Tipping the balance
HORSES evolved on pastures that were high in fibre and low in sugar and starch. As a result, they have adapted to meet most of their energy requirements by fermenting grasses and other plants to release the energy contained within the plants’ fibrous structure.
By harnessing the ability of bacteria to ferment fibre, horses are able to satisfy their nutritional needs through the ingestion of forage alone. With domestication, however, it has become commonplace to increase their energy intake through supplementation with feeds high in sugars and starches.
Feeding energy-dense cereals was more convenient and practical than large volumes of forage, particularly when horses worked long
