Energy
Energy is not a separate ingredient but what feed provides to move and to live. In horse feeding it is usually expressed as digestible energy.
General information, not individual feeding or ration advice. For your own horse, consult your vet or a nutritionist.
How does it work?
Energy is often shown as digestible energy (DE), the part that the horse actually takes up, in megajoules (MJ) or megacalories (Mcal). It comes from four sources: fibre provides slow, calm energy, fat or oil is the most energy-dense per kilo, sugar and starch give quick energy, and protein is an inefficient last resort. Feeding is all about energy balance: what the horse takes in against what it needs for maintenance, growth, pregnancy and work.
Why it matters
Once you understand the sources of energy, you see why two rations with the same amount of energy can still affect a horse very differently. Calm energy from fibre and fat produces fewer peaks than quick energy from grains.
Common misconceptions
- Energy and protein are not the same thing; a protein-rich feed is not automatically energy-rich.
- Giving more energy does not make a horse 'fitter' if it does not use that energy; it then ends up as fat.
Discover more
Sources: Kentucky Equine Research · Oklahoma State University Extension.