The main source of energy for horses comes from carbohydrates. As a matter of fact, 3/4 of all plants are carbs, but the stem is made up of hemicellulose and cellulose, which is digested slowly by the horse. Remember that the horses digestive system is designed to digest slowly and continuously, and they need to always have food in its system or they can colic. They are designed to eat slowly all day (and even part of the night), unlike humans.
Horses, just like people ingest complex carbs, simple carbs, and fat.
Complex Carbs are the most beneficial and natural feed for your horse. Complex carbs include grass and high quality feed.
- Simple carbs come in the form of concentrates (grains) and are digested in the small intestine as glucose, sugar and starch. Remember that an excess of simple carbs can cause osteochondrosis, epiphysitis, and bone deformaties.
- Simple Carbs such as grain, are designed to be digested in the small intestine. If you feed large quantities at one time, then the excess will be digested in the large intestine which will more than likely cause digestive problems.
-Fat has 2.25 times as much energy as carbs do
-By replacing some of the concentrates (grains, which are simple carbs), with fat, such as corn oil, you can feed less pounds of concentrates and reduce the chance of digestive problems such as colic and founder.
-Performance horses will remain calmer and still maintain weight on a ration that contain less carbohydrates and more fat.
-Grains
The more concentrated the glucose, sugar and starch in a grain, the hotter it is said to be (the more energy it has).
Grains ranked by level of hotness
Corn
Wheat
Barley
Milo
Oats
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