The objective of this work was to test the efficiency of enriched and purified lignin, Lipe®, as external indicator in order to estimate the apparent digestibility of the nutrients in equine diets, compared with the total feces collection and the chromic oxide methods. Six female Mangalarga Marchador with average of two years of age and average weight of 331 kg were used. The diet was alfalfa hay, commercial grain and mineral salt. The experimental period was of 29 days, the first 24 used for the adaptation of animals to the diet and facilities and the last five days for feed estimation and total feces collection. A random blocks design was used in which each animal constituted one block and each digestibility determination method, one treatment. The digestibility of nutrients using chromic oxide were smaller than those from the total collection and Lipe®, and those estimated by the Lipe® were similar to those from the total collection. Chromic oxide revealed to be inadequate and Lipe® was considered efficient to estimate the apparent digestibility in equine.
diet; dry matter; horse; intake; markers
