild to moderate physitis and flexure limb deformities occurred in 88% of the weanlings principally between wk 6 and 8 of the study. Limb deformities had largely resolved by wk 12. Marginally deficient P intakes did not alter productivity, feed intake, blood mineral concentration in the final 20 wk or the occurrence of musculoskeletal abnormalities in weanling horses.