Horse Feeding Management
H igh-Fat D iets for H orses
Distributed in furtherance
of the Acts of Congress
of May 8 and June 30, 1914.
Employment and program
opportunities are offered to
all people regardless of
race, color, national origin,
sex, age, or disability.
North Carolina State University,
North Carolina A&T State
University, U.S. Department
of Agriculture, and local
governments cooperating.
Recent research has demonstrated the effectiveness of high-fat diets for horses. Although such
diets may he had for humans, fat is an important, safe, and efficient energy source for horses. This
fact sheet will clarify how to take advantage of recent research findings on high-fat diets.
The Benefits
On high-fat diets, horses perform longer
without fatiguing, incur fewer injuries, and
maintain body weight with less grain intake
(while maximizing forage intake). Adding fat
to a horse’s diet permits safe weight gain
while reducing the chance of colic or founder;
it may also allow lactating mares to breed
back more quickly. Digestion of fat yields less
internal body heat when compared to high-
carbohydrate or protein diets.
Most importantly, perhaps, high-fat diets
enable horses in high-performance situations
(e.g., while pregnant, lactating, or working at
moderate and intense levels) to more effi¬
ciently and safely meet their high energy
requirements. Unfortunately, the horse’s
relatively small digestive tract limits the total
volume of feed it can consume. As a result,
horses requiring high-energy intake must be
fed an energy-dense concentrate mix. Tradi¬
tionally, this has been accomplished by
increasing the concentrate (high-energy)
portion of the diet while limiting forage
intake. Forages, such as hay and pasture, are
more fibrous and lower in energy than the
grains found in concentrate mixes.
Under ideal management conditions, a
horse should consume no less than 50% of its
daily intake in the form of forage. Horses that
are "hard keepers” and maintain low body fat
reserves typically require greater than a 50%
daily intake of concentrates to maintain their
body weight during high-production situa¬
tions. Unfortunately, the replacement of forage
with high-starch concentrates in levels greater
then 50% of the total diet negatively affects
the pH and activity of the digestive microbes
found in the horse’s cecum and large intestine.
The net effect is an increased incidence of
founder and colic.
Energy Comparisons
Since fat contains 2.25 times more energy than
either carbohydrates or protein, increasing the
fat level of the diet is the easiest and safest way
to increase the energy density of the diet.
Higher energy levels can be obtained by
feeding fewer pounds of a high-fat concentrate
mix compared to a concentrate mix containing
lower-energy carbohydrates. Farm grains, such
as corn and oats, are high in carbohydrates but
fairly low in fat. High-fat sources such as
soybean oil, corn oil, and animal fat contain
three limes more energy than grains on an
equal volume basis (Table 1 ). Research has
indicated that adding 5 to 10% fat to the total
diet has maintained the body weight of horses
with a 21 to 25% decrease in concentrate
intake.
Concentrate mixes comprised of grains
without supplemental fat added will contain 2
to 2.5% fat. Vegetable oils, such as corn or
soybean oil, are more palatable than processed
animal fat. Rice bran is another high-fat source
that is both palatable and effective in horse
Table L Energy Content of Grains Compared
to High-Fat Feeds1
Density Digestible Energy
Ibs/qt Mcal/lb Mcal/qt Mcal/cupb
H igh-Fat Feeds
Vegetable 0 il
1.92
4.08
7.8
1.95
Animal Fat
1.80
3.61
6.5
1.62
Grains
Cracked Corn
1.50
1.54
2.3
0.57
W hole Oats
1.0
1.30
1.3
0.33
aAs-fed basis. A dapted from L.D. Lewis. 1996. Feeding
and Care of the Horse. 2nd ed. Medis, PA: Williams
and Wilkins.
6 8 ounces or 237 ml/cup.
North Carolina
Cooperative Extension Service
NORTH CAROLINA STATE UNIVERSITY
COLLEGE OF AGRICULTURE & LIFE SCIENCES
