Forage

Oct 8
Expert Advice from Baileys Horse Feeds, Official Feed Partner to British Eventing 

Just in the same way that it’s not advisable to starve yourself to lose weight, it’s also not sensible to do this to our horses. Forage is generally the good-doer’s main source of calories but reducing intake to the point that the horse has periods of fasting or starvation can disturb their natural metabolism, resulting in an accumulation of fat in the tissues, potentially increasing weight gain, and may also lead to depression, fever and diarrhoea, in a condition known as hyperlipidaemia. 

Since horses are designed to spend most of their lives eating, their stomach constantly secretes acid for the expected steady stream of fibrous food. Saliva contains a natural buffer for stomach acid and is only produced when the horse is chewing so limiting your horse’s forage/feed intake too much will reduce the efficacy of this mechanism and, in worst cases, may result in gastric ulcers or colic. Stress, associated with feed restriction, can often exacerbate such problems so ensuring your horse or pony has adequate fibre is therefore essential to support digestive and psychological health. 

Controlling calories while still meeting fibre requirements 
Feed a later-cut hay or haylage 

  • Later-cut forage will typically be coarser, stalkier, less digestible and less nutritious, than that which has been cut earlier in the season, as it contains more stem and less leaf.  
  • It may feel spiky and uncomfortable, when you scrunch it in your hand, compared to softer, leafier, earlier-cut hay.  
  • Coarse forage is also likely to be less palatable for the horse so they may consume it more slowly, compared to a softer, tastier hay.  
  • Even if the forage is of a nutritionally lower quality, it is important to ensure that it is still clean, without too much dust or any mould.   
Soak your hay 

  • This is one of the most straightforward ways of reducing the calorie content of hay, as it “washes out” water soluble carbohydrates (WSCs/sugars), which provide calories.  
  • 8 or 9 hours has been found to be the “optimum” soak time for removal of WSCs, and soaking for longer brings no further benefits in terms of calorie or sugar content reduction. 
  • Increase the soaking time gradually, to allow your horse to get used to the different taste and their digestive system to get used to the increased moisture intake.  
  • Soak and drain hay in a cool, dry area out of direct sunlight, to minimise the risk of moulding.  
  • Use fresh water for every soak.  
  • In very hot or humid weather, hay should not be soaked for more than 1-3 hours, to minimise bacterial build up and the risk of moulding. 
  • If you have a hay steamer, it can be beneficial to follow up a soak period with a steam cycle to reduce any possible bacterial build up.  
  • Soaking also leaches out a proportion of the protein and minerals, therefore reducing the feed value of the hay, so it’s particularly important to ensure a correctly balanced diet is provided to counter this – more on this later!  

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My horse won’t eat soaked hay!  
Soaking is one of the best ways to reduce the calorie content of your horse’s forage so it’s frustrating if they turn their nose up at it. Remember, you’re soaking the hay to wash out sugars (and calories), which taste sweet, so increase the soak time gradually to let their palate adjust – if you were trying to cut out sugar in your tea or coffee, you’d do it gradually and the same applies to the horse. This also allows the horse’s gut bacteria to adapt too. Here are some ideas for encouraging your fussy eater: 

  • Start with just 10 minutes time, if necessary, and build up very slowly, until you reach the 8 -9 hours. If you’re not around, you might have to ask someone else to remove the hay from the soaking container and store it somewhere cool, out of the sun, until you can feed it. 
  • Start off by mixing a small amount of soaked hay with unsoaked, or some that’s been soaked for a longer time with a portion that’s been soaked for a shorter time, and gradually increase the proportion of longer-soaked hay. 
  • When hay has been soaked for longer periods, rinsing it with clean water will help “freshen it up” and make it smell more palatable. 
  • Try spraying your soaked hay with cooled herbal tea – peppermint or chamomile is particularly appealing – or dilute fruit cordial or apple juice, to help tempt the fussy palate. Baileys Garlic supplement, mixed with water to form a solution, can also be applied to the hay in a spray bottle.  
  • Divide the hay ration into as many smaller “meals”, through the day, as well as in as many separate nets as you can, so that your horse can browse between them.   
  • Change soak water daily and avoid soaking in warm areas or in direct sunlight.  
  • If you have a hay steamer available, follow up your soak with a steam cycle – this may improve the smell and taste for your horse, as well as helping to kill off any bacteria that may have built up.  

Slow down consumption rate 
There are lots of things you can try to make a smaller forage ration last longer or to add variety, while still controlling calories.  

  • Using small-holed nets or double netting will encourage trickle feeding and keep them chewing for as long as possible, while also limiting forage intake.  
  • There are also a variety of slow-feeders and feed balls on the market, if your horse is not able to have small-holed nets due to neck, back or dental problems. Make sure you do not leave any uneaten soaked hay in the feeder or ball, as it may be at risk of moulding.  
  • Placing nets around the stable or paddock encourages increased movement and slower eating.  

Add variety 
Feeding alternative fibre sources, which may be lower in calories than your forage, encourages the horse to browse from one to another, hopefully slowing overall consumption, and provides variety for those with limited or no access to grazing. Ideas include: 

  • Compact fibre blocks can be used to replace 1 – 2kg of the forage ration. Make sure you choose high fibre, low-calorie ones. 
  • Soaked Speedi-Beet or Natural Meadow Cobs, given in a separate bucket from any short feed, and are both low in calories.  
  • Boredom balls, containing “considered” quantities of low calorie treats like Fibre Plus Nuggets, Natural Meadow Cobs, high fibre cubes or even the horse’s daily amount of balancer. 
  • Feeding straw to replace up to a maximum of 30% - 50% of the forage ration. It is high in fibre but low in calories and cab be mixed with pre-soaked hay or fed wet, to help maintain moisture intake and reduce the risk of gut impactions. 
  • “Liven up” your haynets by incorporating small amounts of cow parsley or hawthorn. Make sure you are accurately identifying these plants and not feeding anything poisonous.
  • Other methods of stable enrichment to reduce boredom, like scratching boards, mirrors or, where possible, creating a smaller yard area, outside the stable, for them to wander in and out.  
Always introduce new fibre sources gradually. If your horse is still getting through their forage very quickly, and you’ve tried everything you can to slow them down, you may need to increase the amount of forage fed very slightly so that they are not spending long periods with nothing to eat.  

Next up is Working out how much forage to feed

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