Are all grains unhealthy for horses?

These days, many people feed their horses grain-free. But do you really need to avoid all grains? We’ll explain the differences and tell you which grains can sometimes be fed. Because not all grains are always bad.

10 June ' 25- 2 min reading time

Most grains contain a lot of starch. A horse’s digestive system can only process limited amounts of starch at a time. Other mammals, such as humans or pigs, can get part of their energy from grains. The enzyme amylase in their saliva helps digest the starch, and absorption mainly takes place in the small intestine. The starch granules from grains are broken down into glucose (an energy source) in the small intestine and absorbed through the intestinal wall into the bloodstream. Horses digest their food mainly in the hindgut, in the large intestine. Their small intestine has only a limited capacity. Also, horse saliva contains no amylase to pre-process the starch. A horse usually gets its energy thanks to the gut flora in the large intestine, which converts fibre into absorbable sugars and fatty acids, providing a steady energy supply.

Depends on the type of grain

Some grains are more digestible for horses than others. Oats, for example, are fairly easy to digest. About 80 to 95% can be absorbed by a horse’s small intestine. This refers to whole or crushed oats, not oat by-products or oat hulls. Spelt is also fairly digestible. The starch granules in other grains, such as corn and barley, have a different molecular structure, which makes them much harder for horses to digest. The digestibility of barley is only 22%, and corn 29%. However, when grains are heat-treated (extrusion), digestibility improves significantly—almost comparable to oats.

No starch in the large intestine

Horses should not consume more starch than their small intestine can process—and that’s only a small amount. Starch that reaches the large intestine undigested is rapidly fermented by bacteria and fungi into volatile fatty acids and lactic acid. This causes the large intestine to become acidic, which can kill off beneficial bacteria. In the worst case, the hindgut can become strongly acidified, making the intestinal wall more permeable and allowing waste products to enter the bloodstream. This can lead to health problems such as laminitis. Always limit your horse’s starch intake.

Only when necessary

Grain is best fed only when your horse needs extra energy and if you know it can tolerate it. If you give your sport horse some grain two hours before peak performance, you can make use of the blood sugar spike it causes. But if you do feed grain, make sure it’s easily digestible—so whole oats or spelt, for example. Some people feed by-products such as oat hulls or spelt bran, but these aren’t useful for this purpose. They’re just fibre, which no longer provides an energy boost. These by-products are also commonly found in basic feeds and sport pellets, so be critical when choosing!

All information in this article is sourced from https://askheltie.com/en/articles/heltiehorse/are-all-grains-unhealthy-for-horses