Avaliação do comportamento ingestivo de equinos em consumo de dois suplementos

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the acceptance and feeding behavior of horses when offered two different feed supplements, with and without corn residue as a consumption inducer. Six adult horses were used, distributed in a repeated measures crossover design, in which each animal was sequentially exposed to the three experimental treatments: Treatment 0 (control feed, without supplement), Treatment 1 (feed + Supplement 1), and Treatment 2 (feed + Supplement 2). The animals were observed for one hour after each meal. Each behavior performed was monitored every 5 minutes, and the total time spent on each behavior was recorded at the end of the period. The variables analyzed included feeding time, resting, water intake, social interaction, and urination. The data were subjected to normality analysis using the Shapiro-Wilk test, and subsequently, the means were compared using the Mann-Whitney contrast test. The means of the behaviors measured in the ethogram showed no significant difference (p>0.05). These results suggest that the composition of the supplements did not influence the animals' ingestive behavior. It is concluded that the inclusion of ground by-products as intake inducers does not interfere with the ingestive behavior of horses when compared to other compositions.