🌾Horses -Forage is Fibre:
- Natural Horse NZ
- Mar 14
- 2 min read
Updated: 2 days ago
Forage is Fibre:
One of the most important things to understand about horses is that their digestive system is built around fibre. Horses are hindgut fermenters. This means they rely on the microbes in their large intestine to break down plant fibre and turn it into usable energy. When a horse has a steady supply of appropriate forage, those microbes stay balanced, and the whole digestive system tends to function the way nature intended.
When feeding fibre, it is best served as naturally as possible.
Horses evolved to eat real grasses (not amplified cow pasture), and their digestive system works best when that fibre comes in its natural form. Ideally, this means fresh pasture or well-made mixed grass meadow hay.
Once fibre is heavily processed into products such as haylage, baleage, cubes, or pellets, it is no longer the same as the grasses that hindgut microbes evolved to ferment. These more highly processed forage options can cause issues for some horses.
When fibre intake drops, or when it is replaced with feeds the horse was never designed to eat, that fermentation system can quickly become disrupted. This can lead to a range of health problems, including ulcers, colic and laminitis.
That is why species-appropriate forage needs to sit at the foundation of the diet.
The take-home message about forage and fibre is simple. For a truly healthy horse, feed as nature intended. Grass and plenty of good-quality mixed grass hay help replicate the scrubland on which grazing horses evolved to live on.
FEEDING PLAN
To view our anti-inflammatory free feeding plan with real wholefood ingredients, check out this link:
Continue the Food for Thought Horse Series
Don't stop here! Discover the fascinating role nutrition plays in your horse's health, behaviour and wellbeing.
🌾 All About Grass and Sugar for Horses
🌾 Why Hay Is the Best Food for Horses
🌾 Forage Is Fibre
🌾 Haylage / Baleage & Fermented Grasses
🌾 Lucerne (Alfalfa) for Horses
🌾 Horse Feeding and Sprouted Grains
🌾 Horse Feeds and Barley
🌾 Beet Pulp
🌾 Copra (Coconut Meal)
🌾 Soya
🌾 The Hard Keeper Horse
🌾 Feeding Older Horses
🌾 Are You Accidentally Turning Your Horse Into an Industrial Garbage Disposal Unit?
View the complete Food for Thought Horse Series →
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