What Is Forage Analysis?

Forage analysis is a way of determining what your horses forage is contributing to their overall diet. It is a test that is performed on a sample of forage i.e., hay, haylage or grass and the results can help to determine the dietary contributions.

If you decide to have your forage analysed, you will receive a report from our nutritional team with the analysis results along with an explanation of what the results mean. We are also able to use the forage analysis results to prepare a diet plan for your horse taking into account the results from the analysis so that your horse's diet can be individually tailored to their specific needs.

Why Is Forage Analysis Beneficial?

For horse owners that face challenges such as managing horses with metabolic, muscular, or digestive issues or for breeders and performance horses, forage analysis offers a more in-depth management of their nutrition.

With forage forming the biggest portion of the horse’s diet, forage analysis can be beneficial when creating a diet for these types of horses and can help to determine if the forage source is suitable for the horse.

When Should I Get My Forage Analysed?

Anytime that you are concerned about the nutritional or hygienic quality of your horse’s forage or when the supply of forage is changed is a suitable time to have a forage analysis performed.

What Analysis Service Do I Need?

NIR (Near Infrared Reflectance) – this test provides a basic analysis and will include Dry Matter, Crude Protein, Oil, Ash, NDF, ADF, Sugar and Digestible Energy.

Dietary Minerals – this test provides information about the mineral content of the forage and will include Dry Matter, Phosphorus, Magnesium, Calcium, Sodium, Potassium, Chloride as well as CAB and Macro Mineral Analysis.

WSC (Water Soluble Carbohydrates) – this test will indicate the water-soluble carbohydrate level of the forage and is suitable for determining the suitability of the forage for feeding to horses with issues such as laminitis, for example.

Who Analyses The Forage?

The lab that performs the analysis is an ISO17025 accredited laboratory and has over 30 years of experience in the agricultural sector. The modern testing facilities and broad analytical capacity allows delivery of specialist services, and the lab is also UKAS and GMP+ accredited as well as being able to carry out UFAS, FEMAS and FEDIAF based analysis.