Horses should consume 1.0% to 1.5% of their bodyweight per day in quality roughage to meet their fiber needs.
The first and foremost source of fiber in a horse’s diet is their roughage, hay, or pasture source. Secondary to that is what is present in any supplemental grain sources.
Fiber is a measure of the plant cell wall, or the structural portions that give the plant support.
The main components of fiber are the digestible cellulose and hemicellulose, and the indigestible lignin. As a crop of hay matures, the lignin content increases and the cellulose and hemicellulose decrease
As a horse consumes roughage, some quick digestion occurs in the stomach and small intestine. This allows starches and sugars to get digested as the forages pass through this portion of the digestive system.
The fiber begins to get digested as the feed passes into the hindgut, or the cecum and colon. Fiber is digested well here because of the presence of billions of microorganisms (bugs) whose sole function is to digest fiber.
These microorganisms break down fibrous feeds into short chain volatile fatty acids, which are a main source of energy for the horse.
This article was originally posted by Nutrena.
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