Ideal horse never without roughage

In the ideal scenario, this issue would not even be a concern, because we prefer to see horses have roughage available 24/7 and never have an empty stomach. However, this is not possible for all horses and on all farms. In many boarding stables, there are still separate times for roughage and concentrate feeding. In this case, it is important to give the roughage first.

Roughage stimulates saliva production

While we humans produce saliva continuously, it works differently for horses. They only produce saliva while chewing; each chewing movement stimulates the salivary gland to produce a bit of saliva. This saliva is important for softening the food pulp, but also for neutralizing stomach acid. So the more a horse chews, the more saliva is produced, and the less likely horses are to suffer from stomach acid. Chewing roughage requires a lot of effort from horses before they can swallow it. Therefore, a lot of saliva is released when horses eat roughage.

Chewing concentrate = little saliva

A horse quickly eats a kilo of concentrate, within 10-15 minutes it is gone. While a horse takes about 40 minutes to eat a kilo of hay. A horse also has to chew much less on concentrate, so very little saliva is produced when eating concentrate, and the food quickly reaches the stomach.

Roughage slows down concentrate

When you give your horse roughage first, the concentrate then "falls" onto a bed of roughage in the stomach. Firstly, the stomach is already better protected against the rich concentrate, reducing the risk of stomach ulcers. Furthermore, the concentrate remains in the stomach longer, allowing for better digestion of proteins, among other things, and better utilization of the nutrients from the concentrate. Without roughage, the concentrate will quickly leave the stomach and miss part of the pre-digestion, making it less fully utilized in the intestines.

Give your horse only a small portion of concentrate at a time, preferably not more than one kilo per feeding but certainly no more than two kilos per feeding. A horse's stomach is small. With large amounts of "heavy" feed, the stomach will empty suddenly without proper digestion having occurred. The concentrate will then pass through unused via the manure. In the worst case, a stomach rupture can even occur if the stomach becomes overfilled.

Conclusion: Better for the stomach and digestion

Giving roughage first to your horse is only positive. It leads to increased saliva production, protecting the stomach. Additionally, it ensures that the concentrate remains in the stomach for a longer period, allowing for better digestion and utilization of these nutrients by the horse.