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Horses in active race training burn a lot of calories, and this energy is often provided by concentrate (grain) meals. Some trainers believe that feeding large amounts of hay will only give horses “hay bellies” in place of the energy they need for exercise, so these trainers may restrict access to hay and other fiber sources.

Unfortunately, horses that consume a high level of grain and very little fiber often end up with gastric ulcers, hindgut acidosis, signs of colic, and stable vices like cribbing. Increasing fiber and spreading out grain meals in the racehorse diet will prevent some, if not all, of these problems.

Many commercially available horse feeds offer a compromise by combining traditional grains like oats and corn with ingredients that offer both energy and fiber. When beet pulp and soy hulls are incorporated into feeds, the horse increases his ingestion of fiber while still deriving a high level of available energy from the meal. Oil and other fat sources are also added to feeds to provide energy without the changes in hindgut pH caused by digestion of large grain meals.

It’s true that coarse, low-quality hay is harder for horses to chew and digest, and horses given this type of hay get little nutrition and may develop a bloated belly due to increased water held in the indigestible fiber. However, horses were designed by nature to nibble forage for many hours each day, and those that don’t have grass or hay in front of them the majority of the time may get bored, anxious, or bad-mannered.

Feeding a good-quality hay from a slow-feeder net or rack is a good way to keep fiber available for long periods of time without filling horses up with rough, stemmy material. Alfalfa (lucerne) or another high-quality hay can offer nutrients and energy in an easily digested form. Various slow-feeder designs are available, and these containers require the horse to pick up only small amounts of hay in each mouthful, simulating a more natural method of ingesting fiber and keeping digestive upsets to a minimum.

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