Increasing Forage Intake

All horses require an adequate supply of forage (grass, hay or haylage), and this should form the basis of every horse’s ration. As a general rule of thumb long stem forage (grass, hay, and haylage) should be fed at a baseline minimum of 1.5% a horses bodyweight per day, or 2% for weight maintenance, and 2.5% to encourage weight gain. The 500kg horse should not be fed less than 7.5kg of forage per day.

Owners of fussy feeders, those with a limited appetites and older horses with poor dentition will find it more of a struggle to ensure their horses receive the required levels of good quality fibre in their diet, especially over the winter months. It is essential that all horses have their forage requirements met and this factsheet will outline ways in which we can ensure these horses are receiving their daily forage requirement.

Why is forage so important?

Increasing fibre intake for Horses with Poor Appetites

Some horses seem disinterested in their hay and haylage, even if it is fed ad-lib. Rather than assume they are simply not hungry consider how they eat in the wild and how this differs in domestication. Horses are natural browsers and in wild situations have been observed to eat lots of different types of forage on a daily basis. This is limited in domestication to one or two forage sources at most. Due to this natural behaviour being restricted horses exhibit ‘sensory-specific satiety’ where they become ‘fed up’ by one forage type but are still motivated to consume others. If we try to mimic a more natural approach to feeding forage, by offering horses a variety of fibre sources, horses will move from one source to another, mimicking their natural “browsing” behaviours. This has shown to stimulate appetite and consequently increase long-stem fibre intake.

• Simply place large buckets of different fibre sources around the stable, in addition to hay and/or haylage.
• Additional fibre sources include;
  • short chop chaffs
  • chopped grass or grass/ hay cobs
  • fibre cubes, such as Saracen Super Fibre Cubes (these can also be placed in a treat ball)
  • soaked beet products, including Saracen Re-Covery Mash!

Increasing fibre intake for Horses with Poor Teeth

AD LIB FORAGE FOR THE GOOD DOER:

With our horses and ponies who are on restricted forage due to weight management practices or concerns with metabolic conditions, it is still important to ensure they are not left for extended periods of time without any forage. Using small holed hay nets, or doubled nets to slow down hay and haylage intake, or by offering smaller amounts of forage at intervals throughout the day can help ensure we are still restricting the intake of forage for those who require it, but also reducing the both psychological and physical risks of leaving horses with no forage for extended periods of time.

Example forage replacer rations:

Which Saracen products?

• SUPER FIBRE CUBES are a great way to increase the fibre content of any horse’s ration. The pencils have a low starch and sugar content and are cereal free, making them suitable for good-doers and those prone to laminitis or digestive problems. Soya oil is used within the pencil to help support optimum skin and coat condition. The high fibre content makes Super Fibre Cubes ideal as a partial hay replacer at times when hay is either scarce, expensive or of poor quality. As Super Fibre Cubes are dust-free they are an excellent choice to help maintain normal respiratory health. They can also be easily soaked to form a mash for horses with poor dentition.
• RE-COVERY MASH contains a blend of ’Super-Fibres’, known for their superior digestibility and ability to support the health of the whole digestive tract. To further support digestive health Re-Covery Mash also includes a live yeast to support gut flora and stabilise the pH of the gut. An elevated level of vitamin E is included to protect the horse from free radical damage that occurs as a natural part of aging or during work periods. Re-Covery Mash has been flavoured with an encapsulated banana flavour to entice fussy feeders. Encapsulation means that the flavour is protected and released through the physical process of chewing. Encapsulation is more beneficial than essences and oils as they both tend loose taste and aroma very quickly. Saracen Re-Covery Mash should be soaked before use and will take 5 minutes to soak in warm water or 10 minutes in cold water.