04/09/2026
π§©π΄ THE EMS FIBRE JIGSAW
When low-NSC hay is getting scarce, pasture is not an option or your horse or pony has poor teeth.
As we move into the tighter part of the hay year in WA, suitable low-sugar and low-starch hay can become harder and more expensive to source before the new seasonβs hay becomes available, cured and ideally tested.
For an EMS/insulin-dysregulated horse or pony with little or no pasture and compromised teeth, this can create a real feeding dilemma.
We still need adequate fibre, but we also need to think about:
π¬ sugar and starch
π₯ calories/energy
βοΈ body condition
π¦· chewing ability
πΎ fibre quality and digestibility
πͺ protein and essential amino acids
π§ vitamins and minerals
π§ hydration
π° and what the owner can realistically source and afford.
Rather than searching for one magical hay replacement, think of the diet as a:
𧩠FIBRE JIGSAW
Different fibre sources can each do part of the job.
π¬ LOW SUGAR DOES NOT AUTOMATICALLY MEAN LOW CALORIE
With EMS/ID horses we rightly pay close attention to sugar and starch because hyperinsulinaemia is strongly associated with endocrinopathic laminitis (Durham et al., 2019).
However, energy matters too.
Two hays can have very similar carbohydrate results yet supply quite different calories.
For example, two individual forage analyses might both contain around 8% hydrolysable carbohydrate (HC), yet one Rhodes hay could provide around 2.2 Mcal/kg as fed. In contrast, a lower-energy meadow hay may provide around 1.8 Mcal/kg as fed.
For a horse eating 10 kg/day, that could mean:
22 Mcal/day versus 18 Mcal/day
A difference of 4 Mcal every day.
These are examples from individual forage analyses, not values to assume for every Rhodes or meadow hay.
With an overweight EMS/ID horse, I want to know:
π¬ How much sugar and starch?
π₯ How many calories?
βοΈ How many kilograms are actually being eaten?
This is why ad-lib hay or automatically feeding 2% of current body weight may not suit every overweight EMS/ID horse, even when the hay has a low NSC.
Controlled energy restriction is an important part of managing obesity and EMS where appropriate (Bamford et al., 2019; Durham et al., 2019).
The aim is: ENOUGH FIBRE WITHOUT EXCESS ENERGY.
Moreover, calorie restriction must never become nutrient restriction.
π¦· POOR TEETH CHANGE THE FORM OF THE FIBRE
Poor teeth do not reduce the horseβs need for fibre.
They change how we need to provide it.
Watch for:
β’ quidding
β’ dropping partly chewed forage
β’ difficulty with stalkier hay
β’ very slow eating
β’ long fibre particles in manure
β’ declining weight or topline despite plenty of hay being offered.
For horses with severe, irreversible dental disease, long-stem forage can be partially or substantially replaced with soaked forage cubes, chopped forage, and appropriately prepared beet pulp (Jarvis, 2009).
We do not have to insist every dental-challenged horse receives 50% long-stem hay. We change the physical form of the forage, not the horseβs need for fibre.
πΎ FIBRE LENGTH, CHEWING & SALIVA STILL MATTER
Where the horse can comfortably manage it, retaining some long or suitably chopped forage encourages more chewing and extends eating time.
Chewing stimulates saliva production.
Saliva moistens feed, helps form the bolus for swallowing and contributes bicarbonate that helps buffer gastric contents.
Petz et al. (2023) found that horses consuming forage cubes spent approximately 24% less time eating and performed around 26% fewer total chews than horses eating long-stem hay.
That does not make cubes unsuitable for the dental-challenged horse; they can be invaluable.
However, where the horse can still comfortably manage some:
πΎ Long hay
πΎ Rhodes chaff
πΎ or another suitable chopped forage,
I would prefer to retain some.
There is no single scientifically established βidealβ chaff length that guarantees adequate saliva production.
The aim is to provide as much safely chewable physical fibre as the horse can genuinely manage.
If the horse is quidding or struggling to consume enough, usable fibre intake takes priority over preserving long stems.
𧩠WHAT COULD THE FIBRE JIGSAW LOOK LIKE?
These percentages are examples only, not feeding instructions.
For an EMS/ID horse or pony with little or no pasture and some remaining chewing ability, we might build the fibre portion from:
πΎ 40β60% TESTED GRASS FORAGE
This may include:
β’ low-NSC Rhodes hay
β’ suitable meadow hay
β’ tested Rhodes chaff
β’ another analysed grass forage.
Rhodes chaff can be particularly useful where the incisors are poor, but enough molar function remains to chew shorter particles.
As the molars deteriorate, more of the forage can progressively move towards soaked cubes and mashes.
πΎ 0β20% TESTED STRAW β IF SUITABLE
Straw can help reduce the energy density of the ration in the right overweight horse. Research has successfully used straw in controlled weight-management diets (Dosi et al., 2020; Jansson et al., 2021).
Nevertheless, this does not mean every EMS pony should receive 50% straw.
For a dental-compromised horse, the suitable amount might be:
20%β¦10%β¦5%β¦or none at all.
Moreover, there is an important WA consideration.
Some cereal forage sold or described as βstrawβ may actually come from a failed, drought-affected, frost-damaged or poorly yielding crop, rather than being equivalent to mature post-grain-harvest straw used in research.
That can mean more:
πΎ leaf or immature material
πΎ seed heads or residual grain
π¬ sugar/starch
π₯ energy.
True mature straw can also be extremely high in structural fibre and very low in protein. The wheat straw used by Jansson et al. (2021), for example, contained approximately 80% NDF and only 2.2% crude protein.
TEST - DO NOT GUESS.
If straw will form a meaningful part of the ration, consider:
π¬ NSC/sugar and starch
π₯ energy
πΎ NDF/ADF
πͺ crude protein
β£οΈ nitrates where crop history indicates risk
π¦ hygiene and mould.
Hansen et al. (1992) also demonstrated that chemically treated straw had improved digestibility compared with untreated straw, reminding us that research straw is not necessarily identical to an ordinary untreated WA bale.
π₯£ 10β20% SOAKED LUPIN FIBRE
An appropriate low-NSC lupin-hull fibre product can provide:
πΎ fermentable fibre
π§ additional water
π¦· softer feed
π₯£ another feeding opportunity.
However, it still supplies calories.
Follow the manufacturerβs feeding rate and maximum for the specific product rather than continually increasing it simply because hay is scarce.
π₯£ 20β40% SOAKED FORAGE REPLACEMENT
This may include:
β’ Pasture or grass cubes
β’ Multicubes
β’ Suitable forage cubes
β’ Unmolassed beet pulp
β’ Another analysed low-NSC fibre replacement.
For the horse with very poor molars or incisors, these products may eventually make up a much larger proportion of the forage ration.
With severe dental disease, long hay might decrease to 20β30%, or eventually almost disappear, while the replacement of soaked forage increases.
That is still a forage-based diet.
The forage has changed physical form.
π§ SOME CUBES NEED SOAKING
Some pasture cubes, Multicubes and forage cubes can be large, hard and dense.
For an older horse or pony with compromised teeth, a tendency to bolt feed, a previous choke, or poor drinking habits, I prefer that suitable cubes be thoroughly soaked and softened according to the manufacturerβs instructions.
Feed impaction is a common cause of equine oesophageal obstruction, so feed form matters particularly where mastication is compromised (Feige et al., 2000).
Soaking also gives us another opportunity to increase water intake.
π± WHAT IF THE CUBES CONTAIN TEFF?
Do not look only at the sugar result.
Teff can test quite nicely for NSC, but its nutrient composition varies with maturity and growing conditions (Staniar et al., 2010).
If a teff-based cube β or another potentially oxalate-containing warm-season forage β makes up a substantial part of the ration, also consider:
π§ calcium
π§ phosphorus
π± total oxalate exposure
and the mineral balance of the whole diet.
Oxalates can bind calcium, reducing its availability to horses. Equine studies have demonstrated impaired calcium absorption and nutritional secondary hyperparathyroidism when high-oxalate forage is fed without sufficient available calcium (McKenzie et al., 1981; Swartzman et al., 1978). That does not mean adding a random scoop of calcium whenever the word teff appears on a bag.
Balance the complete ration. Make sure the Ca:O ratio is correct.
β A FIBRE BUCKET CAN BE USEFUL
Rather than turning the normal hard feed into one enormous bucket of chaff, consider a separate fibre feed.
For example:
π₯£ soaked lupin fibre
π₯£ soaked grass or forage cubes
π₯£ or soaked beet pulp
Made with comfortably warm /cold β not hot β water.
Some soaked fibre can also be mixed through dampened Rhodes chaff. This will help sweeten the deal for a mini Shetland π.
This gives us softer fibre, another feeding opportunity and some additional water.
But remember:
ADDING WATER DOES NOT REMOVE THE CALORIES.
Count the dry feed used to make the mash as part of the daily ration.
Moreover, while ponies can have enormous appetites π, they still do not need the whole dayβs forage replacement dumped into one enormous bucket.
Where possible, divide soaked fibre into several smaller feeds.
π± WHY NOT JUST REPLACE THE MISSING HAY WITH LUCERNE IN WA?
Lucerne can be an excellent part of the jigsaw.
It provides:
πͺ good-quality protein
πͺ useful amino acids
π§ calcium
π± digestible fibre
and generally relatively little starch.
But:
LUCERNE SHOULD NOT BECOME THE WHOLE FORAGE RATION JUST BECAUSE MEADOW TESTED HAY IS SCARCE.
Lucerne is often more nutrient- and energy-dense than the mature lower-energy grass forages we may deliberately choose for an overweight EMS/ID good-doer.
It can also be very high in crude protein.
Individual analyses vary enormously, and some WA lucerne samples I have analysed have exceeded 30% crude protein.
That is not a value to assume for every bale; it is another reason to test.
Protein is essential, and calorie-restricted horses can actually become short of quality protein and essential amino acids.
However, unnecessary oversupply is not beneficial.
Connysson et al. (2006) found that a high-protein forage ration increased blood urea, nitrogen excretion, water intake and urine output.
The goal is:
ENOUGH QUALITY PROTEIN β NOT SIMPLY AS MUCH CRUDE PROTEIN AS POSSIBLE.
In my practical EMS/ID formulations, I generally prefer lucerne at around:
β€0.3% BODYWEIGHT/DAY
where possible.
For a 500 kg horse, that is approximately:
1.5 kg/day.
Depending on the individual horse and complete forage analysis, I may use up to approximately:
0.5% BODYWEIGHT/DAY
or around:
2.5 kg/day for a 500 kg horse.
These are practical formulation guidelines β not published toxicity thresholds.
When forage crude protein becomes unusually high β for example, above approximately 13% I also look much more closely at the complete protein and amino acid picture. In my own formulation work, I may review the relationship between nitrogen and sulphur as part of that wider assessment.
However, there is currently no universally validated equine N ratio or CP threshold that allows us to state that every forage over 13% CP must meet a particular ratio (Mok & Urschel, 2020).
HIGH-PROTEIN FORAGE DESERVES A CLOSER LOOK AT THE WHOLE DIET.
Lucerne can be an excellent piece.
It simply does not need to become the entire jigsaw.
π§ WE DO NOT NECESSARILY NEED ONE βCOMPLETEβ BAG
There may not be one product that simultaneously provides:
β’ Very low NSC
β’ low calories
β’ enough fibre to feed in kilograms per day
β’ exactly the right vitamins and minerals at that feeding rate.
Moreover, that is okay.
Rhodes chaff, pasture cubes, Multicubes and plain forage cubes may be excellent fibre sources but contain few or no added vitamins and minerals.
Separate the jobs:
JOB 1 β BUILD THE SAFE FIBRE RATION
Then:
JOB 2 β BALANCE THE GAPS
with the appropriate:
πͺ quality protein/amino acids
πͺ omega-3 fatty acids
π§ vitamins and minerals
π§ salt.
We do not necessarily need one complete FEED.
We need a complete DIET.
π° COST MATTERS TOO
The perfect theoretical diet is no help if an owner cannot source or afford it.
β’ Sometimes hay remains the most economical fibre.
β’ Sometimes a modest amount of tested straw helps stretch the hay supply.
β’ Sometimes Rhodes chaff works well.
β’ Sometimes forage cubes cost more per kilogram but are actually better value because an older horse can eat them rather than dropping expensive hay onto the ground.
β’ Sometimes beet pulp provides an economical additional fibre source.
β’ Sometimes a modest amount of lucerne improves protein quality without turning the whole ration into a high-protein, higher-energy lucerne diet.
Cheapest per bag does not always mean cheapest per horse per day.
β€οΈ THE TAKE-HOME MESSAGE
When low-NSC hay becomes scarce, and an EMS/ID horse or pony has poor teeth, think:
𧩠FIBRE JIGSAW
One horse may manage:
tested grass hay + some tested straw + Rhodes chaff + soaked fibre.
Another may require:
less hay + more chopped forage + soaked forage cubes.
Moreover, a severely dental-compromised horse may eventually need:
little or no long hay + no straw + predominantly soaked pasture cubes, Multicubes, forage cubes, beet pulp and other suitable forage replacements.
Always ask:
π¬ Is the NSC appropriate?
π₯ How many calories?
πΎ How digestible is the fibre?
π¦· Can the horse actually chew it?
πΎ Is there enough safely chewable long/chopped fibre to encourage chewing and saliva?
π§ Does it need soaking?
π± If teff/oxalate-bearing forage is involved, is calcium properly balanced?
πͺ Are protein and essential amino acids adequate without excessive oversupply?
π§ Are vitamins and minerals covered?
π° Is the ration practical and affordable?
Because:
LOW SUGAR IS IMPORTANT, BUT LOW SUGAR IS NOT THE WHOLE STORY.
Moreover, when teeth begin to fail:
WE CHANGE THE FORM OF THE FORAGE, NOT THE HORSEβS NEED FOR FIBRE.
That is how we fill the fibre jigsaw. π§©π΄π
π References
Bamford, N. J., Potter, S. J., Baskerville, C. L., Harris, P. A., & Bailey, S. R. (2019). Influence of dietary restriction and low-intensity exercise on weight loss and insulin sensitivity in obese equids. Journal of Veterinary Internal Medicine, 33(1), 280β286. https://doi.org/10.1111/jvim.15374
Connysson, M., Muhonen, S., Lindberg, J. E., EssΓ©n-Gustavsson, B., Nyman, G., Nostell, K., & Jansson, A. (2006). Effects on exercise response, fluid and acid-base balance of protein intake from forage-only diets in Standardbred horses. Equine Veterinary Journal, 38(S36), 648β653.
Dosi, M. C. M., Kirton, R., Hallsworth, S., Keen, J. A., & Morgan, R. A. (2020). Inducing weight loss in native ponies: Is straw a viable alternative to hay? Veterinary Record, 187(8), e60. https://doi.org/10.1136/vr.105793
Durham, A. E., Frank, N., McGowan, C. M., Menzies-Gow, N. J., Roelfsema, E., Vervuert, I., Feige, K., & Fey, K. (2019). ECEIM consensus statement on equine metabolic syndrome. Journal of Veterinary Internal Medicine, 33(2), 335β349. https://doi.org/10.1111/jvim.15423
Feige, K., Schwarzwald, C., FΓΌrst, A., & Kaser-Hotz, B. (2000). Esophageal obstruction in horses: A retrospective study of 34 cases. The Canadian Veterinary Journal, 41(3), 207β210.
Hansen, D. K., Webb, G. W., & Webb, S. P. (1992). Digestibility of wheat straw or ammoniated wheat straw in equine diets. Journal of Equine Veterinary Science, 12(4), 223β226.
Jansson, A., Harris, P. A., Davey, S. L., Luthersson, N., Ragnarsson, S., & Ringmark, S. (2021). Straw as an alternative to grass forage in horsesβEffects on post-prandial metabolic profile, energy intake, behaviour and gastric ulceration. Animals, 11(8), 2197. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani11082197
Jarvis, N. G. (2009). Nutrition of the aged horse. Veterinary Clinics of North America: Equine Practice, 25(1), 155β166. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cveq.2009.01.003
McKenzie, R. A., Gartner, R. J. W., Blaney, B. J., & Glanville, R. J. (1981). Control of nutritional secondary hyperparathyroidism in grazing horses with calcium plus phosphorus supplementation. Australian Veterinary Journal, 57(12), 554β557.
Mok, C. H., & Urschel, K. L. (2020). Amino acid requirements in horses. Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences, 33(5), 679β695. https://doi.org/10.5713/ajas.20.0050
Petz, V., Khiaosa-Ard, R., Iben, C., & Zebeli, Q. (2023). Changes in eating time, chewing activity and dust concentration in horses fed either alfalfa cubes or long-stem hay. Veterinary Medicine and Science, 9(3), 1154β1162. https://doi.org/10.1002/vms3.1102
Staniar, W. B., Bussard, J. R., Repard, N. M., Hall, M. H., & Burk, A. O. (2010). Voluntary intake and digestibility of teff hay fed to horses. Journal of Animal Science, 88(10), 3296β3303. https://doi.org/10.2527/jas.2009-2668
Swartzman, J. A., Hintz, H. F., & Schryver, H. F. (1978). Inhibition of calcium absorption in ponies fed diets containing oxalic acid. American Journal of Veterinary Research, 39(10), 1621β1623.
