How to Feed a Forage-Based Diet for Horses – [Management Guide]

Feeding your horse a forage-based diet is the best way to support their health and well-being, reflecting the natural grazing behaviour of horses. Prioritizing forage helps to promote equine digestive function, supports metabolic health, aids in weight management, and fulfills behavioral needs.

Forages consist of fiber-rich plant material, such as grasses, legumes, and hays. Unlike grain-based feeds, which are higher in sugar and starch, forages provide a steady, slow-release energy source that is more aligned with a horse’s digestive physiology.

Choosing the appropriate type, amount, and quality of forage is critical for a successful forage-based diet. You can use pasture grass, hay, or processed forage products to meet your horse’s forage needs.

Equine nutritionists also recommend testing your horse’s forage to determine its nutrient content, including carbohydrate, energy, protein, and mineral levels. A forage analysis enables you to balance your horse’s diet according to their precise nutritional needs.

While forages are essential, they don’t provide all of a horse’s nutritional needs, such as vitamins and minerals. Additionally, some are deficient in proteins and/or specific amino acids like lysine and methionine. Forage-only diets should be supplemented with salt and a vitamin and mineral mix to meet all of your horse’s requirements.

Forage-Based Diet for Horses

A forage-based diet, sometimes referred to as a forage-first diet, focuses on maximizing forage intake while minimizing the use of concentrate feeds.

Feeding a forage-based diet is optimal for your horse’s digestive system, promoting both foregut and hindgut health.

Compared to grain-based diets, forage-based diets typically have lower hydrolyzable carbohydrate (sugar and starch) content. Instead of relying on sugar and starch as calories sources, energy is derived from fiber, more closely mimicking the natural diet of wild horses. For horses with metabolic syndrome or PPID (Cushing’s disease) keeping hydrolyzable carbohydrates (HC) below 10% is an important part of preventing laminitis.

Forage-first feeding offers multiple benefits for horses, including:

• Promoting constant foraging, leading to more consistent intake of feed and reduced time between meals
• Decreasing the risk of gastric ulcers associated with intermittent feeding of grains
• Reducing the risk of digestive and metabolic issues associated with high grain consumption
• Supporting mental well-being and reducing the risk of stereotypies by keeping horses engaged in natural grazing behaviors

Forage-based diets are also often more cost-effective than those relying heavily on large amounts of commercial grains or complete feeds

How to Switch a Horse to a Forage-Based Diet?

Switching a horse to a forage-based diet requires careful planning to ensure all of your horse’s nutritional needs are met. You can work with an equine nutritionist to gradually replace grains and concentrates with appropriate forage.

The first step in transitioning to a forage-based diet is to have your forage analyzed to determine its energy, protein, and mineral content. Understanding the nutrient profile of your forage is essential for making informed decisions when adjusting your horse’s diet.

While forage is typically sufficient to meet the energy and protein needs of most horses, the majority of hays do not provide adequate amounts of key nutrients, such as: ^[1]

• Sodium
• Zinc
• Copper
• Selenium
• Vitamin E
• Essential fatty acids

Pasture grass is a better source of vitamins than hay, but nutrient levels in pasture are variable throughout the year and may not meet the needs of all horses depending on their physiological status. ^[2]

To address potential nutrient deficiencies, you can add a complete vitamin and mineral supplement to your feeding program. One option is Mad Barn’s Omneity, which is a comprehensive supplement designed to balance the majority of forage-based diets.

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Horses also need additional salt to meet their sodium requirements. ^[1] Adding plain loose salt to your horse’s diet supports electrolyte balance and encourages hydration. Many horses prefer coarse salt like Kosher or pretzel salt which can be placed in a small wall-mounted feeder.

Some exercising horses require additional energy in their diet to meet caloric needs. After maximizing forage intake and balancing the diet to provide adequate protein, vitamins, and minerals, you may need to add more energy-dense feeds and forages to supply required calories.

Excellent calorie sources for horses that are low in hydrolyzable carbohydrate content include:

• Unmolassed beet pulp
• Alfalfa
• Oils
• Flax seed

Endurance horses or horses performing at speed may require some concentrated carbohydrate like a plain grain to maintain their glycogen levels. Glycogen is a storage form of glucose.

Reasons to Feed Forage-Based

Horses are adapted for continuous grazing. In the wild, they consume ample amounts of high-fiber grass forage, continuously eating small amounts throughout the day and night. This feeding behavior shaped the evolution of their digestive system. ^[3]

Providing your horse a forage-based diet is the best way to replicate this natural feeding pattern, promoting overall health and well-being.

Along with the health and welfare benefits, forage-based diets are typically more cost-effective than those relying heavily on complete feeds.

In the following sections, we will discuss the benefits of a forage-based diet for supporting your horse’s digestive function, nutritional requirements, metabolic health, and mental well-being.

Digestive Health

A forage-based diet is more aligned with the horse’s natural biology, promoting a healthier digestive system and reducing the risk of colic and gastric ulcers.

Horses have a relatively small foregut compared to their hindgut. The foregut consists of the mouth, esophagus, stomach (around 4 gallons), and small intestine (around 16 gallons). The hindgut includes the cecum (around 8 gallons), large and small colon (around 24 gallons), and rectum. ^[4]

Because of their relatively small foregut capacity, horses are adapted to consume small, frequent meals and engage in continuous grazing throughout the day. This continuous intake ensures that the digestive system is never overwhelmed by large quantities of food, reducing the risk of digestive upset.

Feeding high-fiber forages also creates an optimal environment for the hindgut microbiome to thrive and provides a continuous supply of energy for your horse.

Foraging also keeps horses busy, which avoids large stretches between meals. Without this stimulation and constant intake of food, horses can become bored and develop stereotypies, ulcers, and other digestive issues. ^[5][6][7][8]

Reduced Risk of Colic

Research shows that a forage-based diet reduces the risk of colic in horses compared to diets with large amounts of grain-based feeds. ^[9][10]

Horses consume pelleted or small particle feeds faster than forage because these feeds require less chewing. When horses rapidly consume a large meal of concentrated feed, it triggers the secretion of saliva and other digestive fluids that aids in digestion. ^[9]

However, this can result in a temporary decrease in blood plasma volume of around 15%, which may affect overall hydration, blood pressure, and circulation. ^[9]

This change in blood plasma volume associated with consuming large meal sets off a cascade of hormonal changes that ultimately result in resorption of fluid from the small intestine and colon to correct blood volume. This reduces the water content of the ingesta passing through the gastrointestinal tract, increasing risk of impaction colic. ^[9]

Feeding large meals can also overwhelm the small intestine, which has limited ability to digest starch. This can result in more starch reaching the hindgut, where it is rapidly fermented by microbes. ^[10] The rapid fermentation of carbohydrates leads to rapid lactic acid production and a decrease in the pH of the hindgut. ^[9]

Long-term concentrate feeding can ultimately result in changes in the hindgut microflora that favor lactic acid-producing bacteria, further impacting the hindgut pH. In extreme cases of grain overload, this can lead to hindgut issues such as colitis, hindgut acidosis, and hindgut ulcers, all of which are associated with colic. ^[9]

In addition, there is evidence of an increased risk of colic in horses fed large concentrate meals. ^[11][12][13]

Eating hay throughout the day leads to consistent saliva production and avoids the risk of starch overflow into the large intestine, making a forage-based diet a simple and effective way to reduce the risk of digestive issues like colic.

For horses needing more energy than forage alone can provide, feeds such as alfalfa, beet pulp, and oils can increase their calorie intake without adding excess starch to the diet. If feeding large volumes of energy-dense feeds is unavoidable, splitting grain rations into many small meals instead of one or two large meals can limit the risk of colic. ^[9][10] You can also get the maximum benefit from a grain feeding by timing it to within the first 30 to 60 minutes after exercise when muscle uptake of glucose is most efficient. ^[14][15]

Reduced Risk of Ulcers

Horses are prone to gastric ulcers because they secrete acid continuously into their stomach. Constant consumption of forage helps buffer this acid and reduces the risk of ulcers by maintaining a more stable pH in the stomach.

In comparison, research studies show that horses consuming large amounts of grain in their diet have an increased risk of ulcers. ^[17][18][19]

High-grain diets result in increased gastrin levels, a hormone that stimulates gastric acid secretion. Additionally, the fermentation of carbohydrates by stomach microbes produces volatile fatty acids that can damage the non-glandular region of the stomach. ^[16]

Many horses on a grain-based diet also have limited forage intake and go long periods between meals. This is common for performance horse or other equines that are stalled during the day without free access to forage.

Intermittent feeding patterns increase the risk of ulcers because long periods without food cause the stomach’s pH to drop, leading to higher acidity. This can damage the non-glandular region of the stomach, which lacks protective mucus and is more vulnerable to ulcers. ^[16]

For horses that need more calories, replacing a portion of their calories from grain with alfalfa hay can help reduce the risk of ulcers. Alfalfa has relatively high calcium and protein content, which may help buffer gastric acid, protecting the sensitive tissues of the stomach. ^[16]

Nutritional Value

Horse owners often turn to grain-based feeds to ensure their horses get enough energy and protein. However, for most horses, a forage-only diet supplemented with salt, fatty acids, and a well-balanced vitamin and mineral supplement is sufficient to meet their nutritional needs.

Our review of equine diets found that most horses are receiving too much energy and protein. This suggests many horses would benefit from less grain and more forage in their feeding routine. In fact, average quality forage alone can satisfy the energy and protein requirements of most horses at maintenance and moderate exercise levels. ^[20][21]

The low hydrolyzable carbohydrate (sugar and starch) content in forage supports digestive and metabolic health, making a forage-based diet ideal for horses with digestive issues, metabolic concerns, or weight control issues.

Additionally, a forage-based diet offers flexibility in managing body condition because the amount of forage provided can be adjusted to meet your horse’s individual calorie needs.

Complete feeds and ration balancers need to be fed at specific rates to meet vitamin and mineral requirements. Feeding less to reduce calories can result in nutrient deficiencies, while feeding more adds unnecessary calories and can lead to overconsumption of vitamins and minerals.

Many horses consume excess calories, contributing to high rates of obesity and over-conditioning. An estimated 25 – 50% of the equine population is obese, contributing to health issues that can impact well-being and performance. ^{[22][23][24][25]}

For easy keepers, feeding a forage-based diet along with a complete vitamin and mineral supplement results in reduced calorie intake while still meeting nutritional needs.

For hard keepers, combining a complete vitamin and mineral supplement with high-quality forage and additional energy sources like beet pulp, alfalfa, or oil allows for increased control over calorie intake. Adjustments can be made to energy-dense feeds without worrying about nutrient deficiencies or excesses.

Metabolic Health

A forage-based diet also offers benefits for metabolic health in horses. The energy derived from forage mainly comes from digesting fiber in the hindgut, while grain-based meals primarily provide energy from sugars and starches that are digested in the small intestine.

When a horse consumes hay, its low sugar and starch content leads to a gradual rise in blood glucose that remains stable over time. As the hay reaches the hindgut, microbes break down the fiber, producing volatile fatty acids that the horse absorbs and uses for energy. ^[26]

In contrast, grain feeds contain higher levels of sugars and starches, which are rapidly broken down and absorbed in the small intestine. This results in a rapid rise in blood glucose, causing insulin levels to spike. ^[26]

Insulin is the hormone responsible for regulating blood sugar by moving glucose into cells. Over time, high insulin levels can weaken the laminae in hooves, leading to the development of laminitis in horses with exaggerated insulin responses from metabolic disease. ^[27]

Horses with Equine Metabolic Syndrome and Pituitary Pars Intermedia Dysfunction (PPID; formerly known as Cushing’s disease) commonly exhibit high circulating insulin levels, which increases the risk of laminitis in these horses. ^[28][29]

For these horses, avoiding spikes in blood glucose and insulin is crucial, as such fluctuations can further compromise hoof health. Forage-based diets, which prevent these spikes, are therefore ideal for horses with metabolic conditions related to insulin sensitivity. Diets for these horses should have HC below 10%.

Mental Well-Being

Horses are evolutionarily adapted to graze continuously, naturally spending 10 – 14 hours daily consuming forage. Restricting their foraging time often results in unwanted behaviors, such as eating bedding or performing stereotypies. ^[30]

Research shows that when horses are given free-choice access to forage with plenty of space and a low stocking density, the amount of time they spend on different activities like eating, resting, lying down, and moving around more closely resembles patterns seen in semi-feral horses. ^[31] Therefore, providing ample forage and turnout is key to promoting natural behaviors.

Horses exhibit an increased drive for forage consumption when eating a low-fiber diet. In addition, horses on a pelleted diet spend more time searching for feed and standing idly compared to horses consuming a hay-based diet. ^[32]

Aside from encouraging natural behavior, high-fiber diets have been linked to less reactivity when horses are handled or encounter new objects. ^[33] This suggests horses on a forage-based diet may be calmer and less stressed than those on a grain-based diet.

Feeding low-forage, high-grain diets also disrupts the hindgut microbiota, which may contribute to increased vigilance and stress when horses face new situations or interact with other horses. ^[34]

Overall, maximizing forage intake while avoiding high-starch feeds encourages natural behaviors and reduces stress and reactivity, supporting both mental and physical well-being in horses.

Types of Forage for Horses

Forages are the edible parts of grass and legume plants that horses consume either while grazing or in the form of preserved forage. There are several types of forages available for horses, including pasture, hay, and processed options like forage cubes and pellets.

Pasture

Pastures are composed of fresh grasses and/or legumes that horses graze. Horses spend roughly 10 – 17 hours grazing pasture when given unlimited access. ^[35] Estimates of pasture consumption range from 1.5 – 3.3% of a horse’s body weight in dry matter per day. ^[36]

Types of Pasture

The plants in pastures may include grasses and legumes such as alfalfa or clover. Typically, the digestibility, energy, and protein content of mixed grass-legume pastures is higher than that of grass pastures. ^[37]

For this reason, mixed grass-legume pastures are better suited to exercising horses or those that need to gain weight. Grass pastures are often more appropriate for horses with lower energy requirements.

Horses with metabolic issues may not tolerate pasture because of its higher HC content. The safest time for these horses to graze on pasture is after the grass has reached full height and gone to seed, but even this does not guarantee safety due to natural fluctuations in HC.

Horses may also have palatability preferences for certain grass species, which can affect how much forage they consume and, consequently, their overall nutrient intake.

Among selected grasses, horses seem to prefer the following species: ^[38]

• Kentucky Bluegrass
• Timothy
• Meadow Fescue

The grasses above are preferred over Meadow Bromegrass and Orchardgrass. ^[38]

With regard to legumes, horses seem to prefer red and white clover over alfalfa. ^[39]

Nutritive Value of Pasture

Pasture is a good source of energy, protein, essential fatty acids, and certain vitamins and minerals. However, the nutrient content of pasture can vary seasonally and may not fully meet your horse’s vitamin and mineral needs. ^[2][36]

Therefore, pasture-only diets must be balanced with a vitamin and mineral supplement to ensure all nutritional requirements are met.

You can submit a forage sample of your pasture for nutrient analysis and consult with a qualified equine nutritionist to balance your horse’s pasture-based diet. This helps ensure your horse receives the proper nutrients for optimal health.

Pasture Considerations

While pasture is a valuable forage source for many horses, it can contain high levels of hydrolyzable carbohydrates (HC), including sugar and starch. HC levels in pasture vary depending on factors like temperature, weather, and season.

The variable HC levels, along with the high energy and protein content, can make pasture challenging to manage for overweight horses or those with metabolic issues.

Working with an equine nutritionist can help you determine whether pasture is appropriate for your horse. Some horses may need a grazing muzzle or dry lot turnout to avoid health risks.

Hays

Hays are made from preserved grasses and/or legumes that are harvested and then dried for long-term storage.

When fed free-choice, horses typically consume 2 – 2.5% of their body weight in hay daily on a dry matter basis. This amounts to 11 – 14 kg (24 – 31 lb) of hay for an average 500 kg (1,100 lb) horse. ^[40] However, metabolic horses with insulin resistance are also resistant to leptin, the hormone that controls appetite, and will overeat if fed free-choice. ^[41]

Types of Hay

Hays are classified as either grass or legume forages, depending on the plant species they are made from.

Grass hays are typically lower in protein and energy but high in fiber, making them suitable for most horses. Common grass hays include:

• Timothy
• Orchard
• Brome
• Teff
• Bermuda

Legume hays generally contain higher levels of energy, protein, and macrominerals (like calcium and magnesium) compared to grass hays. This makes legume forages ideal for horses with increased energy and protein needs, such as those who are:

• Growing
• In later stages of pregnancy or early lactation
• Exercising heavily

Common legume hays include:

• Alfalfa
• Peanut
• Clover

Nutritive Value of Hay

The digestibility, energy, and protein content of hays largely depend on factors such as:

• Plant species
• Plant maturity at harvest
• Weather and preservation conditions during harvest

Despite these variables, free-choice, average-quality grass hay typically meets the energy and protein requirements of most horses at maintenance and those in light exercise programs.

Hays are generally a good source of macrominerals like calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, and potassium. However, it’s important to monitor the calcium-to-phosphorus ratio to prevent secondary calcium deficiencies. ^[42] Too much phosphorus relative to calcium can interfere with calcium absorption and lead to issues over time.

While hays are a good source of macrominerals, they are often low in certain vitamins and trace minerals like zinc, copper, and vitamin E. Depending on where your hay is grown, it may also be low in selenium.

For this reason, hay-only diets should be supplemented with a vitamin and mineral to fully meet your horse’s nutritional needs.

Hay Considerations

The hydrolyzable carbohydrate (HC) content in hay can vary depending on factors like weather conditions, time of day, and the season when it was harvested. However, HC levels in hay are generally lower than those in fresh pasture. ^[43] This lower HC content makes hay a better option for horses prone to metabolic issues or those that need to lose weight.

The variability in nutrient content across both hay and pasture underscores the importance of regularly testing your horse’s forage. Routine forage analysis ensures you’re meeting your horse’s nutritional needs and allows you to adjust their diet to balance nutrient levels.

Processed Forages

Processed forages consist of grass or legume hays that are chopped, preserved, and often compressed into pellets or cubes after harvesting.

Types of Processed Forage

Chopped hay is available in bags from most feed stores or can be prepared at home from cut hay using a tool like a leaf mulcher. Chopping usually produces hay pieces that range in size from 5 – 10 centimeters (2 – 4 inches) in diameter.

Hay cubes are made of hay that is chopped and pressed into a cube shape. They generally have a smaller particle size than chopped hay, but a larger particle size compared to other processed forages, like pellets.

Common examples of hay cubes include:

• Alfalfa cubes
• Timothy cubes
• Mixed alfalfa/grass cubes

Hay pellets are chopped and pressed into a pellet shape. They usually have a smaller particle size than both chopped hay and hay cubes.

Examples of common forage pellets include:

• Alfalfa pellets
• Timothy pellets
• Mixed alfalfa/grass pellets
• Bermuda pellets
• Orchard pellets
• Teff pellets
• Brome pellets

Nutritive Value of Processed Forage

Chopped hay, cubes, and pellets retain a nutrient content similar to the forages they are made from.

Therefore, horses on a processed forage diet, or those receiving a mix of forage and processed forage, still require a comprehensive vitamin and mineral supplement to ensure their diet is well-balanced and meets all nutritional needs.

Some processed forage products are enriched with additional nutrients. If you are feeding one of these products, consult with an equine nutritionist to ensure your horse’s diet is properly balanced.

Processed Forage Considerations

For most horses, processed forage should not make up a large portion of the diet because it is consumed more quickly than long-stem hay. This can leave long periods between meals without access to forage, which can disrupt natural feeding behaviors and increase the risk of digestive issues.

However, for horses that require a diet higher in processed forage, such as those with dental or respiratory issues, forage products can be fed in several smaller meals throughout the day.

Keep in mind that processed forages are more expensive than traditional hay. Evaluating the cost-effectiveness of including processed forage in your horse’s diet is important, especially if large amounts are needed regularly.

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Choosing Forage for Your Horse

The main considerations when choosing a forage are ensuring it meets your horse’s digestibility, energy, and protein needs. While vitamin and mineral levels can be adjusted with supplements, an imbalance in digestibility, energy, or protein from the forage itself can be difficult to overcome.

When to Choose Pasture

Turning your horse out on pasture provides multiple benefits including freedom of movement, ability to socialize with other horses, and a relatively low cost of feeding. However, pasture must be properly managed to provide weed control and limit overgrazing.

Pasture grass typically has good digestibility and is relatively easy to chew. This makes it a good source of nutrition for older horses, hard keepers, and horses with higher energy and protein requirements such as pregnant and lactating mares, growing horses, and intensely exercising horses.

However, pasture intake should be avoided or limited for horses with metabolic conditions due to its relatively high and variable HC content. Additionally, overweight horses should have limited access to pasture because of its high energy and protein content, which can contribute to further weight gain.

To restrict pasture intake, you can use a grazing muzzle or give your horse limited time on pasture and provide free choice hay in a dry lot the remainder of the day.

To limit HC intake from pasture grasses, horses can be confined to early morning grazing, when the sugar content of pasture is lower, as long as nighttime temperatures do not dip below 4.4 C (40 F). ^[45]

How to Balance a Pasture-Based Diet

The first step in implementing a pasture-based diet is ensuring adequate forage availability. Key pasture management practices to optimize forage availability include:

• Maintaining an appropriate stocking rate
• Seeding
• Fertilizing
• Regular mowing
• Weed control
• Resting pastures

Testing your pasture’s nutrient content is also important to determine which supplemental vitamins and minerals may be needed in your horse’s diet. Nutrients that are commonly lacking in pasture, such as selenium, zinc, and copper, should be assessed to ensure your horse is meeting their requirements.

For horses on pasture full-time, Mad Barn’s Omneity Premix can be offered free choice in a bucket placed in a shelter away from moisture and water.

While this setup is easy to manage, it may be challenging to ensure your horse is consuming enough to meet their nutritional needs. Alternatively, Omneity can be fed daily based on your horse’s body weight, ensuring adequate nutrient intake. Using individual feed bags can work in a group setting.

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After adding a vitamin and mineral supplement to your horse’s diet, the next step is to include plain loose salt to meet their sodium needs.

For an average 500 kg (1,100 lb) horse at maintenance, adding 1-2 tablespoons of salt to their daily ration and offering loose salt free choice is an effective way to ensure they get enough sodium.

Since it’s hard to monitor intake from salt blocks and many horses don’t use them consistently, adding salt directly to their feed is recommended, even if a salt block is available.

Example Diet: 500 kg (1,100 lb) adult horse in moderate exercise with constant access to good-quality pasture

When to Choose Hay

Choosing hay as the foundation for your horse’s forage-based diet provides several benefits:

• Reliable year-round availability
• Lower and more stable calorie and hydrolyzable carbohydrate (HC) content compared to pasture
• Easier to restrict intake
• Better control over nutrient quality through careful selection

Hay is an excellent forage source for horses that need a controlled calorie intake. Unlike pasture, where nutrient content is hard to adjust quickly, feeding hay allows you to choose forage with an appropriate caloric density. This makes it easier to manage your horse’s energy intake and meet their body condition goals.

Since the energy density and HC content of hay is typically lower and less variable than pasture, horses can consume more hay on a dry-matter basis without oversupplying calories, sugar, and starch.

Hay is also an important component of the diet when pasture access is limited, such as during the winter or in areas where pasture growth is insufficient to support your horse’s dietary needs.

Feeding hay tends to be more management-intensive than grazing pasture but can be simplified with free-choice access to round bales or large square bales.

The hygienic quality of hay is important to consider, as mold, bacteria, and detrimental yeasts can cause digestive, respiratory, and other health concerns.

Harvesting hay at a low moisture level (at least 85% dry matter content) and storing it away from light and moisture can help limit the risk of hygienic concerns. ^[46]

How to Balance a Hay-Based Diet

The first step to implementing a hay-based diet is selecting an appropriate hay for your horse’s nutritional needs.

Grass hays are a good choice for horses at maintenance or in lighter exercise loads. An average quality grass hay fed free choice will meet the energy and protein needs of most horses.

For overweight horses, it is important to select a hay that is aligned with their weight loss goals. Lower-quality, more fibrous hays are better for horses who need a restricted calorie intake. If needed, soaking, rationing, and/or netting your horse’s hay can also help to decrease their energy intake.

Higher quality grass hays and legume hays can be used for horses with increased energy and protein needs or hard keepers that have difficulty maintaining weight. Legume hays are rich in energy and protein, making them a good option for horses with higher requirements. Dressing oil on your hay is another strategy to increase energy density of forage.

After you’ve chosen a hay for your horse, submit a hay sample for analysis. The hay report will help you accurately balance your horse’s energy, protein, HC, vitamin, and mineral intake.

Next, determine the appropriate amount of hay to feed. Many horses at maintenance up to moderate exercise levels maintain weight and meet their protein requirements on a free-choice grass hay diet.

However, some horses need their calorie intake limited to maintain an appropriate body condition. Horses should be fed a minimum of 1.5% of their body weight in forage dry matter per day. This is equal to 7.5 kg (16.5 lb) for the average 500 kg (1,100 lb) horse.

In cases of severe obesity, your veterinarian or nutritionist may recommend rationing your horse’s hay intake to as little as 1% of their body weight per day in forage dry matter. ^[4] However, this should only be done under professional supervision.

After evaluating your hay’s nutrient content and deciding how much to feed per day, you can accurately determine the vitamin and mineral requirements to balance your horse’s diet. Similar to pasture, hay often falls short in key nutrients such as vitamin E, selenium, zinc, and copper.

Feeding a balanced vitamin and mineral supplement can fill the nutrient gaps in hay-based diets, ensuring your horse receives optimal nutrition to support hoof growth, coat quality, immune function, exercise performance and more.

Mad Barn’s Omneity is an excellent choice for meeting the nutrient needs of horses on a hay-based diet. Feeding Omneity along with 1 – 2 tablespoons of salt and 100 mL of W-3 oil will balance a hay-only diet for the average 500 kg (1,100 lb) horse.

Example Diet: 500 kg (1,100 lb) adult horse at maintenance

When to Choose Processed Forage

Chopped hay, hay cubes, and hay pellets are good forage sources for horses with respiratory or dental issues who need low-dust or easy-to-consume options. Additionally, they can be used when long-stem forage is not readily available, such as during hay shortages.

However, processed forages have a smaller particle size, requiring less chewing. Because of this, they are consumed more quickly than long-stem hay. ^[47] This can leave long periods between meals if small meals are not fed throughout the day.

In addition, it can be quite costly to feed an appropriate amount of processed forage if used as the only forage source. For these reasons, it is often easier and more cost-effective to feed processed forages alongside long-stem forage.

How to Balance a Processed Forage-Based Diet

Similar to feeding hay, the first step to implementing a balanced processed forage-based diet is selecting an appropriate forage type for your horse’s nutritional needs. Legume or mixed grass/legume chops, cubes, or pellets are good options for horses who have difficulty maintaining weight – a common issue for senior horses with dental issues.

Grass chops, cubes, or pellets are good choices for horses who maintain their weight easily, such as horses with respiratory issues at maintenance or those in lighter exercise loads.

The appropriate amount of processed forage to feed should be determined based on your horse’s caloric needs and the guaranteed analysis provided by the manufacturer. The average horse on a forage-only diet should consume around 2% of their body weight per day in forage dry matter.

This is equivalent to 11 kg (24 lb) per day of chopped, cubed, or pelleted forage on an as-fed basis for the average 500 kg (1,100 lb) horse.

For most commercial products, this means horses will consume around half a bag of processed forage per day. For horses that need a diet solely consisting of processed forage, it is typically bought in bulk and is often quite costly.

However, you can reduce costs by chopping hay yourself or by carefully including some long-stemmed hay in the diet.

For horses with dental issues, long-stem hay can be chopped at home using tools like a leaf mulcher. While this takes some extra effort, it can greatly reduce the cost of forage-based diets for horses with dental challenges.

If your horse has problems with chewing forage, hay cubes or pellets should be soaked before feeding to make them easier to consume. Completely submerging the cubes or pellets and soaking for 30 minutes in cool water or 15 minutes in warm water is sufficient to soften the forage. ^[49]

For horses with respiratory issues, forage-only diets can be supplemented with soaked long-stem hay. Although soaking requires extra effort, it significantly reduces dust, bacteria, and mold in the hay, making it a safer option for horses with respiratory concerns. ^[48]

Mixing in home-chopped hay with a larger particle size or long-stem hay can also keep your horse munching longer, relieving the need for several daily forage feedings.

Like hay and pasture, processed forage often undersupplies important nutrients such as fatty acids, vitamin E, selenium, zinc, and copper. It is important to feed a complete vitamin and mineral supplement along with 1 – 2 tablespoons of salt to balance a diet consisting solely of processed forage.

Example Diet: 500 kg (1,100 lb) adult horse at maintenance

Summary

A forage-based diet is the best way to support your horse’s gastrointestinal physiology and behavioural needs. Forage provides important nutrients while reducing the risk of digestive, metabolic, and weight issues associated with excessive intake of grain-based feeds.

• Common forage options for horses include pasture, long-stem hay, and processed forage such as chopped hay, cubes, or pellets.
• Pasture, legume hays, and high-quality grass hays are a good choice of forage for horses with increased energy and protein demands. Average- or low-quality grass hays can help to support weight management in easy-keepers and overweight horses.
• The first step to implementing a forage-based diet is knowing the nutrient content of your forage. Testing your hay can help to properly balance the diet to avoid nutrient deficiencies.
• Forage-only diets should be supplemented with a vitamin and mineral supplement, a fatty acid supplement, and some salt to meet your horse’s requirements and encourage hydration.
• You can consult an equine nutritionist to help determine the best type and amount of forage for your horse, as well as supplements required to meet all of their needs.