Short of forage - what’s the alternative?

Guest post by Tracey Hammond M.Sc (Dist) RNutr, Senior Equine Nutritionist, Dengie.

A very dry spring followed by a hot summer in 2025 meant many farmers across the UK reported significantly lower forage yields compared with previous years. Even within the Dengie team, those growing their own hay were seeing as little as a third of their usual yield.

This winter, the Dengie Feedline team has received numerous calls from horse owners who are already running short of their usual forage ration or are trying to make supplies last until the next harvest season. Some yards have also had to place restrictions on the amount of forage used by liveries meaning they need to seek their own alternatives.

If you’re concerned that your conserved forage won’t see you through until the next harvest – or you already know you’re short – what are the options?

Reducing waste: a sensible place to start

When forage supplies are limited, reducing waste should be a priority. This is good practice from both a sustainability and a financial perspective, and it becomes even more important when forage is in short supply.

There are two key areas to focus on:

• how forage is stored

• how much forage your horse actually eats

Store forage correctly to protect quality

Correct storage is essential to keep forage safe, and palatable. One of the main risks to forage quality is mould. Moulds are naturally present in the environment but can proliferate when conditions are right, and in some circumstances produce mycotoxins that may be harmful to health.

Any forage that smells musty or shows visible signs of mould should not be fed. Horses often detect poor-quality forage before we do, so a sudden refusal to eat their usual hay or haylage should always be investigated.

Mould growth requires both moisture and air, so understanding how different forages are preserved can help reduce risk.

Hay is cut when grass is more mature and is left to dry in the field before baling. For safe storage, hay typically needs to be around 85% dry matter or more. Achieving this relies heavily on favourable weather. Hay baled too wet or that is subsequently stored in damp conditions such as under a leaking roof, is far more likely to spoil and become unsuitable to feed.

Wrapped forages such as haylage and wrapped hay are usually cut earlier in the season and wilted for a shorter time before being wrapped in multiple layers of plastic. Their preservation relies on excluding air rather than removing moisture. For this reason, wrapped forages must be stored and handled carefully to avoid punctures or tears in the packaging, as even small amounts of air entering the bale can accelerate mould growth.

How much forage does your horse really need?

Horses are naturally selective feeders. When offered significantly more forage than they can eat, they may pick through it for the most palatable parts, leaving the rest to be trampled into bedding or muddy paddocks.

Even small daily losses quickly add up. As little as 700g of wasted hay per day equates to approximately a quarter of a small bale per week, or a bale a month – a cost to both the environment and your pocket.

To reduce waste while still allowing for natural foraging behaviour, it helps to understand how much forage your horse needs.

Current guidance suggests that all horses and ponies should eat at least 1.5% of their bodyweight per day as forage dry matter. For a 500kg horse, this equates to around 7.5kg of dry matter, or approximately 8.8kg of hay as fed, assuming the hay is 85% dry matter. This level is often recommended for good doers or overweight horses; however, many horses will happily consume more than this. Nutritional guidelines estimate typical intake at:

• around 2% of bodyweight for horses at maintenance or in light work

• up to 2.25–2.5% for horses in moderate to hard work

This means a 500kg horse may consume up to 12.5kg of forage dry matter per day although we probably all know horses that will eat more as intake is highly individual and based on many factors.

In a recent poll, 61% of webinar attendees admitted that they don’t weigh their horse’s forage. If this applies to you, now is an excellent time to start. Regularly monitoring intake and leftovers can help identify whether your horse is being overfed, if there is lots of waste, or alert you early to issues such as declining forage quality or dental problems if intake declines.

Using different long‑stem forages

In the UK, most horses are fed hay, haylage, wrapped hay or straw as their main long stem conserved forage ration. If your usual forage isn’t available, you may need to consider an alternative.

These forages differ in both nutritional value and digestibility:

• Haylage is generally made from younger grass and is more digestible than hay, making it suitable for horses in work or those that struggle to maintain weight.

• Straw is harvested when the plant is very mature and is therefore least digestible. It can replace up to half of the forage ration for good doers or overweight horses and ponies.

Any change in forage should be introduced gradually to allow the digestive system time to adapt. Introducing straw in particular should be done with care. For a 500kg horse, start with 400–500g on day one and gradually double the amount every few days.

Long‑stem straw is only suitable for horses with good dentition, and it should be avoided in horses prone to impaction colic. If you are unsure whether straw is appropriate, seek veterinary advice.

Accounting for dry matter when feeding haylage

One common pitfall when switching between hay and haylage is failing to account for differences in dry matter content.

Hay typically contains around 85% dry matter, whereas haylage may contain closer to 60% dry matter. This means a larger quantity of haylage must be fed to provide the same amount of dry matter.

For example, a 500kg horse eating to appetite (around 2.5% of bodyweight) would need:

• approximately 14.7kg of hay as fed

• or around 20.8kg of haylage as fed

Failing to adjust for this difference can lead to forage and fibre intakes being much lower than intended.

Alternatives to long‑stem forage

If long‑stem forage supplies are running very low, or have run out entirely, another option is to use feeds specifically marketed as forage replacers. Not all fibre feeds are suitable for this purpose, so it is important to choose products designed to replace part or all of the forage ration.

Where possible, opt for forage replacers that encourage longer chew times, such as short‑chopped fibre feeds to keep your horse occupied for longer. Dengie’s short chopped fibre feeds that can be fed as total forage replacers include Hi-Fi Senior, Ulser Lite, Hi-Fi Lite and Meadow Lite with Herbs.

Soaked forage replacers, can also be used to supplement or totally replace the usual forage ration which can be particularly useful for horses with poor dentition. Dengie’s Pure Grass Pellets can be used as a total forage replacer, whilst Alfa-Beet may be used to partially replace the forage ration.

Unlike hay, forage replacers cannot be fed in normal haynets and instead should be divided into multiple buckets in the stable to encourage foraging behaviour. To make forage replacers last longer try to divide the forage ration into multiple presentations throughout the day. Using large smooth pebbles that are too big for your horse to eat in the bottom of a wide bottomed bucket are one way to make soaked rations more challenging to eat.

Key tips for managing forage shortages

• Reduce waste by storing forage correctly

• Match forage provision to your horse’s appetite

• Consider alternative long‑stem forages where appropriate

• Use short‑chopped and soaked fibre feeds to extend or replace forage

• Make all dietary changes gradually

For friendly feeding advice, contact the Dengie Feedline on 01621 841188 (option 1) or visit www.dengie.com.