The Effects of Nutrition on Bone Growth and Development in Young Horses

摘要

Few animals are as precocious as the horse. Within 20 minutes of birth a foal may stand, and within hours can be ready to run at speeds no human athlete will ever achieve. At this stage of life, even with this exceptionally early development, horses have only 17% of their mature bone mineral content, but they also have only 10% of their ultimate body weight. The relationships between growth, nutrition, bone strength and development, body weight, and the forces applied to bone are all orchestrated in a careful balance when optimal growth is achieved.