How much sugar can a frugal horse tolerate?

Grænsen, regnestykket og de steder sukkeret gemmer sig: wrap, hø og græs.
The conclusion in brief

En nøjsom hest bør ligge på ca. 0,5‑1 g sukker pr. kg kropsvægt om dagen, altså 200‑400 g til en hest på 400 kg. Det er et forsigtighedsniveau, ikke en klinisk grænse. Over 2 g pr. kg om dagen medfører sygdom. Få grovfoderet analyseret, og regn efter, hvad hesten reelt får.

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  

Ofte stillede spørgsmål om sukker til nøjsomme heste

Tæller godbidder med i hestens sukkerindtag?

Ja. Et enkelt æble eller en gulerod i ny og næ er sjældent et problem, men mange hver dag lægger sig oven i grovfoderets sukker.

Er 1,2 g sukker pr. kg ikke den rigtige grænse?

Nej, ikke pr. døgn. 1,2 g pr. kg er et niveau pr. måltid. Den daglige anbefaling til en nøjsom hest er 0,5‑1 g pr. kg.

Kan man se på hø, om det indeholder meget sukker?

Nej. To baller kan se ens ud og have vidt forskelligt sukkerindhold. Kun en analyse viser det, og den gælder kun det parti, du har liggende.

Må en nøjsom hest slet ikke på græs?

Jo, men begræns tiden, vælg de tidlige morgentimer før kl. 10, og brug eventuelt mundkurv. Regn på, hvor meget græsset bidrager med.

Sources

  • Longland, A. C. og Byrd, B. M. (2006): Pasture nonstructural carbohydrates and equine laminitis. The Journal of Nutrition.
  • Katz, L. M. og Bailey, S. R. (2012): A review of recent advances and current hypotheses on the pathogenesis of acute laminitis. Equine Veterinary Journal.
  • Durham, A. E. m.fl. (2019): ECEIM Consensus Statement on Equine Metabolic Syndrome. Journal of Veterinary Internal Medicine.
  • Geor, R. J. (2008): Metabolic predispositions to laminitis in horses and ponies: obesity, insulin resistance and metabolic syndromes. Journal of Equine Veterinary Science.
  • Julliand, V. og Grimm, P. (2017): The impact of diet on the hindgut microbiome. Journal of Equine Veterinary Science.
  • Suagee-Bedore, J. K. m.fl. (2023): IL-1β response to high-starch meals in older horses.
Read more:

Sukker er ikke bare sukker: sukker og fruktan i grovfoder · Overvægtig hest? Guide til sundt vægttab · Halm som grovfoder