When it comes to horse nutrition, one element always forms the foundation of a balanced diet: roughage. Horses are naturally grazing animals that evolved to eat small amounts of fibrous plant material throughout the day. Providing enough high-quality roughage supports digestion, gut health, and overall wellbeing.

In this article, we explain what roughage is, how much roughage a horse needs, when roughage replacers can be useful, and how roughage mixes can be added to concentrate feed.

What Is Roughage?

Roughage refers to fiber-rich feed sources that form the largest part of a horse’s diet. In the wild, horses graze for up to 16 hours per day, consuming grasses and other plants that are naturally high in fiber.

Common types of roughage include:

• Pasture grass
• Hay
• Haylage or silage
• Forage pellets or cubes

Unlike concentrate feeds, roughage contains high levels of structural fiber and relatively lower levels of energy. These fibers are essential because they are fermented in the horse’s hindgut by beneficial microorganisms. During this process, volatile fatty acids are produced, which supply a significant portion of the horse’s energy requirements (National Research Council, 2007).

Adequate roughage intake is crucial for:

• Maintaining healthy gut motility
• Supporting the hindgut microbiome
• Encouraging chewing and saliva production
• Reducing the risk of digestive issues such as colic and gastric ulcers (Harris et al., 2017).

How Much Roughage Does a Horse Need?

Scientific feeding guidelines recommend that horses should receive at least 1.5–2% of their body weight in roughage per day (dry matter basis) (NRC, 2007; MSD Veterinary Manual).

For example:

• A 500 kg horse requires approximately 7.5–10 kg of roughage per day.

However, the exact amount depends on several factors, including:

• Body weight
• Workload and activity level
• Age and physiological status (growth, pregnancy, lactation)
• Forage quality

Horses in light work may do well with around 1.5–2% of their body weight in forage, while performance horses often receive similar amounts of roughage combined with additional concentrate feeds to meet higher energy demands.

Providing sufficient roughage not only supports digestion but also helps satisfy the horse’s natural need to chew and forage throughout the day.

Roughage Replacers: When Are They Needed?

Although traditional roughage sources such as hay or grass are ideal, there are situations where roughage replacers can be useful.

These include cases where:

• Forage quality is poor
• Dust or mold needs to be reduced
• Horses have dental issues
• Additional digestible fiber is required

Examples of roughage replacers include:

• Forage pellets or cubes
• Beet pulp
• Fiber-rich mash or forage blends

Beet pulp, for example, is widely used in horse nutrition because it provides highly digestible fiber that supports hindgut fermentation while also supplying a moderate amount of energy (Jansson & Lindberg, 2012). While these products can support the diet, they should ideally complement rather than completely replace traditional forage, unless advised by a veterinarian or equine nutritionist.

Adding a Roughage Mix to Your Concentrate Feed

Many horse owners choose to add a roughage mix to concentrate feed. This feeding strategy offers several benefits for both digestion and feeding behaviour.

Adding fiber sources to concentrate feed can help:

• Increase chewing time
• Stimulate saliva production
• Slow down feed intake
• Support stomach and gut health

Saliva plays an important role in buffering stomach acid, which may help reduce the risk of gastric irritation (Ellis et al., 2010).

Practical Feeding Tips

When combining roughage and concentrate feeds, it is recommended to:

• Offer forage before concentrate meals
• Mix chopped fiber sources or forage products with concentrate feed
• Adjust the fiber-to-concentrate ratio depending on the horse’s energy requirements

For horses prone to weight gain or metabolic issues, increasing fiber intake while reducing starch can be particularly beneficial.

Conclusion

Roughage is the cornerstone of equine nutrition and should make up the largest portion of every horse’s diet. Providing sufficient high-quality forage supports digestion, promotes natural behaviour, and reduces the risk of health problems. When traditional forage sources are limited or unsuitable, roughage replacers and fiber-rich feed mixes can provide valuable support. However, a well-balanced feeding strategy always prioritizes roughage as the foundation of the ration.

References

• Nutritional Requirements of Horses and Other Equids – MSD Veterinary Manual
• Nutrient Requirements of Horses – National Research Council (NRC), 2007
• Feed Requirements of Horses – Agriculture Victoria
• The Nutritional Requirements of the Horse – IFCE Equipedia 
• Nielsen, B.D. (2008) – Nutrient Requirements of Horses: Changes incorporated into the 2007 Horse NRC 
• National Research Council (2007) – Nutrient Requirements of Horses: Sixth Revised Editio
• Harris, P.A., Ellis, A.D., Fradinho, M. et al. (2017) – Review: Feeding conserved forage to horses: recent advances and recommendations
• Jansson, A. & Lindberg, J.E. (2012) – Metabolic response to dietary fibre composition in horses
• Ellis, A.D. et al. (2010) – Biological basis of behaviour in relation to nutrition and feed intake in horses