Digestion in the Horse
- Topics: Article, Digestive System, Grains, Hay, Ulcers
The horse’s evolution as a forage eater helps in understanding its digestive system, which is designed for continuous grazing of grass forages. The stomach and the small intestine can receive a nearly continuous flow of small amounts of food.
The large intestine has been adapted to extract extra nutrition from the fiber content of the forages that pass through the small intestine.
Domestication of the horse is at odds with an intestinal system well developed for continual grazing. Convenience to owners, modern equine athletic activities, and space limitations dictate modern feeding practices and force horses to receive more concentrated feeds at infrequent intervals, harvested and processed forages, and reduced access to pasture that permits natural grazing
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Bradford G. Bentz, VMD, MS, Dipl. ACVIM, ABVP (equine)
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