Evaluation of an Oral Supplemental Cannabidiol Product for Acceptability and Performance in Mature Horses

Abstract

Thirty stock type geldings (15 ± 3 years; 556 ± 63 kg BW) were used in a randomized complete design over 28 days to determine the influence of cannabidiol (CBD) oil supplementation levels on body weight, body condition, and blood chemistry. Horses were randomly assigned to one of three dietary treatments (n = 10 per treatment) formulated with canola oil to provide 1.50 mg CBD/kg BW (TRTA), 0.75 mg CBD/kg BW (TRTB), or 0.00 mg CBD/kg BW (canola oil; CTRL). Treatments were top-dressed onto concentrate and individually administered twice daily. Horses were maintained in adjacent dry lots and received coastal bermudagrass hay ad libitum. Body weight and body condition scores (BCS) were obtained every 14 days. On day 0 and 28, blood was collected via jugular venipuncture and serum was harvested to perform a blood chemistry panel and drugs of abuse screening at the Texas Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Laboratory. Data were analyzed using PROC MIXED of SAS (v9.4), and the model included treatment, time, and the treatment × time interaction, and linear and quadratic orthogonal polynomial contrasts to partition sum of squares. Analysis of composited treatment samples revealed lower CBD concentrations than indicated from initial testing by the manufacturer (0.13 mg CBD/kg in TRTA; 0.12 mg CBD/kg in TRTB). At this level of supplementation, canola-based CBD oil was well-accepted by mature horses, banned substances were not detectable in blood, and blood chemistry parameters were not adversely affected as a result of supplementation. More research is warranted to describe the discrepancy between formulated levels compared to tested levels of CBD in the canola-based supplement.