Guide to reading a roughage analysis

A roughage analysis may look complicated – but it doesn't have to be.
When you know the most important numbers, it becomes much easier to assess whether your horse is getting the right nutrition.

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Sugar – important to keep an eye on

The sugar content has a major impact on how well the roughage suits the horse.

• For most horses, it is an advantage to choose roughage with less than 10% sugar .

• For frugal horses, it is extra important to keep it low – preferably below 5% .

• If the sugar content is high, you can adjust the feeding by supplementing with a lower sugar feed, such as spring barley straw.

• We do not recommend soaking roughage as it can increase the risk of growth of unwanted substances.

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Protein – building blocks for muscles, skin and hooves

All horses need protein – regardless of whether they are frugal or not.

• 8–10% crude protein in the roughage is a good level

• If the value is lower, you should supplement with extra protein, e.g.:

  • Lucerne

  • Soybean meal

👉 Frugal horses often need more protein per feed unit because their roughage typically has a lower energy content, and the amount may therefore be limited.

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Fiber – the foundation of digestion

The fiber content is crucial for the horse's digestion, chewing time and well-being.

• Look at NDF (Neutral Detergent Fiber) → should be between 50–65%

• The higher the NDF, the more structure and chewing time

👉 For frugal horses, a high fiber content is an advantage because it allows for longer chewing time without too many calories.

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Energy – beware of oversupply

The energy content of roughage is often stated as feed units (FU).

• For most horses, roughage typically ranges between 0.5–0.9 FE/kg.

• For frugal horses, it should be below 0.5 FE/kg.

• If the energy is high, you can reduce the amount and supplement with high-fiber feed such as straw.

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Minerals – always necessary

Roughage contains minerals, but rarely in the right amounts and balances. Therefore, you should always supplement with a vitamin and mineral supplement.

To be able to use the “normal” dosage of, for example, Every Day Happy, Peak Performance or Supreme Minerals , the roughage should be approximately at these values:

• ✔ Copper: 4–5 mg/kg

• ✔ Zinc: 20–22 mg/kg

• ✔ Manganese: 40–50 mg/kg

• ✔ Iron: 100–110 mg/kg

🔸 Important about iron: Horses only absorb approximately 10–15% of the iron in roughage.

Every Day Happy, Peak Performance and Supreme Minerals take this into account – the horse gets iron in a form that the horse can absorb and in an amount that is balanced with copper, zinc and manganese.

👉 If the iron content in the roughage is low (often the case in Denmark), it may be advantageous to use the "extra" dosage in the schedule to ensure balance.

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Lysine

When you use Regulator Complete's vitamin and mineral blends, lysine is already included, so you don't need to supplement separately.

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Protein needs – calculate the total intake

• A horse in light work needs approximately 1.5 g crude protein per kg body weight per day.

• A 500 kg horse therefore needs approximately 750 g of crude protein daily.

• Danish roughage often contains 7–8% crude protein.

• The horse must have at least 1.5–2 kg of dry matter per 100 kg of body weight to cover basic needs.

👉 Remember that horses only utilize approximately 50–60% of the crude protein in roughage. Therefore, it is often necessary to supplement with a higher quality protein source.

For frugal horses, the following applies: If the roughage has a lot of energy or sugar, and you therefore give less, the protein content should be higher – e.g. 9–10% .

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✅ Conclusion – how to read the analysis

When evaluating roughage, you should especially look at:

• Sugar content

• Protein percentage

• Fiber (NDF)

• Energy (FE)

• Mineral balance

👉 For frugal horses, it is especially important to choose low sugar, low energy and high fiber - while also ensuring that protein and mineral needs are met.

If roughage is not enough, you can supplement with, for example, alfalfa, soy meal or other protein sources – and always add a vitamin and mineral supplement from Regulator Complete.

Read more: NDF & ADF – How “rough” and how “digestible” is your roughage really?