Equi Feed is our feed value analysis service, specially developed for horses. Equi Feed gives insight into the nutrient composition of your roughage to meet the requirement of your horse.
The main part of the equine diet is roughage
A horse has a small stomach. The equine stomach is made for small portions of feed during the day. Since the equine stomach has a small digestion capacity because of its size, most nutrients are fermented within the cecum or colon. This is why horses are called hindgut fermenters. To keep the bacteria within the hindgut active, fibers are needed. Fibers can be found within roughage such as grass, hay, haylage or grass silage. Research has shown that a horse must receive at least 1,5% of its body weight in dry matter from roughage daily to meet the roughage and fiber requirement.
A fast and easy way to meet the requirements of your horse
By analyzing the roughage, you can adjust and balance your horse’s diet more easily. The need of the horse for, amongst other things, energy and digestible protein is mainly based on the weight of the horse and the amount of work the horse performs. High-quality roughage fulfils most of the basic needs of the horse. This means that with high-quality roughage, only a small part of the diet has to be covered by concentrates, pellets or supplements to meet the basic requirements of the horse. Feeding fewer concentrates, pellets and supplements also saves monthly feed costs.
Optimal health, condition and performance for your horse
Research has shown that no less than sixty percent of all health problems in horses are due to inadequate nutrition. In addition, an unbalanced equine diet can bring delays to your training for several weeks. Feeding not enough energy can result in muscle breakdown and a horse that is losing weight. Feeding too much energy can result in the horse becoming overweight. If you are aware of the surpluses or deficiencies in the roughage, you can adjust the diet in time to the requirements of the horse.
