Forage Analysis

Forage analysis for horses tests the grass, hay or haylage your horse eats. This testing enables calculations which target the exact nutrition; minerals, vitamins, protein , calories and sugar/starch levels your horse needs.

Scientific horse forage analysis enables a bespoke approach to equine nutrition and the creation of  ‘forage focused’ supplements:

We provide two types of horse forage analysis report:

Mineral Analysis: This is a comprehensive report covering all the major minerals and all the trace minerals and includes antagonist levels of lead, iron, aluminium, molybdenum, and sulphur.  Unlike other mineral reports on the market our report also includes selenium, chloride and iodine which are critical for determining whether your horse’s diet is balanced. Our reports also record dry matter content. You can test hay, grass or haylage for mineral levels. Reports take 10-14 working days.

Nutritional Analysis: This is a comprehensive report covering the nutrient levels in your forage.  It reports dry mater content, protein, estimatesd lysine content and gives levels of ADF and NDF fibre.  Our reports are also unique in the UK, in that the sugar content is split into WSC (water soluble carbs), ESC (simple sugars) and starch.  This is vital if the report is to be used to determine suitability for feeding to laminitis prone horses. We can carry out this analysis on both hay and haylage. We can arrange either an NIR or wet chemistry nutritional test. Reports take 10-14 working days.

Horse Feed Suggestions: Each analysis report will include individual horse suggestions to help you know how to balance your horse’s daily ration.

You will be asked, after ordering, to supply us with your horse’s details, through an online form. Depending upon the report you order, we can advise on feeding amounts to maintain health weight, levels of protein, sugar and starch and minerals.  Balancing these nutritional levels to the grass, hay or haylage fed is an important factor in maintaining and supporting the health of all horses and ponies.

Carrying out both a mineral and nutritional horse forage analysis also allows us to look at the quality and quantity of protein contained in your forage.

Minerals are essential nutrients for all animals. Without the correct mineral elements the protein, carboyhydrate and fat which provide the horse with energy are compromised. Unlike other broad spectrum feed approaches on the market, Forageplus analysis of the forage eaten allows the owner to target the specific minerals a horse needs in its unique environment. We can also test soil and water should it be appropriate.

We work with a growing number of hay suppliers who test their hay or haylage regularly to help horse owners.

For more information visit our Using Forageplus page