How much lysine do horses need?

This is reported by Kentucky Equine Research (KER). The amino acid lysine is widely believed to be a first limiting amino acid in equine diets. “This means if insufficient lysine is available then growth grinds to a halt,” explained Kathleen Crandell, Ph.D., an equine nutritionist for KER.

The new study, published in The Veterinary Journal, looked at the role of lysine in the diets of growing horses. The study found that while lysine levels did increase with increased dietary intake, statistical analysis failed to identify a clear dietary requirement for lysine.

The researchers therefore suggested that in horse diets “an amino acid other than lysine that is equally limiting across treatment diets could explain why a requirement could not be determined. This limitation would also explain our relatively poor growth rate over the course of the study.”

[Source: KER]