Whether we're talking about sport or breeding horses, a good feeding strategy is based on selecting a high-quality forage and providing it in adequate quantities. Horses are herbivores, and their anatomophysiological structure is designed to meet a large portion of their energy needs through the digestion of fibrous feed.
Digestion of Fibrous Feed
The digestion of fibrous material takes place through microbial fermentation in the cecum and colon, aided by a resident microflora composed of bacteria, protozoa, and yeasts. This fermentation process produces volatile fatty acids (VFAs), which are absorbed into the bloodstream and either used immediately as glucose or stored as fat, serving as an energy reserve.
Thus, forage should be regarded as a fundamental energy resource, though its role goes well beyond that. Providing adequate or even ad libitum forage offers behavioral, gastrointestinal, and nutritional benefits.
Behavioral Benefits
Forage is essential to allow horses to express natural feeding behavior. It enables prolonged chewing and grazing, closely mimicking their behavior in the wild. This continuous intake helps reduce behavioral problems (often referred to as “stable vices”).
Gastrointestinal Benefits
Providing forage promotes proper gut motility.
It is vital for maintaining a healthy and stable intestinal microflora, composed mostly of cellulolytic bacteria. The relationship between the gut microbiota and the horse is symbiotic—both parties benefit. The horse relies on this microbiota to digest fibre, and the microbiota depends on fibre to thrive. A lack of fibre can lead to the overgrowth of lactic acid-producing bacteria, resulting in increased intestinal acidity, which in turn fosters the growth of pathogenic bacteria like E. coli and Salmonella.
Chewing fibrous feed increases saliva production, and saliva contains natural bicarbonate, which acts as a buffer. This helps to raise gastric pH and contributes to the prevention of gastric acidity-related issues, such as Equine Gastric Ulcer Syndrome, which is very common in athletic horses.
Fibre also helps retain water in the intestines, with the large intestine functioning as a water reservoir, making water and electrolytes available during times of need, such as prolonged exertion, thereby preventing dehydration and electrolyte depletion.
Nutritional Benefits
Besides being an energy source, fibrous feed is also a source of essential vitamins and minerals. It also acts as a fermentable substrate for the gut microbiota, which can synthesize certain B-complex vitamins.
Key Takeaways:
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Forage is vital not only for energy but also for maintaining a healthy gastrointestinal system.
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It should account for about 1.5% of the horse’s body weight, making up at least 60% of the total daily feed intake (with a minimum of 50%).
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Insufficient fibre intake can lead to:
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Behavioral issues ("stable vices"),
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Intestinal acidosis,
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Microbial imbalance (dysbiosis),
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Gastric ulcers,
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Colic,
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And other health problems.
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