Förekomst av toxiner i foder till häst

Sammanfattning: An adult horse in the wild devotes a greater part of the day to seeking food. Stabled horses are provided with horse feed that has been preserved and stored to be available all year round. When harvesting, storing and handling horse feed, it can become infested by mold and fungi that can cause toxins in the feed. These toxins can be harmful to the horse and cause poisoning, damaged airways or other diseases. The risk of harmful toxins requires feed manufacturers and horse holders to prevent the occurrence of toxins and maintain good hygienic quality in the horse feed. The aim of this literature study is to investigate which factors affect the occurrence of toxins in feed and how they can be prevented. The mainly focus is on toxins produced by various fungal species. This study addresses the questions: What factors affect the occurrence of toxins in the feed? How can the presence of toxins in feed be reduced? How is the horse affected by toxin in feed? Research showed that how the crop was harvested and stored affected the emergence of mold and toxins. Various studies showed that factors which influenced on the emergence of mold and toxins in horse feed were region and country, water content and temperature. Several studies show that different types of mold and toxins have different temperature preferences for optimal growth and production. Several studies also showed a correlation between water content and temperature. Research on how soaking and steam affected roughage showed that steam reduced the mold and bacterial content of hay. The results of one of the studies showed that it was difficult to distribute the steam evenly over the feed samples. Several studies in which the horses were fed with feed contaminated with different toxins, showed some difference in the observed parameters: blood values, weight and appetite. This literature study concludes that harvesting, storage and handling of horse feed affected the emergence of mold and toxins. The water content in the crop and temperature affects both the growth of mold and the production of toxins. Steaming and heat treatment can affect the hygienic quality, but ease of use needs to be simplified. Toxins showed no general impact on the horse's health. Further studies are needed to be able to draw conclusions on how harvesting, storage and handling affect the emergence of toxins and how horses are affected by different toxins.