Equine nutrition is an art. Research is proving the old ideas about feed concentrates has changed. Research has proven that the unique digestive tract of the horse requires FIBER, not just in the forage but in the concentrates as well. Non structural carbohydrates, like starch and sugar, have numerous adverse effects on horses such as:

Starch fermented in the stomach contributes to ulcers

Easily digestible starch and sugar from oats and molasses contribute to increased blood glucose and hyperactivity after meals.

Starch from corn and barley has a low foregut digestibility, leading to its fermentation in the hindgut, acidosis, and high risk colic and founder

Mares fed high starch feeds might produce foals predisposed to DOD

Growing horses fed high starch rations are at a greater risk for developmental orthopedic disease, such as physitis and OCD lesions.

If you have a foal from a bloodline known to have a high incidence of OCD, avoid sweet feeds entirely, feed a formulated feed that has no molasses, added fiber content of 10 percent or higher

There is a link between diets high in glucose and soluble carbohydrates, the resulting high insulin levels and the disruption of the normal mineralization of cartilage in rapidly growing young horses.

The bottom line suggests horse’s should be fed a forage first diet with low carbohydrate concentrates and balanced vitamin and mineral intakes along with unlimited clean fresh water.