Grain Free – Equine Super Fibre Feed

Words by Luisa Wood - McMillan Feeds Equine Nutritionist

While the importance of forage for maintaining equine digestive health is widely appreciated, it is pasture, hay and chaff that are often considered initially by horse owners when selecting forage sources.

Forage supplies fibre, a dietary component that undergoes microbial fermentation in the hindgut of the horse, and can supply a horse with up to 30-70% of its digestible energy requirements. The long stemmed fibre that pasture and hay provides is essential for preventing gastric conditions, as it promotes chewing and the production of saliva. This saliva contains elements required to maintain the pH of the stomach and plays a crucial role in maintaining digestive tract health.

In addition to long stemmed fibre, there are a number of highly digestible alternative fibre sources that have significant benefits to the horse and are highly popular New Zealand. Soy hulls and beet pulp are considered “super fibres” because they have energy levels much higher than typical forages. The energy levels in super fibres are almost as high as those found in grains such as oats and barley. These fibre sources are, however, safer to feed than cereal grains because they provide cool, slow-release energy, and using them in place of some of the grain in the diet can reduce the likelihood of grain overload.

Both co-products, beet pulp is the dehydrated fibrous section of sugar beet that remains after the sugar has been extracted, and soy hulls are the fibrous outer part of the soybean. These fibre sources are often used as ingredients in manufactured feeds, or fed on their own to boost the fibre component of the diet. Being high in digestible fibre and low in starch and sugars, both these feed stuffs are ideal for horses that have low tolerance for easily digestible carbohydrates. 

Beet pulp and soy hulls are mostly fed soaked, providing further benefits of increasing water intake and assisting with hydration. This carries numerous benefits to performance horses as consumption of fibre can also create a holding tank of water and electrolytes in the hindgut. This reservoir may prevent dehydration and electrolyte depletion during an exercise bout. Beet pulp and soy hulls are also ideal for ensuring fibre intake in older horses with compromised dental health.

McMillan Grain Free is a complete formulated fibre feed containing beet pulp and soy hulls. As well as highly digestible fibre, Grain Free also provides quality protein, fat and a fully balanced amount of organic trace minerals and natural vitamins. Grain Free is ideal for feeding alone as a complete feed, or combined with lower levels of another manufactured feed to provide fibre while also topping up nutrient levels. Grain Free is also a perfect energy source for horses and ponies requiring low starch diets such as ones at risk of laminitis, metabolic issues, digestive conditions or muscle conditions such as tying up. 

For further information on fibre sources or for assistance with your individual horse or pony’s diet, contact a Farmlands nutritionist.