FIBRES

Fibre is a structural carbohydrate , also known as crude fibre. Dietary fibre includes cellulose, hemicellulose and ligning. The horse is unable to break down ligning but the other two substances are broken down by the microorganisms in the large intestine.

The microbial fermentation in the large intestine of the horse is vital as around 75 % of the energy supplied in forage based feed rations is produced through the fermentation of fibres into short-chain fatty acids. The amount of energy supplied will drop slightly when the horse is given more concentrate feed. This very sensitive system can easily get disrupted by rapid feed changes. In order to function optimally, the microorganisms must have an even and continuous supply of fibres. Fibres take longer to ferment than for example starch which helps fill up the gastrointestinal system, a natural process for the forage digesting horse. The volume of the intestines also helps maintain the fluid balance and hydration of the horse. An insufficient amount of fibre will not only have an adverse effect on the digestive system of the horse but also on its general health and well-being.

How much fibre a horse needs has never been clearly defined but the recommended minimum amount of forage feed a day is 1 kg of dry matter/100 kg body weight – though preferably 1.5-2 kg a day. It is important to know how much dry matter the forage feed contains as this varies widely depending on the harvesting method used.

Fibre is largely provided in the forage feed but there are also other raw materials containing relatively large amounts of fibre such as oat bran, wheat bran, beet pulp and lucerne (alfalfa). Cereals, on the other hand, are low in fibre.