Feeding Performance Horses: Forage First

Forage is the foundation of a performance horse’s diet. Highquality hay and forage provide essential fiber and energy while supporting digestive health, hydration, normal gut function, and athletic performance. Evaluating forage quality and intake first makes it easier to determine what additional calories, protein, vitamins, minerals, and supplements a performance horse actually needs. This article, written by Performance Horse Nutrition for Blue Mountain Hay, explains why forage must come first when designing a performance diet — and how the right forage supports horses in training and competition.

Key Takeaways

• Forage is the foundation of every performance horse feeding program — all other feed decisions should be built around it.
• Most performance horses need 1.5–2.5% of body weight per day in forage, depending on workload, body condition, and forage quality.
• Hindgut fermentation converts fiber into usable energy, meaning forage contributes significantly to the calorie needs of working horses.
• Adequate forage intake supports digestive health, stomach buffering, hydration, and normal gut function, especially during training and competition.
• Forage quality varies widely, making forage testing essential for designing a balanced, performanceappropriate diet.
• Highquality bagged forage provides consistency during travel, competition, or when longstem hay is limited, variable, or difficult to transport.

Written by:

Dr. Tania Cubitt, PhD – Equine Nutritionist

Dr. Stephen Duren, PhD – Equine Nutritionist

By Performance Horse Nutrition for Blue Mountain Hay

Feeding Performance Horses: Forage First

When we think about feeding the performance horse, it is easy to focus on calories, protein, supplements, electrolytes, and specialized performance feeds. But before any of those pieces are added to the diet, we need to get the most important part right: forage.

Forage first. Everything else should be built around it.

Whether a horse is competing in eventing, dressage, show jumping, racing, endurance, western disciplines, or simply training at a high level, forage provides much more than calories. It supports digestive health, hydration, normal gut function, and ultimately the horse's ability to perform.

Horses Are Designed to Eat Forage

The horse's digestive system was designed around the almost continuous consumption of fibrous plant material. Under natural conditions, horses spend much of the day grazing and consuming relatively small meals.

Chewing forage stimulates saliva production, which helps buffer the stomach. Fiber then travels to the hindgut, where billions of microorganisms ferment it and produce volatile fatty acids that the horse can use for energy.

Performance horses may live very different lives from horses on pasture, but their digestive physiology has not changed. The harder we ask a horse to work, the more important it becomes to protect the fundamentals of digestive health.

Forage Is Fuel

Forage is sometimes viewed as the "background" portion of a performance diet, while grain or concentrate is considered the real source of performance energy. That significantly underestimates what good-quality forage contributes.

Through microbial fermentation in the hindgut, fiber is converted into volatile fatty acids that provide a substantial amount of usable energy. Depending on its type and quality, forage can contribute significantly to the calorie requirements of a working horse.

This is why forage selection matters.

A high-quality alfalfa or grass forage can provide considerably more energy and protein than a mature, stemmy hay. Conversely, a horse that needs fewer calories may benefit from a more moderate-energy forage while still receiving plenty of fiber and chew time.

Instead of beginning with "How much grain does this horse need?", we should first ask: "What is this horse getting from the forage?"

Forage and the Performance Horse's Stomach

The horse's stomach continuously produces acid, whether the horse is eating or not. Forage helps provide protection by increasing saliva production and creating a fibrous mat within the stomach.

This is particularly important for performance horses because training, travel, competition, stall confinement, and changes in feeding schedules can all challenge gastrointestinal health.

Long periods without forage should be avoided whenever possible.

Alfalfa can be particularly useful in some situations because of its naturally higher calcium and protein content and buffering capacity. This doesn't mean every horse needs an all-alfalfa diet, but strategically incorporating alfalfa into a performance horse's forage program can be beneficial.

Forage Supports Hydration

Forage also plays an important role in hydration. The fiber-filled hindgut can hold a significant amount of fluid, essentially creating an internal reservoir that can be valuable during exercise, hot weather, travel, and competition.

This is another reason we don't want to dramatically restrict forage simply because a horse is competing.

Good forage intake, adequate water consumption, appropriate salt intake, and a properly designed electrolyte program all work together to support hydration.

How Much Forage Does a Performance Horse Need?

As a general guideline, horses should consume approximately 1.5–2.5% of their body weight per day in forage, depending on their individual requirements and the rest of the diet.

For a 1,100-pound horse, that's approximately 16.5–27.5 pounds of forage per day.

The exact amount depends on body condition, workload, forage quality, energy requirements, pasture availability, concentrate intake, and individual feeding behavior.

Before automatically increasing grain when a horse needs more calories, evaluate whether forage quality and intake can be improved. For many horses, better forage is one of the simplest ways to improve the entire diet.

Quality Matters

Twenty pounds of one hay is not nutritionally equivalent to twenty pounds of another.

Forage varies tremendously in digestible energy, protein, fiber, sugar, minerals, and overall digestibility. Species, maturity at harvest, growing conditions, harvesting practices, and storage all influence its nutritional value.

This is why forage testing is such a valuable tool.

A forage analysis tells us what the largest component of the horse's diet is actually contributing. From there, feeds, ration balancers, vitamins, minerals, fat sources, and supplements can be selected to fill the gaps rather than guess at them.

When Traditional Hay Isn't Enough

Performance horses frequently travel, making forage consistency challenging. Hay quality may change from one competition to another, some horses won't eat unfamiliar hay, and transporting enough hay for longer trips can be difficult.

High-quality bagged forage products can provide a consistent and predictable source of fiber when traditional long-stem hay is limited, variable, or difficult to transport.

They can also be useful for picky eaters, horses with poor dentition, horses needing additional forage calories, or feeding programs where nutritional consistency is especially important.

Whenever possible, horses should still receive adequate long-stem forage to encourage normal chewing and feeding behavior. Any new forage should also be introduced gradually, generally over 7–14 days, to allow the hindgut microbial population time to adapt.

Build the Diet Around the Forage

Once we know what the forage provides, the rest of the ration becomes much easier to design.

A horse consuming excellent-quality forage may require surprisingly little additional feed beyond a concentrated source of vitamins and minerals. A horse performing intense work may require additional calories from fortified feeds, fat, or other energy sources.

The important point is that those decisions should be made after evaluating the forage—not before.

Think of the performance horse's diet as a pyramid.

Forage forms the foundation.

Energy, protein, vitamins, minerals, electrolytes, and targeted nutritional ingredients are layered on top according to the individual horse's needs.

Performance horses are athletes, but sophisticated nutrition doesn't mean abandoning basic equine physiology. The higher the demands we place on the horse, the more attention we should pay to maintaining adequate forage intake and providing a consistent source of high-quality fiber.

Before changing feeds, adding another supplement, or increasing grain, take a good look at the largest part of the horse's diet.

Start with the forage. Because forage isn't simply something to keep in front of the performance horse—it's the foundation of the entire nutrition program.

By Performance Horse Nutrition for Blue Mountain Hay

FAQs

Why is forage so important for performance horses? Forage supports gut health, hydration, and energy production — all essential for horses in training and competition.

Does alfalfa help performance horses? Yes. Alfalfa’s higher calcium and protein content can help buffer stomach acid and support muscle development when used strategically.

How much forage should a performance horse eat? Most horses need 1.5–2.5% of body weight per day in forage, depending on workload and body condition.

Can better forage reduce grain needs? Often yes. Highquality forage can provide more energy and protein than expected, reducing reliance on concentrates.

Why does forage support hydration? The hindgut acts as a water reservoir — fiber helps retain fluid that supports thermoregulation and performance.

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