Question

I have an aged easy keeper that has been diagnosed with equine metabolic syndrome (EMS). He’s a BCS of 6 and I am OK with his weight, considering his age, and his hooves are in good shape now, though he is prone to laminitis. His coat is thick but shedding, and he seems lethargic unless something agitates him in his environment. He gets 8 lb (3.6 kg) of hay and 0.75 lb (0.34 kg) of controlled-starch feed each day. Because I am having difficulty sourcing an appropriate low-sugar hay, I was wondering if I can feed him timothy cubes and beet pulp to satisfy his forage requirements.

Answer

When hay availability is limited, you can use alternatives such as hay cubes, hay pellets, or chopped hay products. Ideally, offering a small amount of long-stem hay in addition to these processed forage products is best to help support digestive health and function and to satisfy his innate need to chew.

Hay cubes and chopped hay offer a longer fiber length than pellets, and this is beneficial for horses. These processed forage products can be offered damp or soaked to help improve chewing in older horses or those with dental issues. Horses without access to pasture should receive about 1.5-2% of their body weight as forage (18-24 lb or 8-11 kg for a 1,200-lb or 545-kg horse).

Beet pulp is a useful fiber source and can be fed in addition to hay cubes to provide additional calories if needed.

Because of the small amount of concentrate being fed, I recommend changing to a ration balancer pellet that is a more concentrated source of vitamins and minerals. The balancer pellet will provide more complete nutrition when coupled with feed at the current intake.

Kentucky Equine Research has also developed a line of science-based products to fortify the diet of horses on low-intake rations.