Grain Free Diet for Horses
Considering a Grain Free Diet?
Grains are a source of concentrated calories that make it easy to provide nutrients and maintain weight on your horse. Grains also have the potential to provide necessary nutrients that are missing from hay or grass. There are dozens of grain manufacturers and some are better than others. Not all grains are created equal.
Studies are showing that many horses are extremely sensitive to the sugar, starch, adders, fillers and by-products that are often in grain. These sensitivities may manifest in various ways whether it be digestive problems, skin issues, inflammation in the body, hoof sensitivities or footsoreness. It can also be difficult to do an elimination diet to determine what is inflammatory, as many grain brands contain a slew of ingredients.
Opting for a grain free diet is becoming a popular choice for many horse owners even those who board their horses. When I boarded my horse in the past, I always opted out of feeding their grain options, and made a deal with the facility to feed extra hay instead. I provided my own “grain meal”, consisting of hay pellets, a forage balancer & other supplements.
Common Concerns with Grain
excessive and/or unnecessary ingredients (and by-products)
inappropriate ingredients for a horse
sugar and starch values
soy products in any form or fashion
added and excessive iron content, calcium, or aluminum products such as zeolite
imbalanced nutrient ratios relative to specific hay, pasture & other supplements
increased risk of gastric distress (including ulcers and colic)
having to feed a large amount, to meet daily recommended guidelines
increased risk of dehydratation
Health Issues
Providing a grain free diet can be incredibly beneficial for horses suffering from:
Gastric Ulcers, Hindgut Ulcers and Free Fecal Water Syndrome (FFW)
Equine Metabolic Syndrome (EMS)
Cushings or Pituitary Pars Intermedia Dysfunction (PPID)
Polysaccharide Storage Myopathy (PSSM)
Laminitis, Founder, and even Navicular Syndrome
“Easy Keepers”
These horses are often particularly sensitive to excess sugar and starch.
Inaccurate Claims
Many grain manufacturers make claims that their grain is low in sugar and starch - but we must ask ourselves, what is low? Calculating the content yourself can be rather insightful as you may begin to notice that the marketing claims are not all they are cracked up to be. The ECIR Group has fantastic information regarding diet for horses with these health issues, and ones currently experiencing a crisis or emergency (such as laminitis or founder).
Forage Based Diet for Horses
If you aren’t feeding grain, then what do you feed? More forage! Horses should have access to forage at all times, or as much of the time as possible. This can benefit them in many ways! One way to set this up, is to offer them slow-fed forage.
Horses on a forage based diet typically eat long stem forage, or grass hay such as timothy, orchard, or teff, as their primary calorie source. If they can tolerate smaller amounts of fresh grass and/or alfalfa, these can be included in the diet, however, they are often not best option for a primary source of calories. This is due to the fluctuating levels of sugar in grass. Alfalfa, is a rich legume '“hay”that is likely not appropriate as a primary forage. Some horses are particularly sensitive to alfalfa, whether it manifests in their energy levels, a hoof sensitivity, or something else down the line.
Cost
Many owners express concerns of having to purchase and feed more hay in order to maintain their horses weight on a grain free diet. While it might seem more expensive to feed your horse this way, you can follow what is often called the ‘cheaters diet’. You might also notice that you end up feeding less than you anticipated. Plus, if you are able to use a slow feeders, you’ll waste less hay, keep your horse mentally stimulated, and work towards preventing ulcers. It is not uncommon to hear of 'hard keepers’ flourishing on a forage based diet.
Ration Balancers
Some easy keeping horses cannot tolerate a full daily serving of grain, so owners will simply feed them a small portion of grain, thinking that it will be enough. This is a mistake as the horse is not receiving the daily recommendation of nutrients and therefore likely deficient in something. This is when it is best to turn to a ration or forage balancer instead. Balancers can typically provide the daily nutrients that are likely missing from the diet.
Some standard ration balancers mimic grain in the sense that they include many of the same filler ingredients and nutrients but they contain far less calories.
If you’re looking to eliminate grain, wheat, soy, molasses, corn, etc. from your horses diet you can choose a forage balancer instead and follow the cheater diet guidelines. If you’re worried about missing protein values, choose one that includes protein.
Forage Balancers
Forage balancers often come in both loose powder or pelleted form. They typically contain minimal ingredients such as amino acids, copper, zinc, vitamin e, salt, omegas, magnesium, and maybe some b vitamins. Forage balancers attempt to makeup for deficiencies in hay, however, certain hays may be higher in iron, manganese, calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, etc. and therefore the related ratios should ideally be balanced accordingly. This is why testing your hay can be incredibly insightful - because you can customize your horses daily requirements based off of what they are receiving in their hay supply!
Popular Forage Balancers
Each balancer differs, you may need to test your hay, or experiment to see what works best for your horse.
KIS Trace
California Trace Plus
Arizona Copper Complete
Carriers
The next question that is often asked is how do I get my horse to eat the forage balancer? The answer to that is to use a safe & tasty carrier. Several are listed below.
Oats are not recommended due to their starch content among other reasons related to gastric discomfort.
You’ll have to experiment to see how much hay your horse needs and how little carrier you can get away with to ensure they are eating their supplements.
Timothy, Orchard or Alfalfa Pellets or Cubes (Soaked)
Triple Crown Timothy Balance Cubes
WildFed Horse Feed
Beet Pulp (Molasses Free, Soaked & Rinsed)
Other Ingredients to Include
Outside of your carrier and forage balancer, you’ll likely want to include:
salt
omegas (flax or chia)
vitamin e
Hay Testing
If you have enough hay for 4-6 weeks (including time to transition between batches), it is worth doing an analysis on it to determine the sugar & starch content, as well as mineral and vitamin makeup and any deficiencies. Equi-Analytical is an easy, fast and cheap option for hay analysis. From there, owners can customize their feeding programs accordingly.
Hay testing isn’t possible for most horse owners so there are a variety of general forage balancers out there that many owners have had success with. Sometimes it might take trial and error to figure out what works best for you.
If your hay supply changes consistently, please, please, please - take at least one week to transition between batches. Two is ideal.
Slow-Fed Forage is Your Friend
You can really change your horses life around when making the switch to a forage based diet, however there are a few things you can and should do to aide in your success. Many owners choose to offer “unlimited” free choice hay, but this doesn’t mean that they are running out to feed the horse flake, after flake, after flake, all day long. Rather, they offer hay in slow feed nets. This keeps hay in front of the horse longer which is beneficial for many reasons. It’s a natural boredom buster, mood booster and stress reducer.
Horses digestive systems are also not designed to go long periods of time without access to food, as they produce so much acid in their stomachs. Horses are naturally ‘foragers’ not necessarily grazers (like cows). Therefore, they are better off eating smaller & more frequent meals throughout the day. Even just a few hours between meals can create a build up of acid which can become very uncomfortable. This is why it’s important to never exercise on an empty stomach. Slow fed hay has been show to reduce irritability and grouchiness in hungry horses.
