Green fodder nutritional value for horses

Horses are monogastric herbivores capable of making a wide use of forage to feed themselves and cover their nutritional requirements. This study examines the nutritional value of green fodder measured in horses, fodder ingestibility and ingestion in grazing horses. The energy value and crude protein content of green fodder, as well as its possible variations based on plant species and development stage, may be predicted with the help of forecasting tables and models developed by the INRA and updated in 2011. Ingestibility and green fodder ingestion were determined for barn feeding and grazing. Forage is highly ingestible by horses regardless of its fibre content. Horses are capable of maintaining a high ingestion rate in order to cover their nutritional requirements when fibre content or/and grass height is increased. Comparative examples with Other ruminants are included.