How to feed sport horses with roughage only
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Performance horses are commonly fed diets including large amounts of starch-rich concentrates despite that there is little scientific evidence that such diets promote performance. In contrast, it is well known that high concentrate diets can cause gastrointestinal problems, stereotypical behaviour and perhaps also musculoskeletal problems. High energy roughage-only diets could be an alternative to high concentrate diets and promote both health and performance in sport horses. This paper reviews the main studies performed on this subject. The studies have focused on performance, digestion, metabolism and fluid balance. It is concluded that diets based on high energy forage are an alternative to conventional high starch diets.