Forage
FORAGE: The Backbone of Every Equine Diet
What Counts as Forage?
If it’s plant fiber and your horse can chew it, soak it, or inhale it like a vacuum, it’s forage.
• Pasture – fresh, variable, moisture-rich
• Hay – dried grass or legumes
• Haylage/Baleage – fermented, higher moisture
• Chopped Forage – bagged, dust-controlled
• Pellets & Cubes – compressed, consistent, soakable
• Complete Feeds – technically forage-inclusive, but not a replacement unless medically necessary
Why Forage Matters (More Than Anything Else They Eat)
• Hindgut fuel → fiber fermentation = energy + heat
• Mental health → chewing time reduces stress and vices
• Ulcer support → saliva + steady intake = buffering
• Metabolic stability → slow-release calories, not sugar bombs
• Microbiome balance → keeps the gut bugs happy and working
If the hindgut isn’t happy, nothing in the ration works right.
How Much Forage Do Horses Actually Need?
• Minimum: 1.5% of bodyweight per day in forage
• Ideal: 2–2.5% for most horses
• High-performance or hard keepers: 2.5% to free choice
• Metabolic horses: a little more attention should be placed on these guys, but lower NSC sources is the goal
Forage isn’t optional. It’s the foundation.
Choosing the Right Forage (Without Guessing)
Grass Forage
• Lower calories
• Lower protein
• Often safer sugars
Great for: easy keepers, metabolic horses, air ferns
***know what you are feeding- a good grass hay will beat a bad alfalfa Every. Single. Day
Legume Forage (Alfalfa)
• Higher protein
• Higher calcium (supports stomach buffering)
• More calories
Great for: performance horses, hard keepers, ulcer-prone horses
Mixed Forage
• Balanced energy + protein
Great for: the average horse with average needs
Pellets/Cubes/Chopped
• Consistent
• Dust-controlled
• Easy to chew
Great for: seniors, respiratory horses, travel, drought years
**these also have the ability to fully replace forage in the diet.
The Real Secret: Forage Quality > Forage Type
Owners obsess over “alfalfa vs bermuda,” but the truth is:
• A good grass hay beats a bad alfalfa-cannot say this enough!
• A tested hay beats a mystery hay
• A consistent forage program beats a “whatever the barn got this month” program
Feed Scoop Friday Angle
Like all things when it comes to horses-nutrition can be hard. Im here to tell you it doesnt have to be!!!
Forage isn’t just hay — it’s the entire engine behind your horse’s health. Let me help you learn how to choose it, use it, and stop guessing.
HAPPY FEED SCOOP FRIDAY- go get the hay outta your hair!!
