Hay, Look Me Over 1997, Karen Briggs Barbara D. Livingston Horses with inadequate amounts of forage in their diets run the risk of colic and founder, as well as developing stable vices derived from having too little on which to chew.
Horses are superbly adapted herbivores.
Our domestic horses don't, as a rule, have the luxury of roaming for hundreds of miles in search of choice grazing. Confined to stalls and paddocks, they rely on us to provide the forage they need. Forage is the most natural, least expensive, and safest feed for horses, and it should be the basis of all horse feeding programs. It provides the bulk of nutrients horses require for their everyday maintenance metabolism, and stimulates the muscle tone and the activity of the gastrointestinal tract. Horses with inadequate amounts of forage in their diets run the risk of colic and founder, as well as developing stable vices derived from having too little on which to chew.