Forage – How Much Are You Actually Feeding?

Horses are trickle feeders and have evolved to graze for about 65-70% of their time. Digestible fibre from forage will provide a good source of slow release energy (calories) and help to maintain good gut function, it will also help to keep the horse warm as the way it is digested provides a kind of internal radiator. A lack of forage in a horse’s diet could mean they are more likely to develop vices and digestive problems such as colic or gastric ulcers. Horses should consume a minimum of 1.5% of their bodyweight in dry forage per day to maintain digestive health, but if weight gain is needed this can be increased to 2 - 2.5%, depending on appetite, for example, a 500kg horse should consume a minimum of 7.5kg of dry forage a day and this could be increased up to 10-12.5kg. This forage can come from grass, hay/haylage, short chops such as chaff and fibre cubes, although as haylage is higher in water and lower in fibre than hay and it must be fed in larger amounts in order to provide the same level of fibre as hay.

Feeding ad lib means that when the horse is stabled it always has some hay and if the grass is poor there is always access to hay in the paddock. It is important to remember that even if your horse has constant access to forage, if they are not eating it, then they may not be consuming enough fibre to maintain digestive health. Also, a full but ‘fluffy’ haynet may look enough because it is full but has the potential to not actually weigh enough. If possible, we would recommend weighing out how much forage you give your horse and then weighing out how much is left the next morning a few times a week to work out the amount they are actually consuming. If they are not consuming the minimum 1.5% of their bodyweight in dry forage a day, we would look at topping up their fibre intake with some forage replacers which could include chaff, Super Fibre Cubes and Re-Covery Mash.