Gain unparalleled insight into your horse’s diet with our comprehensive forage testing. Submit a hay or pasture sample for a detailed analysis of energy, protein, NSC, and mineral content. Our nutritionists use this data to formulate a balanced feeding plan customized to your horse’s needs.
Includes free shipping & diet balancing report
Forage analysis helps you understand the actual nutrient composition of your horse’s hay or pasture, which typically makes up the majority of their diet. Visual inspection alone cannot accurately determine protein, sugar, fibre, or mineral levels, which can vary widely between batches. By testing your forage, you can identify deficiencies, imbalances, or excesses that affect your horse’s health and performance. This information allows our nutritionists to create a balanced diet tailored to your horse’s needs.
All horses benefit from knowing what’s in their forage, but it’s especially important for horses with special dietary needs. Horses with metabolic conditions, easy keepers, or laminitis risk benefit from monitoring sugar and starch levels. Performance horses, growing foals, and broodmares need precise energy and protein data to support their workload or development. Even for healthy horses, testing ensures their base diet is balanced before adding supplements or concentrates.
For metabolic horses, controlling dietary sugar and starch is critical. A forage analysis measures ESC and WSC sugars, starch, and non-structural carbohydrates (NSC) to determine whether your forage is appropriate for horses with insulin resistance, PPID, or a history of laminitis. With these values, our nutritionists can help you choose suitable hay, recommend soaking protocols if needed, and build a balanced, low-NSC feeding program that supports metabolic health.
Performance horses have higher demands for energy, protein, and key minerals such as calcium, phosphorus, and electrolytes. Forage analysis identifies whether your hay meets those needs or if your horse requires additional energy or nutrient supplementation. Understanding the forage profile allows our team to fine-tune your horse’s feeding plan to maintain body condition, muscle recovery, and consistent performance.
Breeding mares and growing foals have increased requirements for energy, protein, and minerals such as calcium, phosphorus, copper, and zinc to support healthy growth, bone development, and milk production. Forage analysis provides accurate nutrient values so you can ensure these critical needs are met without over- or under-supplementing. Knowing the composition of your forage allows our nutritionists to balance the diet precisely for optimal reproductive performance, steady growth rates, and long-term soundness in young horses.
Every forage analysis provides a comprehensive breakdown of your hay or pasture’s nutritional composition, focusing on the values most important for horses. The base package includes the following:
These values provide insight into the forage’s energy density, sugar content, fibre quality, and mineral balance. This data enables our nutritionists to identify deficiencies or excesses and formulate a balanced diet tailored to your horse’s individual needs.
Your forage analysis report includes a complete nutrient profile of your hay or pasture, covering digestible energy, protein, fibre fractions (ADF, NDF), sugars, starch, and minerals. Our team uses this data to identify any nutrient gaps and provide a personalized feeding plan to ensure your horse’s diet is properly balanced. You’ll receive your results by email, along with an invitation to book a free nutrition consultation to discuss the findings.
Once your results are available, one of our equine nutritionists will review your forage report alongside your horse’s body condition, workload, and health history. During your free consultation, you’ll receive a detailed feeding plan that balances your forage with the right vitamins, minerals, and energy sources. You can also ask questions about feeding schedules, metabolic management, or performance optimization.
Yes. If your horses are fed from the same lot of hay, one forage analysis provides a baseline nutrient profile that can be used to customize diets for different horses based on their workload, age, and health status. If you use hay from multiple lots or suppliers, we recommend testing each lot separately, as nutrient values can vary significantly between fields or cuttings.
A forage probe is recommended, especially for large or round bales, as it collects material from the full core of the bale to create a representative sample. Local agricultural extensions, feed stores, or dairy farms often lend probes. If you don’t have access to one, you can still collect a reliable sample using scissors or the hand-grab method outlined in our submission guide. Be sure to collect hay from multiple bales and handle it carefully to avoid losing leaf material.
A “lot” refers to hay that was harvested from the same field, during the same cutting, and containing the same plant species. Each lot should be sampled separately, as nutrient content can vary significantly between fields or cuttings. Testing each lot ensures your results accurately reflect what your horses are eating.
Collect samples from at least 5–10 bales within the same lot to create a representative composite sample. Sampling only one bale can give misleading results because nutrient levels often vary within a batch. For highly variable hay, sample 10–20 bales for best accuracy.
Send approximately 100–750 grams (3–26 oz) depending on forage type. Aim for:
Cut long pieces to 2–3 inches so the sample fits easily into a resealable plastic bag.
Your final package should include your forage sample sealed in a resealable plastic bag and the pre-filled submission form that was emailed to you after placing your order. The submission form must be included with your sample for the lab to correctly identify and process it.
The pre-filled submission form connects your sample to your order and specifies which analysis to perform. Please include it with your sample when mailing it in. Do not write additional information on the form — if you need to make changes, contact Mad Barn at info@madbarn.com or call 1-800-623-2276 before shipping.
You can test hay anytime after it has been baled and stabilized, typically a few weeks post-harvest. For haylage, wait 30–60 days to allow for complete fermentation. For pastures, sampling during the growing season provides the most accurate nutrient data. Re-testing each time you switch hay lots helps maintain a consistent feeding program.
Yes, we analyze both hay and pasture samples. Pasture testing follows a similar process, but samples should be frozen immediately after collection to preserve sugar content. This data helps you understand the nutritional value of your grazing fields and adjust your feeding plan as pasture quality changes through the season.
All forage analyses are conducted by Equi-Analytical Laboratories, a leading facility specializing in equine nutrition testing. They use validated Near Infrared Reflectance (NIR) and wet chemistry methods to ensure accuracy and consistency. Mad Barn partners with Equi-Analytical to provide high-quality, reliable results for every sample.
Once your sample arrives at the lab, results are typically available within 1–3 business days for the base package. Wet chemistry starch and sugar tests take an additional 2–3 business days, and selenium analysis can take 2–4 weeks. You’ll receive your results by email, followed by an invitation to schedule your free nutrition consultation.
We recommend testing your hay each time you receive a new lot or change suppliers. Nutrient values can vary significantly between fields, cuttings, and growing conditions. If you buy large quantities from a single batch, one test per lot is sufficient. For barns purchasing hay throughout the year, periodic testing ensures your feeding program stays consistent and nutritionally balanced.
Near Infrared Reflectance (NIR) analysis is a rapid, cost-effective method that estimates nutrient values using light absorption patterns compared to a large reference database. It provides accurate results for most nutrients in typical hays and pastures. Wet chemistry testing involves direct chemical measurement and is considered the gold standard for components like sugar, starch, and minerals when maximum precision is needed. Mad Barn offers both options depending on your horse’s specific needs.
Yes, some nutrient levels in forage can change during storage. Over time, hay naturally loses certain vitamins, such as vitamin E and provitamin A (beta-carotene), and may experience slight decreases in energy and protein content. However, the mineral profile remains stable. Testing stored hay provides accurate insight into its current nutritional value, ensuring your horse’s diet remains balanced even if the hay was harvested several months earlier.
Yes, Mad Barn’s nutritionists can help you interpret forage results from any laboratory and create a balanced feeding plan at no cost. You do not need to order a forage analysis through Mad Barn to receive a consultation. Simply submit your horse’s information and upload your forage report. Our team will review the results and design a feeding program that matches your horse’s nutritional needs. You can also book a free phone consultation with one of our nutritionists to discuss your horse’s diet.
Have a question about this product? Ask below and our nutritionists will be happy to assist.
“When you test your forage through Mad Barn, you get a full analysis that doesn't leave anything out. Not only does this help you make informed decisions about you horse's nutrition but also allows our nutritionists to offer personalized diet recommendations.”
— Dr. Fran Rowe, DVMA hay or pasture analysis can help you understand the nutritional composition of your horse’s forage so you can address deficiencies or imbalances in their diet.
Our nutritionists will then use the data in your forage report to formulate a balanced feeding program customized to your horse’s needs. Submit your horse’s information online to receive your free diet evaluation.
Nutrient Content
Our comprehensive forage testing provides a detailed breakdown of the energy, protein, fibre, and NSC content of your horse’s forage.
Mineral Content
Your report will also provide concentrations for the following macrominerals andtrace minerals. These are tested using wet chemistry to provide the most accurate results.
In this video, Dr. Alex Rankovic, Ph.D. of Mad Barn explains how to collect a hay sample using a forage probe or the hand-grab method with a pair of scissors.
Sampling Materials:
Depending on whether you’re sampling from fresh pasture or round, square, or compressed hay bales and your sampling method, you’ll want to collect a 3 – 26 oz (100 – 750 g) sample that is representative of your forage lot (see instructions below for details).
Hay can be sampled anytime after baling. For haylage, it is best to wait 30 – 60 days to let the forage ferment. To collect your sample, you’ll need a labelled, sealable plastic bag.
Collect samples from 5 – 10 bales within one lot of hay to minimize sampling variation. For a lot that has a high degree of variability, aim for at least 10 – 20 bales.
A lot is hay that comes from the same cutting, the same field and contains the same plant species.
Using a Hay Probe:
This is the ideal method because a hay probe is accurate, fast and allows you to obtain a core sample of each bale you’re testing. You can borrow hay probes from your local feed store, agriculture cooperative or government agency.
You will need an electric drill to drive the probe through the bale’s cores.
Start at the end of a square bale and push the probe in horizontally to a depth of 12 – 18 inches so that multiple flakes are tested. For round bales, sample into the curved part of the bale to obtain a good cross-section.
Use the plunger rod to push your sample into the collection bucket and place it in your collection bag.
Using this method, you will want to collect 3 – 7 oz (100 – 200 g) of dry hay or 10 – 16 oz (300 – 450 g) of haylage.
Using Scissors:
If you are using the hand grab method, open at least 10 – 20 bales from your lot and grab samples from different parts within each bale of hay.
Grab some hay from the exterior of the bale too, but the majority of the sample should come from the interior of the bale.
Try not to crush or lose any dried leaves or seed heads when grabbing hay, as these components are preferentially consumed by the horse.
Cut the collected hay into 2–3-inch segments before bagging.
Using this method, you will want to collect 7 – 14 oz (200 – 400 g) of dry hay or 12 – 18 oz (350 – 500 g) of haylage.
Sampling Pasture:
It is important to obtain samples representative of the entire pasture lot. Walk around the pasture with scissors and cut random samples 10 feet apart.
Cut the grass at the height your horse is currently grazing and ensure there is no dirt contaminating the sample. Your samples should be trimmed to about 2-3 inches long.
You will want to collect 18 – 26 oz (500 – 750 g) of fresh sample for analysis.
Samples should be frozen immediately to preserve sugars so the laboratory can provide an accurate analysis. Ship the sample with ice packs to minimize thawing. When shipping frozen samples, send them earlier in the week (Monday – Wednesday).
If this is not possible, the sample should be completely dried before shipping. Weigh the sample as-is before drying and note this on your sample submission form. To dry the sample, spread it out in a pan and oven-dry overnight at 100oF (40oC).
After ordering your forage analysis online, we will e-mail you a pre-filled sample submission form and a pre-paid shipping label.
You will be asked to provide a brief description of your forage sample, including forage type, hay cutting and year of harvest.
Collect your sample and mail it with your pre-filled sample submission form to our analytical laboratory in a shipping envelope using the pre-paid shipping label. You can expect to receive your hay analysis results via email between 3 – 5 business days after your sample is received.
If you have added wet chemistry analysis for sugar and starch or nitrates to your order, expect these results within 4 – 6 business days. For selenium analysis, expect these results within 2 – 4 weeks.
Learn more about how to take a hay sample and interpret the results in our Guide to Understanding an Equine Hay Analysis.
Our equine nutritionists will then use your hay analysis to formulate a balanced feeding program for your horses. You will also be able to book a free nutrition consultation to ask questions about your horse’s diet and general management.
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