Pectin-rich by-products in feeding horses—A review

Abstract

Annually, million tons of agro-industrial wastes are generated in Brazil. A environmentally friendly and economically viable destination for agro-industrial by-products is their use in animal feed, reducing feed costs of the farm. Some products can replace conventional foods such as corn, soybeans and wheat, without incurring losses in animal performance. So the competition by using the same raw materials used in food and feed decreases and higher amount of grain will be used for human consumption. The by-products rich in pectins have high digestible energy content for its high rate of cecal degradation and are used as substitutes for grains rich in starch which traditionally make up the diet of horses. The objective of this review was to describe on the inclusion of by-products rich in pectins in the horses’ diet, emphasizing their benefits to the animal’s health. For the inclusion of pectin-rich by-products such as beet pulp, citrus pulp and soybean hulls in horse’s diet will be observed the nutritional composition, presence of anti-nutritional factors, palatability, feeding behavior and digestibility of nutrients. More research will be realized to evaluate the effects of the use of pectin-rich byproducts in horse’s diet.

Keywords

• equine
• beet pulp
• citrus pulp
• diet
• soybean hulls