How much sugar can a frugal horse tolerate?

When we talk about sugar in a horse's diet, we are primarily talking about the sugar found in the roughage – i.e. wrap, hay and grass. This is where the largest amounts are found, and that is why the roughage analysis is so important to know.

👉 A frugal horse typically tolerates:

Approximately 0.5–1 g sugar per kg body weight
It corresponds to:
200–400 g sugar for a 400 kg horse

How much sugar is in 7 kg of wrap?

Example: Wrap with 17% sugar
(= 17% sugar in dry matter and dry matter content of 75%)

Calculation:
7 kg × 0.75 × 0.17 × 1000 = 892.5 g sugar

➡️ This is far more than what a frugal 400 kg horse should get daily.

When does it become too much?

Over 2 g sugar per kg body weight
may increase the risk of disease and inflammation

For a 400 kg horse, this corresponds to 800 g of sugar – and this is easily exceeded with regular wraps with a high sugar content.

A better choice? Wrap with 7% sugar

Example:

• 7 kg wrap

• 75% dry matter

• 7% sugar in dry matter

Calculation:
7 × 0.75 × 0.07 × 1000 = 367.5 g sugar in total

➡️ It stays within the limits for a frugal horse (200–400 g).

Conclusion

The amount of sugar in your roughage can make a big difference – especially for frugal horses.
Keep an eye on the dry matter and sugar percentage – and calculate it accordingly so you know what the horse is actually getting.

👉 Do you want to know more about why it is so important to keep sugar intake down - and how too much sugar can create imbalance in the horse's body?

Read
What happens when a horse gets too much sugar? →

✨ And do you already have a horse that has become a little too round?
Here you can get a concrete step-by-step plan for weight loss that is both healthy and sustainable for the horse:
Lighter Saturday – recipe for healthy weight loss in horses