Fat has become a popular feed ingredient in performance horse rations. There are
a number of different fat sources available for use in horse feeds, and many of these such
as soybean oil and rendered animal fat have been extensively studied, Therefore, this study was conducted to compare the digestibility of several fat sources and evaluate how well they functioned as energy sources for horses
during exercise.

An experiment was conducted to evaluate how cracking, grinding or steam processing affects starch digestibility of corn, using glycemic response as an indirect measure of prececal starch digestibility.

High-grain diets for the exercising horse were compared with diets which provided 15% of the total caloric intake from either vegetable oil or a highly fermentable fibre source (beet pulp). Six Thoroughbreds age 3 years were fed one of 3 diets or 5 weeks in a replicated 3 x 3 Latin square.

Crandell KM. 1999. The importance of different feeds for different needs. Equinews Vol. 2/1:5-9.] In an ideal world all the horses on a farm, from broodmares to weanlings to horses in heavy work, could be fed the same feed out of the same bag. Unfortunately, the nutritional needs of horses in different life stages vary […]

Hoffman, R. M., L. A. Lawrence, D. S. Kronfeld, J. J. Dascanio and W. L. Cooper.1999. Dietary carbohydrates and fat influence radiographic bone mineral content of bones. J. Anim. Sci. 77:3330-33338. Abstract Hydrolyzable carbohydrate intake in horse diets may become excessive when rapidly growing pastures are supplemented with grain-based concentrates. The substitution of fat and […]

This study looked at the effect of feeding diets supplemented with either a predominantly saturated or unsaturated vegetable oil over a prolonged period to exercising horses. Eight Thoroughbred horses were assigned to 2 diet treatments and for 10 months were fed Timothy hay and oats, together with a fortified sweet feed supplemented with either a predominantly unsaturated (Un) or a saturated (S) vegetable oil so that approximately 19% DE (Digestible Energy) came from dietary fat and approximately 12% from either the Un or S source (AC). In conclusion, no apparent adverse effects of feeding a diet supplemented with either an unsaturated or saturated vegetable oil for 6 months at approximately 20% DE after 10 months at approximately 12% DE were identified and there were no apparent disadvantages of feeding a saturated vegetable oil supplemented diet compared with an unsaturated one.

MicroSteed takes the mystery out of horse diet evaluation Pagan JD , Huntington PJ Australian Equine Veterinarian 17(2), 88-91, 1999 Click here to access.

After water the major constituent of the horse’s body is protein. Eighty percent of the horse’s fat free, moisture free body composition is protein.

Carbohydrates are an extremely important part of a horse’s diet since about 75% of all plant matter is comprised of carbohydrates.

Horses have evolved over millions of years as grazers, with specialized digestive tracts to digest and utilize diets containing high levels of plant fiber.