Forages should be the basis of all diets in horse feeding. Therefore it is of major importance to determine which parameters will influence their quality. Changes on chemical composition along the vegetative cycle, nutrient losses during harvesting, preservation and storage are factors that could have an effect on nutritive value, as well on digestibility and palatability. A specific grazing and ingesting behaviour, linked to plant preferences and the selection of feeding sites will have an impact on biodiversity. This will determine the options on plant species and varieties and further management of pastures for horses. This book highlights the role of forages and grazing in horse nutrition and also gathers information about related topics, such as the contribution of local breeds for the sustainability and development of rural areas, their impact on landscape and relationships with environmental preservation. This book is the 6th volume in a scientific series conceived through the European Workshop on Equine Nutrition (EWEN) which falls under the umbrella of the Horse Commission of the European Federation of Animal Science (EAAP). All these materials provide an interesting basis for further discussion, not only in specialized forums, but also for those involved in horse production.

Foreword.-Part 1. Plant physiology and its relation to feeding value.-Grass physiology and its relation to nutritive value in feeding horses.-Changes in chemical composition of different grass species and -mixtures in equine pasture during grazing season.-Phytoestrogen coumestrol and its metabolite in mares plasma after clover mixed pasture and alfalfa pellets ingestion.-Fermentation parameters and total gas production of equine caecal and faecal inocula.-White clover (Trifolium repensL.): do non-structural carbohydrates account?.-Part 2. Nutritional assessment of forage quality.-Nutritional assessment of forage quality.-Prediction of organic matter digestibility of forages in horses using different chemical, biological and physical methods.-Repeatability and reproducibility of digestibility measurements in horses fed forage based diets.-The effect of three different treatments on the respirable particle content, total viable count and mould concentrations in hay for horses.-Degradation of grass and grass fructan by equine gastrointestinal digestain vitro.-Nitrogen digestion of a large range of hays by mobile nylon bag technique (MNBT) in horses.-Evaluation of ADL, AIA and TiO2 as markers to determine apparent digestibility in ponies fed increasing proportions of concentrate.-The effect of steaming and soaking treatments on respirable dust content of hay and the potential environmental polluting impact of the waste water produced.-The use of frozen equine faeces to assess the nutritional quality of forages using anin vitrogas production technique.-Part 3. Grazing / Ingesting behaviour.-Grazing systems and the role of horses in heathland areas.-How do horses graze pastures and affect the diversity of grassland ecosystems?.-The effect of pasturerestriction on dry matter intake of foraging donkeys in the United Kingdom.-Variations in voluntary feed intake in 2 year old Standardbred geldings in training fed a forage only dietad libitum.-Effect of forage presentation on feed intake behaviour in stabled horses.-The effect of wearing a grazing muzzle vs. not wearing a grazing muzzle on intakes of spring, summer and autumn pastures by ponies.-Inhibition of lamellar separation caused by endotoxins by Polymyxin B in anex vivo/ in vitromodel of equine laminitis.-Acclimatisation of horses to a novel feeding system.-Part 4. Grazing and pasture management.-Grazing and pasture management considerations from around the world.-Farm grazing management with horses in two French grassland regions: Normandy and Auvergne.-Grassland management practice on Irish Thoroughbred stud farms.-Heavy grazing by horses on heathlands of different botanical composition.-Foraging behaviour of equines grazing on partially improved heathlands.-Effect of cultivated or semi-natural pasture on changes in live weight, body condition score, body measurements and fat thickness in grazing Finnhorse mares.-Part 5. Impact of harvest, preservation and storage conditions on forage quality.-Impact of harvest, preservation and storage conditions on forage quality.-Horse feed hygiene evaluation with microbial and sensory examination.-Effect of Vivaflor 03 on the colonic ecosystem of horses fed a high forage diet.-Effects of a deoxynivalenol contaminated diet on feed intake and health status in horses.-Aerobic stability of sugar canein naturahydrolysed with calcium oxide to be used in equine diets.-Nutritional composition of white oat (Avena sativa L.) with different levels of dry matter for use in the diet of horses.-Effect of storage period on the chemical composition and beta-carotene concentration in estilosantes hay varieties for feeding equine.-Part 6. Forage feeding systems.-Forage feeding systems;Jansson et al.-Forage analyses as a base of feeding of horses.-Effects of foaling season on growth and development ofLusitanosuckling foals raised on extensive grazing systems.-Effects of traditional versus novel feeding management on 24 hour time budget of stabled horses.-Effect of inoculation of laminitic-prone, equine faecal inocula with varying forage sources with or without live yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) onin vitrogas production parameters.-Feeding forage before or after oats affects caecum pH profiles of the horse.-The usage of forage analyses in optimizing horse nutrition in Finland.-Blood glucose, lactate, urea, -hydroxybutyrate, NEFA and insulin in Norwegian trotter horses fed different diets.-Lusitano horses in Portugal without access to pasture are at risk of having low serum levels of vitamin E: a pilot study.-Effect of yucca (Yucca schidigera) on ammonia levels from equine excreta in the stable.-Influence of fat supplementation on mares milk composition.-Effect of omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids supplementation on development of equine and mule nursing foals.-Part 7. Forage digestion and utilization by equids.-The fermentation of hay and starch when incubatedin vitrowith faecal inoccula from either normal healthy horses or horses with a history of laminitis.- In vitrogas production from colon contents in electrolyte supplemented horses.-Effects of electrolyte supplementation on colonic contents and faeces in horses.-Effect of the inclusion of ricinoleic acid from castor oil (Ricinus communisL.) in equine diet based on Bermuda grass hay: glycemic and insulinemic response.-Effect of the use ofSaccharomycescerevisiaeon apparent digestibility in horses diet.-Effect of ricinoleic acid from castor oil (Ricinus communisL.) inclusion in equine diet on total apparent digestibility.-Part 8. Evaluating body condition.-Relationship between body condition and neck crest score systems and subcutaneous fat, tissue and muscle ultrasonic measurements in horses.-Evaluation of body condition score in horses by ultrasonography.-Relationship between ultrasound subcutaneous fat depth, body condition score and body subcutaneous fat distribution in Miranda breed jennets.-Part 9. Management of parasitism in grazing equids.-Ethnoveterinary applied toEquidaein the Alentejo, south Portugal.-A combined trial of chemotherapy and biological control measures against parasites in grazing horses.-Effect ofDuddingtonia flagranschlamydospores on the control of parasite infection in grazing horses.-Parasite control in Miranda Donkeys as a way of keeping animal welfare.-Addition ofDuddingtonia flagranschlamydospores to the concentrate feed can improve the successful of control measures against strongyle infection in horses.-Part 10. Sustainable development of rural areas with horses.-Equids contribution to sustainable development in rural areas: a new challenge for the third millennium.-Socio-economic impact of horse production on rural areas: a comparison between Ireland and France.-Territories and grassland exploitation by horses in France.-The Portuguese Garrano breed: an efficient and sustainable production system.-Quantitative assessment of enteric methane emission and nitrogen excretion by equines.-Inorganic, soluble faecal phosphorus excretion in growing horses fed forage-only diets.-Part 11. Other horse topics.-Effects of body weight restriction on blood and adipose tissue adipokines and macrophage activation in obese and insulin-resistant ponies.-Study of the lymphocyte proliferation of neonate foals from mares supplemented with linseed oil and soybean oil.-Author index.- Sponsors.