Intern Tales: Behind the Scenes of a KER Research Study 

Kentucky Equine Research uses research-backed ingredients and technologies to formulate feed and supplements. As an intern, I found designing and implementing a research study to be much more difficult than it looks at the onset. On top of the preliminary work and the actual study, there’s the backend work, including writing a final report, which often ends up in a scientific journal.

Before starting any study at Kentucky Equine Research, we first figure out what is already known about the topic. To do this, we conduct a review of published research. We scour peer-reviewed journals for studies published about the topic that can fill in any gaps in our knowledge and spark ideas for new research methods or technologies that may be possible. We use the information from the literature review to develop a hypothesis and write a study proposal that outlines the research methods and how the study will contribute to improved equine health.

The proposal is then sent to the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) at Kentucky Equine Research, composed of four members, including a veterinarian, a scientist not directly involved in the research, and a member of the horse community, who oversee animal welfare. The committee works with us to refine animal use and to standardize conditions for the research horses involved. All major research centers and universities use this committee to ensure that animals are treated humanely throughout the research trials.

Once IACUC agrees to the conditions of the study, the principal investigator begins prepping for the start of the trial. The principal investigator determines logistics (labor, facility use), budgeting (supplies, laboratory analysis), and feed and hay orders. At Kentucky Equine Research, the principal investigator is typically Ashley Fowler, Ph.D., if the study is performed at the Kentucky research farm or Ryon Springer, M.S., if the research is conducted in Florida at the Kentucky Equine Research Performance Center. We order all feed and hay at the beginning of the study to ensure it is from the same lot of ingredients to keep the diet consistent. Because of this, we must make sure that we calculate how much the horses will consume for the whole trial.

Next, we select horses based on the stipulations of the trial. Different horses are useful for different studies. For example, horses that will eat everything you put in front of them are good for digestibility studies where we don’t want any feed refusals. Those same horses may not be ideal for a palatability test, where we are trying to determine differences in feed preference.

Before we assign horses to treatments, we block horses, meaning that we group horses based on similar characteristics, such as age, weight, body condition, or fitness, to statistically account for those factors that may affect the results of the study. Then, within a block or group, horses are assigned to treatments randomly, usually by flipping a coin or using a random number generator. There can be many treatment groups depending on the goal of the study. For most studies, we always ensure there is at least one control group, which is managed the same as the experimental groups but does not receive a treatment. The purpose of the control group is to be the baseline, so that any differences between the experimental groups and the control group can be attributed to the treatment.

Similarly, we manage all of the horses in the study the exact same way to ensure that differences observed between treatments are due to the treatment. For example, we randomize stall assignments in the barn to make sure that one treatment isn’t grouped closer to the barn door. Stalls closer to the door could be cooler than the rest of the barn, affecting things like water or feed intake. We also make sure that horses in different treatment groups are turned out into the same pasture or that treatments are equally represented in different pastures. Differences in pasture quality or size could influence voluntary exercise or nutrient intake.

Once we have established all of these details, the principal investigator and members of the research team meet to ensure each employee understands the study and their particular responsibilities. A lead intern is appointed to each trial to oversee the daily operations of the data collection. The intern creates paper data sheets to document the information collected throughout the trial. Once the data has been written on the paper, the lead intern will then enter the data into an online spreadsheet so that calculations and statistics can be conducted more easily. Daily schedules are also created and posted around the barn so that each member of the team understands their role at each time point throughout the study.

The days leading up to a trial are spent acclimating the horses to their new environments and preparing the materials for the study. Supplies must be purchased and a detailed protocol is written that outlines how data will be collected. For example, in a rate of intake study, we need to know the amount of time the horse eats, how to weigh back the remaining feed, the type of feed they will consume, and how to account for spilled feed.

Our studies can last anywhere from one day to many months. Over that time the environment and methods of collection must remain the exact same to preserve the integrity of the samples. Examples of things that could impact the integrity of the samples include leaving different amounts of time between collections on different horses, not immediately processing the samples, changing the environment of the horses between collections, and laboratory error. Depending on the purpose of the study, we collect different types of samples and data, such as endoscopic results, radiographs, heart rate, muscle temperatures, feed consumption, and rate of feed intake. Examples of samples collected for further laboratory analysis include blood, feces, and feed and hay samples.

Once we have completed the trial, the principal investigator analyzes the data using statistical software to determine if any significant differences exist among treatment groups. In conjunction, the principal investigator and lead intern work to write a final report. The final report documents how the study was conducted and what the results of the study were. The final report allows us to summarize the findings of the study while illustrating how it can be applied to improving equine health. Once completed, we may use the findings for product development, publish them in a scientific journal, or share the information with our feed partners.

This article was written by Emily Robyn, a year-long intern at Kentucky Equine Research. As part of the intern program, participants are asked to contribute to Equinews occasionally. Learn more about the internship program.