Horse preference for grass-based silage press cake from green biorefinery compared to lucerne -preliminary studies

作者：Cecilia E. Müller, Erik Brodin, Fredrika Karlsson Lindgren, Jenny Yngvesson · 发表于：Animal Feed Science and Technology · 年份：2026 · DOI：10.1016/j.anifeedsci.2026.116871 · 研究领域：Ruminant Nutrition and Digestive Physiology、Plant Toxicity and Pharmacological Properties、Pasture and Agricultural Systems

Silage press cake is a novel by-product from green biorefinery that is of interest as a feed resource for particularly adult horses, due its higher fibre and lower N and P concentration compared to the silage from which the press cake origins. To evaluate silage press cake as a feed for horses, a first step was to test the preference of the feed in adult horses (Icelandic, Standardbred and Warmblood horses). Two experiments were performed where freshly pressed grass-based silage press cake was compared with artificially dehydrated lucerne chaff in the first, and pelleted grass-based silage press cake with pelleted lucerne in the second. In both experiments the silage press cake and lucerne feeds were offered as an additional feed to the usual daily feed ration. Horse preference was observed and feed consumption, number of feeding bouts, and time spent eating each feed was registered for 30 minutes per day during three consecutive days in each experiment. Results showed that the feeds differed from each other in all analysed nutritive variables within each experiment. Horses showed low preference for silage press cake in comparison to lucerne in both experiments but particularly for pelleted silage press cake. Dry matter intake was higher for lucerne chaff and pelleted lucerne compared to for fresh and pelleted silage press cake. The low preference for silage press cake may limit its use in diets for horses, but it may be of interest for enrichment purposes for equines and thi...